MHBC Sunday Sermons

In 1 John 4:7–5:4, John circles back to the theme of love, and we see five things about God’s love: it is at the heart of the gospel, it is the evidence of genuine faith, it validates our witness to a watching world, it is the foundation of our assurance, and it is the motivation for obedience. Because God loved us first, we no longer relate to Him out of fear, and love for Him and for His children is how we overcome the world.

In 1 John 4:1–6, John calls us to be discerning: do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The test is who they say Jesus is, since every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, while false teachers speak as from the world and the world listens to them. We can stand firm because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

Love for the brothers is evidence of genuine faith. Hatred of a brother is incompatible with walking in the light and reveals a heart still in darkness.

The new birth naturally leads to a life of growing righteousness. Believers live as foreigners in this world, yet with the settled confidence of those who know they belong to God.

In 1 John 2:5–27, John describes three kinds of people: those whose obedience is driven by love for God, those whose disobedience is driven by love of the world, and those who abandon the faith and move into opposition. Examining our own motives brings assurance to some and conviction to others, and it is the Spirit pressing God’s truth into our hearts that keeps us abiding in Him and pressing on.

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Honest confession of sin, and Jesus Christ the righteous as our advocate, are the path to genuine fellowship with God and with one another.

In 1 John, John opens by pointing to the real, historical Jesus whom the apostles heard, saw, and touched. In a rapidly shifting culture, the church must stay anchored in that living Word to remain salt and light.

In Jonah 4, the prophet’s anger over Nineveh’s repentance reveals misplaced affections. God confronts his hard heart and shows that true compassion flows from His character, not our preferences.

Even Nineveh, one of history’s most violent cities, wasn’t beyond the reach of God’s grace. In Jonah 3, we see how that grace is patient, broad, persistent, and powerful, and how understanding it shapes the way we worship, serve, and share the gospel with a world that desperately needs it.

While some missed the meaning of the first Christmas, others clearly understood it. Mary and Joseph, ordinary people of righteous character, the socially outcast shepherds, and the angels all heard from God, believed His word, and responded in faith—showing us that Jesus came for both the ordinary and the outcast.