Fall 2018 Sermon Series based on 1 John
This Is How We Know
Summary: People need assurance. We need to know that we are on the right track, that we are doing the right things, that there is a God who has not abandoned us. Near the end of the Bible we find a short sermon of profound consequence. It has come to be called 1 John. There is a short phrase repeatedly echoing through the pages of this epistle. Each time it begins with these words, “This is how we know.” In an age where non-Christians are not sure if they want to be Christian and where Christians are not sure how to be Christian, 1 John offers guidance. God loves us and calls us to live in that love. Some may ask, “How do we know?” 1 John answers, “This is how we know.”
October 7
Theme: God is Light
Text: 1 John 1:1-10 and John 8:12-20
Focus: 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
October 14
Theme: How We Know God
Text: 1 John 2:1-14 and John 10:1-10
Focus: 1 John 2:5 This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.
October 21
Theme: How We Know God’s Truth
Text: 1 John 2:15-29 and John 10:11-21
Focus: 1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
October 28
Theme: How We Know God’s Love
Text: 1 John 3:1-10 and John 13:1-11
Focus: 1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
November 4 All Saints Sunday
Theme: How We Know How to Live
Text: 1 John 3:11-24 and John 15:1-17
Focus: 1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
November 11 Bible Presentation Sunday
Theme: How We Know How Not to Live
Text: 1 John 4:1-6 and John 14:1-14
Focus: 1 John 4:2-3 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.
November 18 Consecration Sunday
Theme: God is Love
Text: 1 John 4:7-21 and John 6:1-15
Focus: 1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
November 25
Theme: God is Life
Text: 1 John 5:1-12 and John 11:17-26
Focus: 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
