Sermon Discussion Questions 

1) Deception is a real danger for all of us - no less so now than when John wrote (2:18-19, 2:26). Jesus said that the deception in the last days will be so powerful as to "lead astray, if possible, the elect.” Our Lord concludes: "But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand,” (Mark 13:22- 23). Have you yourself ever fallen into deep deception? Has a friend or family member fallen so far as to even walk away from faith? How has that affected you? 

2) The lie of the antichrist is fundamentally a denial of Jesus Christ. That is to say, it denies that Jesus of Nazareth - born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate - is the eternal Son of God, the Holy One (as Peter confesses in John 6:69). How does the American gospel of 'upward mobility' deny Jesus’ self-emptying incarnation and death (see Phil.2:1-8)? 

3) How does the gospel word “abide” in us now (see 2:14)? How do we follow John’s command to “let that which you heard from the beginning abide” or continue to "dwell” in us (2:24)?