Well, I always knew this day would come. It is with deep sadness that I have to announce that our beloved pastor of the past eight years, Pastor Joshua is leaving us. Join me for a real talk as I process all the emotions. Maybe this will be helpful to you if you are in this season, or bookmark it for the future in case your church finds itself in this situation. It's raw, it's emotional, but it's real, and I'm not going to shy away from it. 

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Pastor Search | In view of a call | Shepherding a church | Church Transition | Unity in Transition | Kingdom Work | 

Alright, Walkies. Here is the long overdue conclusion to our study of 1 John, with a double dose from chapters 4 & 5. 

I did have to trim about 20 minutes off the final recording just to keep it a manageable length, so I left a little bit on the table, but a good part of on of the trims is a bonus episode I am thinking about for the summer hiatus months.

These two final chapters are all about assurance and confidence for the believer abiding in Christ. How can we be sure? How can we be sure God abides with us? How can we be confident for the day of judgement? How can we be sure that we have achieved victory over the world? Oh John has some powerful words of assurance and unrefutable testimonies that we can turn to. 

I hope this episode blesses you.

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1 John 4 | 1 John 5 | the origin of love | 3 tests of assurance | God is love | testimony of water | testimony of blood | testimony of the Holy Spirit | confidence in prayer | 

OK, chapter 3 is finally here. My sincere apologies again for being a week late. I'm determined to get us back on track.

We see in this chapter that John is echoing the words of Jesus he heard spoken as a young follower. So when his audience asks "what gospel do we follow," John can point them back to the source, Jesus himself. 

We revisit some familiar themes such as abiding, the old/new commandment, and the practice of righteousness.

John also introduces a new theme of being called children of God, and as a child of God, we are marked with genetic markers of our Father. John says this is a lavish love that God has bestowed on us, and it's a love not of this earth. This unique and matchless love should fill us with confidence as we look forward the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as we approach our Father in prayer.

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1 John 3 | Children of God | Sin and Lawlessness | Born of God | Abide | Murder vs Sacrifice | 

So we find ourselves crossing over the half way point of 1 John today as we begin chapter 3. We're actually reading from 1 John 2:28-29, then all of chapter 3, so don't miss those first two verses!!

Do you have your colored pens and highlighters ready? Your text should be awash with color if you are doing this exercise of marking repeated words, phrases and ideas. 

We can easily divide this weeks text into two main sections: 2:28-3:10, then 3:11 - 3:24. Can you identify the main theme from each section? Why would you choose this theme?

Once again John uses the word "KNOW" extensively in this passage. We talked about his two uses of the word in the last episode. Pay attention this week to see which way he is using it again.  

By now you should be able to identify John's three tests. (Well, can you???) As you read through this text, take note of which test John is writing about. Remember, John layers these teachings like a triple chocolate cake!

Take note of John's use of contasts to make these tests (or assurances) real practical. Once you can identify them, John basically gives common sense examples as markers of believers and unbelivers.

Finally, what word does John use in 2:28 and 3:21 to bookend this section. Is this a word you would readily use to describe your position with God? Look up the following verses: 

Ephesians 5:27    

Colossians 1;22

1 Thessalonians 5:23

How do these verses relate to John's word, and do they help you as you think about your position to the word?

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So this week, the apostle John very tenderly yet very earnestly writes to his audience with discussion on some heavy weight contenders for theological doctrines: our advocate in Jesus, tests of obedience and love, levels of spiritual growth, temptations from the world, and false teachers, whom John comes right out and calls antichrists. 

I think as these "tests" begin to take shape, we also see how they are meant to be assurances to the faithful followers of Jesus. John isn't writing to scare people, he's writing to give them real assurance when their faith has been shaken.

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1 John 2 | Jesus is our advocate | Jesus is our propitiation | assurance | fellowship | test of obedience | test of love | new commandment | spiritual growth | spiritual maturity | desires of the flesh | desires of the eyes | the pride of life | antichrist | antichrists

We are continuing out study of John's longer epistle this week as we read chapter 2. Your reading time is right around 4 1\2 minutes.

Last week, we picked up a thread where John begins to indentify contrasts between people who walk in the light of Christ, and those who walk in darkness.  John will continue to blend this thread into the tapestry this week, as he points out more differences in these two groups. 

Here are some things for you to think about and look for as you read:

1) Remember John's overall message in this epistle is 3 tests or assurances for people to apply to their lives in order to have assurance they have eternal life. Always try to keep that in the forefront of your mind as you read.

2) Look for and mark or highlight any repeated words, phrases or ideas.

3) Try to pick out those contrasts John lays down between the two groups of people. 

4) How does John describe Jesus' ongoing role in a believer's life? What is Jesus doing for us today?

5) In the last episode, we talked about how Jesus said "eternal life was knowing the Father and the Son. How does John say this week, that "we know we have come to know him?"

7) What is the "old - new" commandment John is talking about in vs 7-11?

8) What does John have to say about the world? Can you think of examples in each category of   ** desires of the flesh  **  desires of the eyes  **  the pride of life  **?

9) How does John define antichrists in this chapter? Who are these antichrists specifically? Does this surprise you?

10) If the people are asking "What gospel do we follow?" What advice or assurance does John offer them in verse 24? Which test is this?

That's enough to get you started!  Come back next week for the big discussion.

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1 John chapter 2 | Walking in light | Walking in darkness | John's three tests of assurance | Test of doctrine, morality, love | New/Old commandment | antichrists

Well, my apologies for being a week late with this episode. You'll have to listen for my explanation, and I do hope you will forgive me, you know, in the spirit of fellowship.

John opens his sermon this week with a basic fundamental teaching of Christian doctrine. This is one we don't have any wiggle room on: Jesus is fully God and fully man. Can we explain it perfectly? Nope. Do we understand it fully? Probably not. Is it essential that we believe it? Absolutely! The Eternal Life who was with God the Father, became flesh and brought his light into the darkness of the world. Life and Light. 

John builds a framework for his audience to be assured of their salvation, and it begins with the belief that Jesus is fully God and fully man, and he came in the flesh to live a perfect life and stand in our place as a punishment for sin.

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1 John | Three Tests of 1 John | Fellowship | Eternal Life | Walking in Light | 

If you're just now joining us because you were looking for a Bible Study podcast on 1-2-3 John, you're in the right place, and we are so thankful you are here. But...let me give you a little heads up - we started our study on John's Epistles a little unconventionally,  and we've already covered 3rd John and 2nd John respectively. So it may be worth your while to go back and listen to our introduction episode, and then the discussions on 3rd and 2nd John to catch you up!

Now, for those of you who have been waiting for us to arrive at 1st John, today is your day! We are reading the 1st chapter of 1st John this week. Your reading time is 1:30, so actually you have time to read the entire scroll (all 5 chapters of 1st John), which will only take you about 16 minutes.  Let me challenge you to do that at least two times this week - because let's not forget, the epistle was written as one long letter on one scroll. It is meant to be read all in one seating.

Then as you begin to focus in on chapter 1, here is an excercize for you to do, and some things for you to look for, make note of, and think about as you read:

1) With colored pens/pencils/highlighters, mark any repeated words, phrases or ideas. 

2) Go back and read the gospel of John, 1:1-5. What similarities to you see with these verses and the opening verses of John's epistle here?

3) How does John describe his interaction with Jesus in verses 1-3, and why was it important for him to establish this interaction?

4) How does John develop the theme of fellowship in this chapter?

5) Look for contrasting themes in vs 5-10. (Hint, there are TWO DIFFERENT sets of contrasts!) Why do you think John uses these contrasts as a teaching tool?

6) What is John's purpose for writing this letter? What specific theme is he referring to? (Hint: it's the exact same thing we talked about last week.)

7) What all does this chapter teach us about Jesus?

I could go on and on...but this will get you started and give you a good foundation for the discussion. I will meet you right back here next week for the longer discussion!

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1 John | Johannine Epistles | Letter of 1st John | John's Testimony 

Ahhhh, 2nd John...a quick introduction to the big letter of 1st John. If it were written today, it might include a list of bullet points like this:

John lays the foundation with these themes and gives us a little sampling of what's coming in his longer letter, but this letter is still important. It's a starting point and a guiding light that will lead the way into deeper teaching. 

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2nd John | Johannine Epistles | Truth and Love | Love One Another | False Teachers | Elect Lady and Her Children | Love in Truth | Walking in Truth  

We're back with our prepisode for our 2nd week in the Johannine Epistiles. This week we are looking specifically at 2nd John.

What do you notice that is similar to 3rd John that we read last week? What do you notice that is different?

If we said the overall theme last week is TRUTH...what do you think the overall theme this week is?

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Letter of 2 John | 2nd John | Truth and Love | False Teachers |