1 John

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Renovating our Relationships

February 12, 2023 | 1 John 4:7-21 | discipleship, relationships

All along, we are being shaped by these various relationships. We seek acceptance, but we are so bent and broken by sin, that we often experience rejection and in like manner, cause others to feel rejected by us. This is the human condition apart from God. We are all deeply wounded relationally. We are hurt. And hurt people, hurt people.

We’re relationally broken and only a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ can heal us and renovate our relationships. And what is the chief way that God moves to heal us? Love. In the apostle John’s first letter, he wrote to encourage believers to let the love of God heal and renovate their relationships with Him and with others. We can let the love of God renovate our relationships.

Be Accepted

August 28, 2022 | 1 John 1:3-2:2

What’s your response when you sin? Do you make excuses and say, “Everybody’s doing it”? Or do you struggle with guilt and shame, feeling distant from God? And what do you do about repetitive sin areas? You know those sins that you’ve confessed to God, but you still struggle to overcome? So now you’re either discouraged or you’ve given up and started doubting your faith? And what about when you sin against a family member or friend? In other words, you’ve offended them in some way. How do you handle that? Do know how to reconcile with them, giving and receiving forgiveness so that fellowship is restored. So that you feel accepted again?

This is what we’re considering today from the apostle John. How to experience God’s acceptance. In the apostle John’s first epistle, he taught believers how to experience God’s forgiveness and acceptance. We can learn to experience God’s forgiveness and acceptance.

Blessed Assurance

May 8, 2022 | 1 John 5:11-15 | hymns

The lyrics to the hymn, Blessed Assurance, were written by Francis Jane Crosby, or as she was commonly known, Fanny Crosby. The tune was written by her friend, Phoebe Knapp. Fanny Crosby was an American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. She was a prolific hymnist, writing more than 8,000 hymns. She is also known for her teaching and her rescue mission work in NYC. By the end of the 19th century, she was a household name. Crosby was known as the “Queen of Gospel Song Writers.”

Do you know the blessed assurance of belonging to Jesus? Are you sure of your status with God? Do you have confidence that you’ll spend eternity in heaven? To be “assured” of something means “to be certain, to be confident of a thing.” It means to feel “secure” that what God has promised in Jesus is truly yours. Do know this blessed assurance today?

Belong

January 9, 2022 | 1 John 5:11-15 | discipleship

2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to “GO and MAKE DISCIPLES” and He has called His disciples, His church, to be on the move ever since. So the church is not a place, it’s a people. The church is not a monument, it’s a movement!

If someone asks, where’s your church? Let’s learn to answer with another question, “When? Because it depends on the time and day of the week.” For the church gathers for strengthening and scatters for service. It gathers for worship and scatters for witness. It gathers in praise and scatters in power. The church gathers in fellowship and scatters in faith as the body of Christ in this world. The church is on the move. So, do you want to belong to this Jesus following, disciple-making movement?

Following Christ’s Commands

July 9, 2017 | 1 John 2:3-6

Many in the church today falsely think they are Christians when in fact, they are not. They have prayed the prayer, but they have not truly come to faith in Jesus, because their lives are unchanged. So, how can we be sure?
In the apostle John’s first letter, he wrote to give believers confident assurance of their salvation in Jesus Christ. We can have confident assurance of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Receiving Christ’s Love

July 2, 2017 | 1 John 4:13-21

Pastor Gary continued our sermon series called “So You Think You’re a Christian?”. Once we confess our mess and our need for a savior, the second movement of the gospel in our lives is receiving Christ’s love. Do you have a hard time forgiving yourself or others? Do you find yourself working really hard to try and measure up? Are you a perfectionist that has a hard time understanding that God loves you the way you are? Receiving Christ’s love is necessary to be a mature, growing Christian.

Resolved

January 1, 2017 | 1 John 2:7-17 | New Years

Are you one of the 45% of Americans who make New Year’s Resolutions each year? Check out our New Year’s Day sermon for 2017 to learn how to view resolutions from an eternal perspective.

Be Filled

November 8, 2015 | 1 John 4:11-18 | discipleship, holy spirit

Jesus promised that those who received Him would experience abundant life, full and overflowing. Are you experiencing this life today? Or do you ever feel empty and powerless? Do you dream of living a life of fulfillment, a life filled with passion and purpose? In the apostle John’s first letter, he told his hearers that they could abide in Christ by being continually filled with His Spirit. We can experience the abiding life of Christ within us by being continually filled with His Spirit.

Be Forgiven

November 1, 2015 | 1 John 1:5-2:2 | discipleship

Do you ever feel distant from God? Does the shame and guilt of sin ever make you feel this distance? As if God is far away? Who do you think moved? What do we do as Christians when we sin? In the apostle John’s first letter, he told his hearers that they could know and experience God’s ongoing forgiveness as those who were adopted into His family. We can know and experience God’s ongoing forgiveness in our lives.

Be Sure

October 25, 2015 | 1 John 5:11-15 | assurance, discipleship

Do you have proof that you are a citizen of heaven? Do you have confidence that you are a citizen of God’s Kingdom? Many people struggle with doubts in this area. Wouldn’t you like to be sure? In the apostle John’s first letter, he told his hearers that they could have assurance of salvation by receiving and believing in Christ Jesus. We can be sure of our salvation by receiving and trusting in Christ Jesus.