Light and Love
23. Knowing the True God
October 10, 2021 • Matt Kleinhans • 1 John 5:18–21
John concludes the letter of 1st John by reminding us of the truths that assure our hearts: Jesus protects us from the evil one, we are from God, and we know Him who is true. These truths give us confidence to follow Christ in the midst of a fallen world, keeping ourselves from idols by abiding in Jesus. Application Questions 1. Why is it so important that in Christ we have a new nature? 2. How does it change your life to know that God protects you in the midst of a fallen world? 3. What are practical ways you can build your life on the God who is Truth? 4. How have you become complacent in your walk with God? What steps can you take to revitalize your relationship with Him?
22. Praying for Others
October 3, 2021 • Scott Mehl • 1 John 5:13–17
When we talk to God we can know that he hears us and that he will answer us. And when we ask for his kingdom to come and transform our hearts, we can know that he will do it. Therefore, when we pray for one another we can do so expecting God to produce the redemption we desire. Prayer is the Christian's superpower. Application Questions: 1. In what way might God be drawing you deeper into your relationship with him through prayer? 2. How should the confidence you can have shape your prayers? 3. How can you more intentionally use the privilege of your relationship and communication with God to bless your brothers and sisters in Christ? 4. Where do you see sin in the lives of your brothers and sisters that you can take confidently to God in prayer?
21. Confident Prayer
September 26, 2021 • Demetrius Nathan • 1 John 5:13–15
Application Questions: 1. What is prayer, and why is it an essential spiritual discipline? 2. If God has answered your greatest need (you being separated from Him), what are some of the reasons that keep you from bringing your other concerns and needs to Him? 3. What does it mean to ask anything according to His will (1 John 5:14)?
20. God Testifies
September 12, 2021 • Matt Kleinhans • 1 John 5:6–12
The message of the gospel has been validated by the testimony of God - the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. As Christians we carry that testimony in us, and in us it produces eternal life. Application Questions: 1. How do the water, blood, and Spirit testify to the person and work of Jesus Christ? 2. If you reject God's testimony you reject God Himself - why is this so crucial for understanding how we submit ourselves to the gospel? 3. What does it look like for the testimony of God to be "in yourself"? 4. How does eternal life begin now for you?
19. Overcoming the World
September 5, 2021 • Matt Kleinhans • 1 John 5:1–5
In response to the gospel we are called to two actions: believe in God, and love God. Trusting in the message of the gospel is what it means to believe in God, and loving God above all else is what it means to love Him. Though the world may try to undermine our belief, and draw us away from Christ with false loves, in Him we have victory over the world.
18. God is Love
August 29, 2021 • Scott Mehl • 1 John 4:13–21
As John continues his meditation on the power of love, he invites us to think deeply about the abiding nature of God's love. What does it mean that God's love abides in us? What does it mean that we abide in Him? And how does this abiding love give us the confidence and the selflessness that every soul ultimately longs for? Application Questions: How does the abiding nature of love change how you view yourself or your relationship with God? What's a practical way you can meditate on the love of God this week? What are you tempted to fear? How does remembering and meditating on the love of God displace that fear? What are some specific ways you can practically and intentionally love your brothers and sisters in Christ this week?
17. Part I God is Love
August 22, 2021 • Scott Mehl • 1 John 4:7–12
God is love. He defines and perfectly demonstrates love. And while God's love was demonstrated most radically through the cross, the cross did not mark the end of the pouring out of God's love. His love pours out uniquely in each generation and is being poured out uniquely today. Application Questions: How can you take time this week to meditate on the reality of God's trinitarian love? How can you take time this week to meditate on the reality and significance of the cross? How would your love for others look different if you saw it less as a Spirit-empowered duty and more as a manifestation of God's love to the world? Who can you love more sincerely and practically this week? What might that look like?
16. Testing the Spirits
August 15, 2021 • Matt Kleinhans • 1 John 4:1–6
The path from joy to truth comes through fellowship with God. In order to abide in Him we must be able to distinguish between truth and error, and in a world of deception where the spirit of the world vies for our attention and affection, we must hold fast to His truth in His Word, so that we can abide in Him and live in His joy. Application Questions: Why is it crucial for you to be able to distinguish truth from error? How and where do you see the deception of the world in your life? What would it look like to cultivate spiritual discernment according to God's Word? How does the hope of God give you strength to hold fast to His truth?
15. True Confidence
August 8, 2021 • Scott Mehl • 1 John 3:19–24
Doubt creeps into our hearts in all sorts of different ways. Sometimes we mess up and doubt the reality or extent of God's forgiveness. Sometimes we feel alone and doubt the reality of our relationship with God. But God meets us in the moments of doubt with a gentle confidence, upholding us and reminding us (again) that we are his, and nothing will ever change that. Application Questions: When are the moments you are most tempted to doubt God's forgiveness? How does it change things to know that "God is greater than our heart"? When are the moments you are most tempted to doubt the reality of your new identity? How can you take time this week to identify (maybe with others) the evidence of the Spirit working in your life? How can you enjoy the sweet intimacy and confident prayer that is yours through the assurance of your identity and forgiveness?
14. Love in Action
August 1, 2021 • Brian Colmery • 1 John 3:11–18
John has taught us that being a Christian means being adopted into the family of God. God’s family has a family dynamic: righteousness and love. This week John begins a long conversation on loving one another as Christians. He deepens our understanding of love and then shows us how to move towards it ourselves. Application Questions: 1. Do you struggle most to love other with your actions, attitude, or attention? 2. Have you ever found yourself doing loving things for selfish reasons? 3. What is your reaction to hearing that you have to lose your life in loving others to really experience life? 4. How can Jesus laying down his life for you move you to love others the same way?
13. Family Resemblance
July 25, 2021 • 1 John 3:1–10
John speaks strongly about righteousness and being a child of God. In that language, we find a call to holy living and a motivation that is different than any other philosophy. Application Questions: 1. Are there ways you don’t want God’s parental input in your life? What do you normally do when you feel that way? 2. Do you regularly think of yourself as a child of God, apart from your performance? How might your life change if you did? 3. Is God asking you, Father to child, to practice righteousness in a particular area of your life right now?
12. Seeing Him
July 18, 2021 • Brian Colmery
In the midst of a rich passage, John gives us the different elements that we need for real, deep, meaningful change and growth. They range from the new birth to eternal hope, but all center on the person of Christ and the transforming love God has for his children. Application Questions: 1. If you want to change or grow, how do you normally go about trying? 2. Do you feel like you have a relationship with God, or a relationship with ideas about God? What’s the difference? 3. What are some practical ways you can relocate your hope on seeing God in eternity? How might that reshape your life now?
11. Children of God
July 11, 2021 • Demetrius Nathan
When we are insecure about our faith, how do we rest assure in the Father’s arm? John reminds us to find our home in the Father’s love as we abide in Him and see His love. God sees us as His beloved children even with our faults, and John also encourages us to live lives that reflect our Father. Application Questions: 1. Do you view remembering the sabbath as an optional command? if so why? How does having a sabbath as a rhythm in life help us abide (rest) in the Lord? What are ways you implement sabbaths in your life, if taking a sabbath is not a rhythm in your life, what could a sabbath look like for you? 2. “Impure Gold is still Gold,” How does the fact that God see us as His beloved even with our faults change the way you view yourself? 3. What are some practical ways we can purify ourselves as He is pure?
10. Learning the Truth
July 4, 2021 • Scott Mehl
Today is a day of remembrance in multiple ways. Our country gathers every year on this day to remember an event that took place in Philadelphia, determining the trajectory of our country. The church also gathers every week on this day to remember the event that took place in Jerusalem that changed the course of human history. Today we gather to remember that more significant historical moment and in our passage today John helps us to see why regularly looking back and remembering is such an important spiritual discipline for our souls. Application Questions: 1. Do you tend to live in fear of false truths, or do you tend to live taking truth for granted, not being careful about what you're meditating on or taking in? 2. What are the practical ways that help you remember gospel truth throughout your week (other people, time with God, corporate worship, etc.)? 3. How does the fact that God is abiding in you change how you view your current challenges and struggles? 4. How can you relate more directly and intimately with God this week, remembering his personal presence?
09. Loving the Truth
June 27, 2021 • Brian Colmery
With all the division and controversy in the world, how do we think about truth? John makes it clear that spiritual truth doesn’t adjust to fit our preferences or desires. While we shouldn’t be overconfident in ourselves, the truth about God is secure and stable. This means it shouldn’t rattle us when people reject Jesus, and we can hold onto the truth about Jesus without shame. Most of all, John makes the case that the hard truth is where we can put all our hope and security. Application Questions: 1. Are you ever rattled in your faith when you see people reject Jesus for something they think is “better”? How do John’s reminders about the time we live in and the way we know truth help? 2. What about Jesus’ identity is so important that John sees it as a test for whether or not we have a relationship with God? 3. What would it look like for you to let the truth about Jesus “abide in you”?