Wouldn’t be nice if every time darkness and temptation was approaching us, we would hear some ominous music playing in the background to warn us? Wouldn’t be awesome to have John Williams composing the soundtrack of our lives? As awesome as that would be, it’s a fantasy—just like the Skywalker saga that we find in the mythical Star Wars universe. The reality is that darkness and evil lurk around every corner and we are seldom aware until it is too late! As we’ll discover today, the power of darkness resides in us—in the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. So as we continue our study in 1 John this morning, we’re going to be focusing on power of darkness and the promise of God to overcome the power of darkness in our lives.
In the movie, The Princess Bride, Westley (the “Farm Boy”) proves his love to Princess Buttercup by being willing to do anything and everything that she commanded him to do. But it wasn’t just that he did what she told him, it was about the way that he did it. It was all about his attitude! As we move on to the next section of our study of 1 John, we find that God views obedience as a display of our love toward Hiim.
Just because I have trusted in Christ as my Savior doesn’t mean that I never sin again or need to repent and ask forgiveness. Admitting that you have sin in your life, repenting of that sin, and accepting God’s forgiveness for that sin is an ongoing (never-ending) process in the mortal life of a believer which should cause us to think, speak and act more and more like Jesus every day.
In this message, we will introduce the first section of 1 John—“God is Light”—and then over the next several weeks, we will look at five different words of encouragement from John about how we should live our lives as a result. While John’s writing is very theological in nature, the goal of his writing is for transformation in the lives of people. Gary Burge notes, “Truly acknowledging the reality of God results in changed living… [John’s] point initially is not to dispute doctrine. Instead, he wants to cultivate discipleship that knows how to ‘live by faith.’”
This morning, we are starting a new study through the book of First John. While relatively short—just over 100 verses in total—this booklet is packed full of deep theological truths and compelling lessons on how to live the life that God created us to live. The title of our sermon series in 1 John is: “Light – Love – Life: Living the Life God Created You to Live.” Over the next three months, we will be walking through the text of this little book looking for encouragement during this time of isolation.
There is a way of thinking that has become more and more popular during my lifetime. It’s hard to sum up this point of view with just one word, or even a few words, without being offensive to someone. Truth is no longer considered absolute, but relative, which gives individuals the perceived right to choose what they believe and what they do not. People all over the world will say that there are many more paths to God than Christianity. But I ask you today, is there any other way?
In the wake of Pastor Wade’s recent eye surgery, we are thankful to welcome Bro. Donny Parrish, Executive Director of Lifeword Media Ministries, as our guest speaker. For more information about Donny or Lifeword, please check out the PDF above.
God uses circumstances and situations to mold his children into the people he has designed them to be. Looking at the final letter from Jesus in this series, we learn what complacency looks like and how to identify it in ourselves and our churches. With the global health crisis from COVID-19, we are encouraged by the Word to embrace the mission we’ve been called to.
We have made our way through the first five cities of the province of Asia and in this message we will be studying the church at Philadelphia. The title of this message is “Accessing God’s Open Door” because our passage this morning tells us about an open door that no man can shut that has been opened by God for them. In light of all the craziness that is happening as a result of the Coronavirus, we must ask ourselves: “What open doors has God placed before us?” and “Are we willing to walk through them?”
As we continue our study through the seven churches of the Revelation, I want us to enter this study of the fourth letter to the church of Thyatira with a clear understanding of what the Bible is and how we are to respond to it. We cannot twist its words, nor ignore the parts that do not appeal to us. Just like the church in Thyatira, we must learn to call sin what it is… SIN.