I Love My Church

Whoever Has the Son Has Life

July 14, 2024 • Andrew Martin • 1 John 5

We are waging a war against the flesh and against the powers of this world but our victory is secured because of our fellowship with Christ. We can be confident that we have eternal life through the Son and that whatever we ask according to His will, he hears us. We have overcome the world.

Love Perfected: We Love Because He First Loved Us

July 7, 2024 • Mike Van Fleet • 1 John 4:7–21

The essential claim at the heart of Christianity is the claim that Jesus Christ is God, who appears in the flesh and was crucified, buried, and raised to life. By this, we confess that He is the Son of God. Without this claim, we don’t have any share or fellowship in Him. Christians who have confessed Jesus as Lord have often been persecuted and martyred because of it and have gone to a painful death with joy because the Love of God has been perfected in them. We have fellowship through God with the saints and the martyrs. How do we attain faith over fear?

The Spirit of Truth Testifies

June 30, 2024 • Pastor Kevin Canterbury • 1 John 4:1–6

That which is born of the Spirit identifies that which is born of the Spirit. If we are in fellowship with the Father and the Son, the Spirit testifies within us to the validity of Truth regarding the nature of Christ. Gnosticism is still very much alive and well, though it takes on a different form in every generation. The tools and tactics of the enemy are subtle and deceitful. The Church plays an important role in protecting its members from false doctrines. What are the essential doctrines of Christ and why do they matter?

Love One Another in Deed and in Truth

June 23, 2024 • Pastor Mat Miller • 1 John 3

Love is more than just a feeling or a fleeting emotion, it is sacrificial. There is no greater love than that of one who offers up their very own life for another. This is the love the Jesus showed us, even while we were yet sinners, in rebellion to Him, he laid down His very own life on our behalf. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, this is the kind of love we ought to show others, especially our fellow Christians.

Children of God: Fellowship with the Father and Son

June 16, 2024 • Brett Darling • 1 John 2:12–29

They went out from us but were not of us. The revelation of God has been revealed in its entirety in the person of Jesus Christ and there is no other name by which men can be saved. To deny the full divinity, authority, and sonship of Christ is to deny the Father who sent Him. Even today, many lies about the nature of Christ persist and successfully deceive many who claim to be children of God. The Word of God is the only source of Truth we must remain steadfast and hold to what we have learned from the beginning. It is the essential responsibility of the Father to train their children up in the Lord and teach them these Truths.

The Fellowship of Love and Light

June 9, 2024 • Pastor Kevin Canterbury • 1 John 1:5—2:11

God is light and in Him, there is no darkness at all. If we truly have fellowship with God, the old has gone and the new has come because Jesus blood cleanses us of all sin. We are no longer walking in darkness but in the light of His Perfect Love. We are, however, still prone to sin, and when we do, we can be confident that if we confess our sins, we will find forgiveness and mercy at His feet.

The Joy of Christian Fellowship

June 2, 2024 • Pastor Kevin Canterbury • 1 John 1:1–4

Why do we isolate and internalize our faith? Why do we find it easier to do good acts of service to those who are far from us and not those closest to us? We often speak of faith in terms of having a personal relationship with Christ, and while our relationship with Him has deeply personal connotations (He calls us by name) it is meant to be lived out in the fellowship of the Body. John writes his first letter so that those who read it may join with him in fellowship with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ, and in doing so, his joy may be made complete. We are not isolated members but part of the whole.

Vail Christian Church

Love Perfected in Fellowship