Letters of John
For Our Kids
March 5, 2023 • Jordan Hansen • 3 John, John 14:6, Matthew 6:21, Matthew 5:16
Raising a child is no easy task. Shaping and influencing the next generation of followers of Jesus is no simple process. Our kids are faced with challenges in their personal lives, but also the dangers and threats of living in a world that does not know God. If all of our parenting could be summarized into a few values, what would those values be? What do we want for our kids? The shortest book in the entire Bible has a lot of punch packed into 15 total verses. TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. What were the most important lessons our parents or grandparents taught us in life? 2. What do we want our kids to learn from us? If we could only teach them 3 things, what would they be? 3. What does John’s conflict with Diotrephes lead him to teach Gaius in this letter? 4. How will I help my kids, or the next generation, to know Jesus and to follow him with their whole hearts? 5. PRAYER: “Father, help us to raise the next generation to know you and to live for you and your mission on this Earth!”
Embracing The Challenge
February 26, 2023 • Pete Campbell • 2 John
It's not always easy to face challenges in life, but it's important to remember that we can't always control what happens to us. What we can control is how we react to those challenges. Do we let them harden our hearts or do we let them make us more compassionate? If we can learn to love God and others despite the challenges we face, we will be much better off in the long run. TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. How does life’s challenges & struggles reveal what I truly believe? 2. What are my reactions & thoughts towards compromising situations & mindsets that I’m not ready for? 3. In what ways have I allowed life's challenges to harden my heart? 4. What can you do to develop thick skin when it comes to my faith? 5. In what ways can you become a friend of sinners? Think of a couple things you can do this week to love people while embracing the challenge.
Get Out Of The Way!
February 19, 2023 • 1 John 5:13–21, Exodus 34:14, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:34, Romans 8:26–27
Prayer. What is the point? What makes us selfish in our evangelism is often times proved in our prayer lives. If God answered all of our prayers, would the world change, or just OUR world? As John comes to a conclusion, He wants His spiritual family to KNOW they can have confidence in their prayers to God. As believers, we have access to the God of all Creation, Jesus in the flesh, who desires to move. Confidant prayer moves us out of His way. What confident prayers move us out of the way? TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. How would I describe my prayer life? Do my prayers move me out of the way for God to move? 2. What kind of prayers please God? How does “the Lord’s prayer” please God? 3. Do I pray for people in my life to experience the true God, Jesus who IS eternal life? Why / why not? 4. What modern day idols have the most access to tempt me? How does God help me? 5. PRAYER: “Father, give me the confidence to pray bold prayers that move me out of the way for you to move!”
Keeping Secrets
February 12, 2023 • 1 John 5:1–12, John 1:29–33, John 1:8
At some point in our lives, someone confided in us something important. It made us feel special. But we’ve also been on the other end of a secret kept. That had the potential of making us feel like we were on the outside looking in. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus is that it isn’t secret knowledge that rescues us. God desires to reveal Jesus to ALL of us, in a way we can understand, so we can experience Heaven, starting on Earth. That is worth sharing! TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. Have I ever had people keep an important and beneficial secret from me? How did that make me feel? 2. What are the three witnesses to the identity of Jesus in this passage that can bolster our desire to share Christ? 3. Which witness do I struggle with the most? How do our lives preach the message of Heaven on Earth? 4. Why does God desire people to know the Truth? What impact will it make on His Creation, their lives, and others? 5. PRAYER: “Father, help us to live our beliefs in Jesus so others can follow him, too!.”
Church Hurt
February 5, 2023 • 1 John 4
Many people are leaving “the church” because of “church hurt.” It’s a real thing! I will likely never understand why Jesus left us with such an important community to manage. Most of the time, it comes down to teaching, application of that teaching, and a failure to love like Jesus. So, how can WE, since we are the church, live with God loving through us? How can we learn from these experiences to become a safe community for people to grow in their relationship with Jesus? TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. Have I ever experience “church hurt?” Was I responsible in any way? 2. What are three expectations I need to live out in order to be a safe place for others to call home? 3. Which of the three exceptions do I struggle to live out the most? Why? 4. What would happen within our churches if we loved each other like Jesus loves us? 5. PRAYER: “Father, help us to discern deception, get the order of God’s love right, & love without fear.”
Hump Day Wednesdays
January 29, 2023 • 1 John, 1 John 3
We all know what is feels like to hit Wednesday, “Hump Day,” and not be motivated to push past the hard and get to the downward slide of the rest of the week. The moment we say “YES” to God is exciting and beautiful and new. Then…we get into the grind of ministry and life and things can feel like an uphill battle. How do we get past the “hump” of obedience? John gives us five motivations to pull us past the Wednesdays of life. TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. Describe a “Hump Day Wednesday” experience in your walk with the Lord? 2. Why is obedience so difficult in our own strength? Why is obedience necessary? 3. What are the 5 motivations for obedience John gives in 1 John 3? 4. Which motivation can help me in my own journey of obeying God in my life? 5. PRAYER: “Father, help us to obey you by keeping your commandments & loving people.”
Derailed From Love
January 22, 2023 • 1 John, 1 John 2:15–29, John 14:6, Isaiah 5:20
At some point in our lives, we realize that we are more fragile than we’d like to admit. We come face to face with our own powerlessness to stop certain outcomes. But John is not concerned with cataclysmic events as much as he is focused on what can derail our love for God and people. He identifies the internal and external threats to God’s truth. Why does speak up? He believes eternity is at stake. TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. When did I first encounter a circumstance that made me feel vulnerable to a threat? 2. What do i struggle with the most? The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life? 3. Why is staying in fellowship important? What are the threats to my ability to stay in fellowship with Christ & His body? 4. How does the Holy Spirit help us live a life according to God’s Truth? What is the key in this passage? 5. PRAYER: “Father, help us to live courageously and overcome all threats to our love for you!”
Love for the Long Haul
January 15, 2023 • 1 John 2:3–14
How do we really know we are Christian? A genuine and authentic faith begins with a historical and incarnate Christ. He really showed up and we must really show up to follow him in our lives if we want to claim the Truth lives in us, too. And yet, many, in today’s world, believe that to be their authentic and true self, they must embrace their sinful nature and follow their temptations. But John challenges that lie. We cannot follow Jesus without obeying his commandments. TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. What is the evidence my spouse loves me? Parents? Friends? 2. Why do actions need to align with our beliefs in our lives? What difference does living a consistent life make? 3. What are the 3 “proofs” of love for God from this passage? Which do I struggle with the most? 4. Why is having a vision for a life long relationship with God important to being able to “go the distance?” 5. PRAYER: “Father, being our heart to your heart and motivate our action from your love for us."
Stop With the Fake!
January 8, 2023 • 1 John 1:1—2:2
Nobody wants to live with deceivers. We expect people to be honest with us so we can rely on them, not get sucker punched by things they haven’t told us, and build our lives on solid ground. Nowhere does the Truth matter more than when building spiritual communities! Why? Our beliefs impacts how we live. Building a genuine and authentic community requires honesty about who Jesus and ourselves in order that we may fully share each others’ joy in fellowship. TALK ABOUT IT - Questions to GROW through with family, friends, & myself. 1. What makes someone a genuine and authentic person? 2. Why does genuine & authenticity matter in a spiritual community? 3. How can I know who the genuine and authentic Jesus was/is? 4. Why is it important for followers of Jesus to genuinely pursue living like Jesus? 5. How does confession lead to a more authentic Christian community? PRAYER: “Father, remove the fake in us and make our faith genuine and authentic!”