1 John 4:7-21 teaches that God is love by nature, and everyone who truly loves others is born of God and knows Him, while those who do not love do not know God. God's love was revealed through sending His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins—not because we loved Him first, but because He loved us first. Therefore, believers must love one another, as this perfect love casts out fear, perfects us, and proves our abiding in God; anyone who claims to love God yet hates their brother is a liar, for loving the visible brother is essential to loving the unseen God.

We return to the book of 1 John this week, looking at the topic of false teaching. It instructs believers to test every spirit and teacher to ensure they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, distinguishing the Spirit of God from the spirit of the Antichrist. It assures Christians that they have overcome false teachers because the Spirit within them is greater than the spirit of error in the world. 

In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, King Jehoshaphat and Judah face a vast invading army, respond with national fasting, humble corporate prayer, and complete dependence on God, who promises through a prophet that the battle belongs to Him. As the people march out singing praises to the Lord, He causes the enemy forces to destroy one another, granting Judah a complete victory without fighting, demonstrating that spiritual warfare is won through prayer, faith, worship, and trusting God rather than human strength.

In 1 Kings 8:22-30, King Solomon stands before the altar and the assembly of Israel to dedicate the newly built temple, praising God as unmatched in heaven and earth for faithfully keeping His covenant and promises to David. He acknowledges that even the highest heavens cannot contain God, yet he asks the Lord to hear prayers directed toward the temple, keep His eyes open upon it day and night, and forgive the sins of His people Israel when they pray from there.

Pastor Mike begins a look at the topic of prayer to begin 2026, using Ephesians 3 as the core text in this week's message.

In 1 John 3:11-24, the apostle emphasizes that the core message from the beginning of the Christian faith is to love one another, contrasting this with Cain's hatred and murder of his brother as an example of evil. True love is demonstrated not merely in words but in sacrificial actions, as exemplified by Jesus laying down His life for us, and we ought to help brothers and sisters in need. By loving in this way and keeping God's commands—to believe in Jesus Christ and love one another—we abide in Him, gain assurance before God, and know His presence through the Holy Spirit He has given us.

This week Pastor Mike explores 1 John 3:1-10, where the apostle John marvels at the extravagant love the Father has lavished on us, calling us His children—and that is truly what we are! He reminds us of our future hope: when Christ appears, we will be like Him. This transforms our lives, purifying us as we abstain from sin, for no one born of God continues in it. True children of God are marked by practicing righteousness and loving one another, distinguishing them from those who belong to the devil. A powerful call to live out our divine identity!

This scripture provides a warning to believers that it is the last hour, marked by the appearance of many antichrists—false teachers who departed from the church and deny that Jesus is the Christ—while urging true Christians to abide in Him and the truth they received from the beginning, empowered by the Holy Spirit's anointing, so they may have confidence at His return and demonstrate their new birth through practicing righteousness.

John urges believers to live out the old-yet-new commandment to love one another as proof of walking in the light, encourages every stage of faith for having known and overcome through Christ, and warns them not to love the fleeting world or its lusts and pride, because only the one who does the will of God abides forever.

The eleven disciples go to a mountain in Galilee where they see the risen Jesus, worship him despite some doubts, and receive his Great Commission to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey his commands, with the assurance that he is with them always to the end of the age.