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Today’s Key Passage: 1 John 1:3-4
Theme: Jesus Christ is:
Messiah // Son of God // Light // Love

Central Messaging True believers will live a life that demonstrates God as Light and Love. How: Fellowship with God the Father, through His Son Jesus…empowered by the Spirit…

Accountable Questions From 1, 2, 3 John:
*Am I living all-in as a Christian or half-hearted?
*Do I know what I believe and understand who Jesus is?
*What areas of my life are in the light of God’s Truth / darkness?
*What actions in my life are motivated by love and which ones by hate?
*What do I yield to more: God’s Truth or my truth?

Where do I fit in the context of Biblical relationship and accountability?
1. I attend here but I don’t have relationship and accountability.
2. I submit myself to relationship and accountability at this church.
3. I submit myself to relationship and accountability here and I’m in a group.
4. I have relationship, accountability, I’m in a group and I serve here using the gifts God has given me.
5. I’m visiting and have relationship and accountability at another church.
6. I don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ

1 John 1:3-4 'We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.’

Question / Tension #1:
Who am I listening to and who is listening to me?

1 John 2:15-17 'Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.'

1 John 2:7-9 'Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.'

Question / Tension #2:
Do I prioritize others over my own needs/desires?

1 John 3:9-10 'Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.'

Question / Tension #3
Is there any area of my life that I haven’t confessed and repented of and I’ve settled into a practice of sinning?

1 John 4:2-6 'This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.'

Question / Tension #4
Are there any of my beliefs that don’t line up with Scripture? Have I allowed pop-culture to influence my view of God’s Word and Jesus?

1 John 5:21 'Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.’

Question / Tension #5
Is there any thing or person that has that has taken your focus away from God? Is there a person or thing that you long for, admire, love or revere more than God?

2 John 1:12 'I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.

Question / Tension #6
Who do I value so much in my life, that I’m willing to set aside the convenience of a text or social media post…and take my time to sit with them and have an honest, accountable conversation?

3 John 1:1-4 'This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.’

GIVE US ONE YEAR OF YOUR LIFE.

1 PETER 1:17 // MSG

You call out to God for help and He helps - He’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, He’s also a responsible Father and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.