John reminds us that God is love, and because He has loved us, we also ought to love one another. This is not a love based on feelings or emotions, but a self-sacrificing, servant-hearted love that we see most clearly in the person and work of Jesus. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus showed us what perfect love looks like. He loved people nobody expected Him to love, loved people up close and personal, loved people others had written off, loved people who thought they were too sinful to be loved, and loved people who failed Him. Perfect love moves toward people, makes contact, pursues restoration, and refuses to give up on those who need grace. Because Christ first loved us, we now have the opportunity to love others the same way. The way we love one another is the most honest picture of how we love God. Perfect love is not something we earn; it is something we receive from Jesus and then extend to others.

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Psalm 116 begins with a spoiler alert. David tells us where he landed on the other side of the trial: he loves the Lord because God heard him and turned His ear toward him. Even when it seemed like God was not moving, David kept praying, kept watching, and kept expecting. God showed up in David's darkest valley, and the reminder for us is simple: God hears you and God sees you. When David was surrounded by trouble and there seemed to be no way out, he realized his only hope was for God to meet him right where he was. Real trouble produced real prayer, and that desperation created a heart of dependence. His peace was not found in knowing the answers but in knowing the God who guards and protects His people. When God revealed Himself in the valley, it produced a response. David took up the cup of salvation, called upon the name of the Lord, and recommitted himself to what God had called him to do. Because Jesus has been committed to us, our commitment to Him cannot be persuaded by circumstances.

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In a world with increasingly more information, opinions, and beliefs, how do we know what is true? John calls us to test the spirits and discern the difference between the real and the counterfeit. Not everything that claims to be from God is from God, and not every version of Jesus is the real Jesus. John gives us a belief test and a behavior test. The belief test asks what we believe about Jesus. The real Jesus is Jesus the Christ who came in the flesh. A substitute Jesus, a customized Jesus, or a watered-down Jesus has no power to save. But John doesn't stop with what we know. He reminds us that belief changes behavior. What we say we believe should affect how we live, how we love, how we handle conflict, and the fruit that comes from our lives. Our behavior should reflect what our mouths declare is true. As followers of Jesus, we must know what we believe, why we believe it, and be equipped by God's Word to discern the counterfeit when we see it. The world needs believers whose lives point people to the real Jesus.

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John reminds us that God is light and God is love, and because we belong to Him, we should love one another with agape love, a deep affection that moves beyond words into action. The longer we follow Jesus, the more we will bear the character of our Father and love people the way He loves people. This is how we know love: Jesus willingly laid down His life for us. The cross is where we see love most clearly. To experience His grace is to be radically changed forever, and that love should overflow outward into the way we serve, give, and care for others. John challenges us not to just talk about love but to live it out. Love radically because you have been loved radically by God. Believe in Jesus and love people the way Jesus loves.

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This Mother’s Day, special guest speaker Jason Britt from Bethlehem Church reminded us that we are not staying in the valley — we are walking through it. Psalm 139 and Psalm 23 show us that God knows us fully, stays the same through every season of life, and walks with us through every mountain, valley, cave, and crown. The question “why” does not offend God. We can be honest with Him, feel deeply, and still trust Him at the same time. The Gospel is not our defense from pain; it is our rescue through pain. Psalm 139 points us to the presence of God, and Psalm 23 reminds us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. If you remove the Shepherd from Psalm 23, all that is left is us trying to carry everything alone. But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He walks with us through every valley.

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What does it really mean to have all that you need, especially when you are grieving? Psalm 23 reminds us that the Good Shepherd does not remove the valley, watch from a distance, or lift us above it. He walks through the valley with us. Grieving is the appropriate response to life not being as it is supposed to be, and grieving is a gift from God on the pathway to healing. God the Father comforts us in our grief. He comes alongside us in our affliction, quiets us with His love, and reminds us that He is with us in the valley. God the Son understands our grief. Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and wept with those who were hurting. He is the Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief, close enough to feel our pain and walk with us through it. God the Spirit intercedes as we grieve. On the days where we have no words, the Holy Spirit is already groaning on our behalf with groans too deep for words. We are never alone in the silence. We do not serve a God who watches from a safe distance. He gets all the way into the valley with us. Whatever the pit looks like for you today, you are not alone there. Jesus is our comfort, our hope, and the Good Shepherd who walks with us through grief.

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John writes to help us have confidence in who we are and what it means to be a child of God. He uses contrast to make it clear. Either you are a child of God or you are not. Either you are walking in righteousness or living in sin. This is how we know where we stand and how we can have confidence in Him. Before Christ, our lives move with the grain of the world. Sin feels natural and smooth. But when we become a Christian, the grain reverses. Now when we move back toward old patterns, it feels rough. There is friction. That friction is not shame. It is conviction. It is evidence that God has changed our desires from the inside out. This does not mean we will never sin again, but we will not keep on sinning as a pattern. There will be a tension. There will be a fight. We just cannot go in that direction anymore. God’s seed abides in us, and He is shaping us through the process of sanctification as we become more like Him. 

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Seasons of uncertainty can feel paralyzing, but John writes to move believers from not knowing to knowing, from uncertainty to assurance. His desire is that we would be confident in our salvation and the finished work of Jesus. If we get Jesus right, we can walk free and confident in Him. John makes it clear that talk is cheap. It’s not just about what we say, but how we live. If we truly know Jesus, not just know about Him but know Him by experience, there will be a desire to follow His commands. We won’t be perfect, but there will be conviction and a consistent pursuit of obedience. The assurance of our salvation is not based on how good we are but on a life that shows evidence. If we know Him, it will affect how we walk, how we love others, and how we respond to the world. There will be fruit. There will be growth. There will be a tension with sin, not a submission to it. The question is simple: do you know that you know Him? Are you growing, pursuing Him, and loving like He loves? Our confidence is not in what we have done, but in what Jesus has already done on the cross.

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If we get Jesus wrong, we get our lives wrong, and we will live wrong. John writes to remind us that Jesus is not partly God or just a great teacher. He is fully God and fully man. He has always been and always will be, and what we do with Jesus is the most important thing for us to get right in life. Jesus is not a light. He is the Light. There is a difference between saying we know Him and actually walking with Him. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we are not living in the truth. But when we walk in the Light, we have fellowship with God and with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. The Christian life is not about perfectionism but a consistent pattern of pursuing holiness. Sin is a big deal, but confession is the bridge from darkness to light. When we confess, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. Will you believe, and will you walk in the Light?

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Today we gather to acknowledge and celebrate the greatest victory in history. Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus did the impossible. He beat death. This is the victory that has brought people from all backgrounds together, and it is still the victory we are talking about today. This is more than an acknowledgment. God wants to transform our acknowledgment into a celebration. Through faith in Jesus, anyone can experience this victory. The resurrection is not just about eternal life later. It is the happy beginning. It is new life now. The resurrection is not just a past event to remember. It is a current reality to live in. We do not fight for victory. We fight from victory. The victory is still yours. The question is, do you believe this?

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