Category: Faith

1 John 5:1-3 (NRSVUE)
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,  

“Our faith in the character of God is the doorway that opens up our lives toward God. The result of faith is our relationship with God as His children. John teaches that this relationship is really a fourfold relationship. There is an upward vertical relationship toward God as our Lord. There is the inner self-understanding that the believer has toward himself or herself, the knowledge that he or she is a child of God. There is the love that the believer has toward the persons around his or her life. The persons closest to us are those who share our relationship with God, and the love flows beyond that inner circle of the koinonia toward the world around the fellowship. There is, finally, the relationship of our life to the whole created order around us.” [Earl F. Palmer and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation, vol. 35 of The Preacher’s Commentary Series.]

Prayer: Father, we open the doorway of our hearts as we trust you.  We put our faith in your Son, Jesus Christ.  May we be drawn deeply in relationship with you.  May others be drawn toward this relationship with the fellowship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Even Still and Even So” by Matt Redman (click here).

-AS

Let us proclaim aloud the Apostles’ Creed and this passage together,

Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
And born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the everlasting life.
Amen.

1 John 4:4 (NIV)
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Prayer:  Father, thank you for the faith you’ve given us. We believe the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.  May you receive all the glory in our lives and in our churches!  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Raised to Life” by Elevation Worship (click here). 

-AS

1 John 5:4-5 (NRSVUE)
4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5 Who is it who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 4:1a (NIV)
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

“…he is referring not only to the human beings who, as in verse 1, have been ‘fathered by God’, but to that which results from their life and work: the things they do, as well as the people they are.” [Tom Wright. Early Christian Letters for Everyone: James, Peter, John and Judah, For Everyone Bible Study Guides.]

“In verse 4, the Greek is literally ‘everything that’ is born of God conquers the world. We can look at all of life through this lens.  Our victory in Christ is to bleed into all areas of our life. All we touch and influence in life as believers in Jesus can conquer the world.  To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to invite God’s victory into the realm of friends, families, our workplaces, our cities and beyond. Our faith has the power to lead to that broader blessing.” [Adapted from P. Ed’s message.]

Prayer: Father, we step into the victory of Jesus Christ in a deeper way. May our life, our family, our work, our ministries, and our cities, be “born of God.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Overcome” by Elevation Worship (click here).

-AS

1 John 5:4-5 (NRSVUE)
4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5 Who is it who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

To have faith, is to have the victory ALREADY.

“While faith has already overcome the world by its very existence, it produces its fruit in our lives over time. The love that faith in Jesus brings may not instantly appear, like a magic trick. Faith grows love, just as it grows obedience, prayer, and knowledge of God. In this sense, our overcoming has begun but is not complete. While John can say that our faith has overcome the world, our faith-driven lives are in the process of overcoming. The reality of our Christian experience is catching up to the already-victorious reality of our faith. Our faith in Jesus brings about our new birth into God’s family, and we are growing up into the family likeness like infants learning to walk.

Overcoming is assured because we are in God’s family. We do not belong to the world any longer, and though we may walk like infants, our belonging to the family of God is fully determinative. It determines our ultimate allegiance and our ultimate destiny. We are with him; we are not with the world. No, we overcome the world.” [Constantine R. Campbell, 1, 2 & 3 John, ed. Scot McKnight, The Story of God Bible Commentary.]

Prayer: Father, thank you for the victory we already have that overcomes the world. May every part of our lives catch up to the already-victorious reality of our faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Believe For It”  by CeCe Winans (click here).

-AS

Let us read aloud these passages together,

John 12:31 (NLT)
31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.

John 16:33 (NIV)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

1 John 5:4-5 (NRSVUE)
4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5 Who is it who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

“The victory that conquers the world is the saving death of Jesus. And those who by faith cling on to the God who is made known personally in and as the Jesus who died on the cross—they share that victory, that conquest of ‘the world.'” [Tom Wright. Early Christian Letters for Everyone: James, Peter, John and Judah, For Everyone Bible Study Guides.]

Prayer: Jesus, you have overcome the world. We place our faith in your life, death, resurrection and ascension. We live by faith sharing in your victory on the cross and the salvation life we have in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “King Jesus” by Matt Redman (click here).

-AS