1 John 2:15-17

i don’t think there’s a passage of scripture that is more invigorating and potentially life-changing than the one i preached on yesterday!

it’s a serious mistake to assume that the “world” can be defined simply by listing off the things we are to avoid doing.  let’s be realistic…there are reasons god gave his people specific rules to keep and behaviors to avoid out in the desert…and there are also reasons that the apostle paul tells his readers to be very careful to avoid “rule-keeping” as a way of defining our spirituality.  it’s all about balance.

there are boat loads of potentially harmful behaviors:  dancing, watching movies or television, going to concerts, drinking, gambling, rock and roll music, reading novels, going to sporting events, owning a gun or a fancy car or a showcase home, playing the lottery, going on a cruise, looking at a billboard or a teen magazine, overeating, smoking and dipping, cussing, spending too much time on the internet or the phone or text messaging, driving over the speed limit, being a republican or a democrat…

everybody has a different opinion about the relative worldliness of each one of those issues…as well as an opinion about what god thinks about each one.  John is really brilliant in not making a list of worldly behaviors to avoid, but pointing us to the “heart” behind every sinful behavior of the world:  uncontrolled urges, wandering eyes, believing that what we have or do will change how god feels about us, and selfish pride that threatens to poison every good thought, good intention, and good choice we ever make.

how did this passage challenge your thinking?

1 John 2:12-14

this passage took on a whole new meaning for me this time around.  i have read and studied this letter for pretty much the entire time i’ve been a disciple of jesus, but this is the first time i’ve worked to see it from john’s point of view…an eighty year old follower of christ looking back on a life well-lived…a guy who was there from the beginning of the movement and someone with a perspective broad enough and deep enough to give sage advice and measured insight.  and his insight in this passage is priceless.

the life of following christ is a process.  the foundation we need to learn in our spiritual childhood is the depth and breadth of forgiveness.  without a profound grasp on the atonement of jesus, we will remain a spiritual baby…for a lifetime.

our spiritual young adulthood is all about moving to front line…motivated by the words of christ and the strength that comes with confidence in the power and truth of those words.  just like the wide-eyed, eager soldiers who head oversees to do battle with a faceless, deceptive enemy these days, so the young foot-soldier for the lord heads to the front line ready to do hand-to-hand combat with the evil one.

finally, the growth process runs it’s full course as we move to spiritual maturity…that place in life where we can be saturated with confidence that comes from a lifetime of seeing the power and promises of god come alive day after day.  priceless.

• are you moving forward in your spiritual journey?
• what kind of help do you need?
• are you experiencing the forgiveness of god daily?

one last thing…for those who asked and also for those who should have…here’s a video of the the guy who wrote the song and played the guitar on the background music during the slideshow on forgiveness.  make sure you check it out.  he’s absolutely amazing!

  

1 John 2:1-11

man, i don’t know about you, but i’m lovin’ going through 1 john!  i have read this letter pretty much my whole life, but this is the first time i have ever preached through it and i am seeing things that i have never seen before.  i hope that’s true for you.

the thing that stood out to me in this passage was how john writes an old command (love god…love others), but then tells how jesus has come along and re-shaped the command into a new one…a love that is defined by the life of jesus and a command for his followers to imitate that love.

jesus showed us how to love by the way he lived his life…how to serve others, to give unselfishly, to preach the gospel, to teach the principles of kingdom living, to forgive, to heal, to have compassion, to be moved to action.

in his death we see that love means to sacrifice, to have a purpose, to pay the price, to stay the course, to run into difficulty and not away from it, to obey god no matter what.

whoever claims to live in him must walk as jesus did.  yep.  that’s what he said.

so here’s a couple of questions for you to think about:

• do you consciously try to live like jesus?
• is that a realistic a realistic standard?
• what would happen if you really made this a priority?
• would life get better or would it mess up your life plans?
• would jesus live like you?
• is that a fair question?

what do you think?

1 John 1:5-10

what struck me the most about my study this week was the connection between how we walk (in the light) and our relationships to each other.  

i understand how important our behavior is to our connection with god.  sin separates.  darkness is where we hide hide and conceal and fool ourselves into believing that everything is all right.  what really stood out to me was the importance that john places on the fellowship between people.  it’s only a small line, but it packs power and definition.

when we are walking in darkness and self deception, our relationships suffer.  there can be no real fellowship.  there can be no genuine, real, honest friendship.  only a shell.  only a hollow, fake, protected, measured interaction.  yuck.

here’s some questions:

• why is there such resistance to getting into small groups for accountability in our spiritual lives?
• do we really need each other to help us grow deeper and stronger?  isn’t god enough?
• in this passage, is the confession of sin supposed to be to god or other people or both?
• is it easier to confess our darkness to others or to god?
• is it harder to accept god’s forgiveness or to forgive ourselves?  what’s the difference?
• what is the connection to the growth of the body and confession?
• do you feel like you are in good fellowship with god?  how about with the body?

let’s hear what you think…

here’s a link to the video i used in the sermon:  “FIX YOU”

 

1 John 1:1-4

i have two really distinct reflections on yesterday’s teaching…presentation and content.  from a presentation point of view, i think it’s much harder to be interesting and engaging in a verse by verse study.  it’s so easy to get stuck in simply information transfer.  here’s what the text says.  here’s what the text means.  making the text relevant and inspirational doesn’t come as easy as it does in a topical sermon.  i am anxious to work this out over the summer…to take creativity and application just as seriously as i do proper interpretation.

as for the content, i love the first four verses of this letter.  to realize that we have, in our hands, an eye-witness account of one who walked with jesus is absolutely astounding.  to know that john heard the words of jesus, saw the miracles firsthand, touched the scars with his own…this means everything to us.

to rest in the confidence that jesus was fully man and fully god is the foundation of our faith.  to know that jesus was tempted in every way that we are, but is powerful enough to save us, is central to orthodox christianity.  

a good way to get more out of this summer study is to read through the entire letter a few times each week.  it will keep continuity and give you a better perspective as we study the letter a little bit at a time.