Matt Pierson, Associate Pastor
The Letters of John: That You May Know…
The Message of 1 John:
God wants you to rejoice in the knowledge of His love for you, which has been displayed vividly in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:1-10
- We Behold
- We Believe
- We Belong
“The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God’s Word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life.”
– Henri J.M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus
“I have been seized by the power of a great affection.”
– Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up and Burnt Out
Discussion Questions
- God loves us not because of what we accomplish…how do you remind yourself that nothing of your eternal salvation is earned or deserved?
- Sin is global (out there), but also personal (inside us). Why do we have a difficult time confessing our sins to God or even admitting our sins and brokenness to those we love the most?
- How would you explain what Biblical grace means to someone unfamiliar with Christianity?
- What are some ways in which your life is pointing others to Christ…not perfectly, but faithfully?
“So the coming of Christ, culminating in His cross, spells God’s total triumph over all the hostile forces which have tied us in knots and bound us in chains of sin which we cannot loose. Christ not only sets the captives free, but destroys the captor. He shared our humanity ‘so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.’”
– David Jackman, The Bible Speaks Today
“I remind myself regularly of the three tenses of salvation that I learned when I was a young Christian. By grace I have been saved from the penalty of sin. By grace I am being saved from the power of sin. By grace I will one day be saved from the presence of sin.”
– Rico Tice, Faithful Leaders and the Things That Matter Most
“The eternal everlasting God has become our Father and the moment we realize that, it transforms everything.”
– Martin Lloyd-Jones
“The life we live reveals the source from which we draw our life.”
– Leon Morris, The New Bible Commentary
- Our belief influences our behavior.
- Our behavior reveals our core beliefs.
“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:49
“In my lifelong study of the Bible, I have looked for an overarching theme, a summary statement of what the whole sprawling book is about. I have settled on this: ‘God gets his family back.’”
– Philip Yancey