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Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth. This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things. (1 John 3:18-20) Pastor John’s Notes: When we love others sacrificially, we know that we belong to God. We know this because our love has been manifest in…

If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18) Pastor John’s Notes: God intends for all of his children to grow spiritually. Yet troubles often come on us that distract us from spiritual things. Christ’s body of believers is to care for itself. When one of…

This week we will look at the Love of Self-Sacrifice demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ. This same love is what we are called upon to show our brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16) Pastor John’s Notes: There are two parts to this verse; both of them bear beauty,…

You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. (1 John 3:5) Pastor John’s Notes: If you want to know what holy living looks like, you need only look at Jesus Christ. In an earlier post, we learned that sin is lawlessness. It is the desire to throw off the patterns of living that God has designed for the human race. Sin is not only harmful action, but it…

And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:3-4) Pastor John’s Notes: People are living in one of two directions. Either we are living for God, or we are living for ourselves. There is no middle ground. We are children of God when we put our hope in Jesus Christ and seek after holiness. We are living for ourselves when we…

And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. That is, the hope of Jesus’ return. (1 John 3:3) Pastor John’s Notes: Jesus Christ has promised he will return, and soon. So what is our response? Can we honestly say that we would celebrate his immediate return? If we secretly hope that Jesus’ return would be delayed then we are still in love with the world. In contrast, if we would be happy for…

Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) Pastor John’s Notes: Little children don’t stay little for long. They soon grow up, maturing from children into young adults. Now we are the children of God, but soon we will develop into something more. In fact, we are already maturing.…

See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. (1 John 3:1) Pastor John’s Notes: Our new identity as the children of God sets us at odds with the world. When we were friends with the world, all was well from a human point of view. We floated along with the culture and felt no inner resistance…

See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! (1 John 3:1) Pastor John’s Notes: This week we will begin a study in First John and its theme of love. Love is the power that binds us to God and to each other. It is a spiritual power that seeks after another person’s good over the good of one’s self. Spiritual love begins with God’s love for us, which is like…

This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. (1 John 5:4) Pastor John’s Notes: Faith is trust in God. It is not something we derive from our own strength or reasoning, but faith is a spiritual gift God gives to those who love him. Faith holds us steadfast to God’s purposes. Faith enables us to remain obedient even when everything seems to be going the wrong way. If we hold onto our faith, God will bring us…