Letters from John and Jude

1 John

• Jesus is Eternal Life – 1 John 1:1-2 (8/1/2023) - Eternal life is more than duration or quality of life. It is a person, Jesus. And all who are in Christ will experience his eternal life.
• To Make Our Joy Complete – 1 John 1:3-4 (9/6/2022) - John proclaimed what he knew about Christ in order to have fellowship with new believers and to make his joy complete.
• Walk in the Light, As He Is in the Light – 1 John 1:7 (10/2/2017) - How can I know that I am walking in the light? One indicator is my relationship with other believers. Am I walking together with them?
• An Atoning Sacrifice for the World – 1 John 2:2 (7/5/2024) - Jesus’ sacrifice of atonement was made for all people. But it is only applied to those who receive it by faith.
• If We Keep His Commands – 1 John 2:3-6 (10/22/2018) - If we do indeed know Christ, then we will keep his command to love each other. This love is a product of a saving relationship with Christ.
• Love or Hate. No Middle Ground – 1 John 2:9-11 (3/4/2023) - John tells us that either we love our brother and walk in the light. or we hate them and walk in darkness. There is no middle ground.
• Do Not Love the World, Or Anything in It – 1 John 2:15 (10/3/2017) - You cannot love the things of this world and also love God. You cannot serve two masters. Hold tightly to God and loosely to the world.
• The Holy Spirit as Our Teacher – 1 John 2:27 (12/14/2024) - We grow in understanding as we hold tightly to God’s word and trust the Holy Spirit to illuminate it within our own spirits.
• What A Great Love God Has Lavished On Us – 1 John 3:1 (11/2/2020) - How great is the love that God has for us? It is so great that he has called us his children. The creator of the universe is our Father.
• When Christ Appears, We Shall Be Like Him – 1 John 3:2 (10/4/2017) - While we do not know what heaven holds for us, we have the promise of being like Christ. And with that hope, we should strive for holiness.
• Are You Born of God? – 1 John 3:9-10 (8/3/2023) - How can you know that you have been born of God? John tells us that we can know. Do we do what is right? And do we love other believers?
• Laying Down Our Lives – 1 John 3:16-18 (10/24/2018) - Not many of us would likely think of themselves as martyrs. But as believers we are called to lay down our lives for other believers.
• And This Is His Command – 1 John 3:23 (9/8/2022) - What does God expect of me as his child? To faithfully walk with Christ. And to love those that I am walking with. That is his command.
• Assurance of Salvation – 1 John 3:24b (11/4/2019) - Can you have assurance of your salvation? Yes. When we live in obedience to his commands, his Spirit will live in us and gives us assurance.
• The Spirit of the Antichrist – 1 John 4:1-3 (1/28/2024) - The spirit of the antichrist is alive today, seeking to deceive and draw people away from Christ and the salvation he brings to us
• How to Recognize the Spirit of Truth – 1 John 4:6 (9/11/2022) - How do you recognize the spirit of truth and distinguish it from falsehood? If it does not conform to the Scripture, it is not from God.
• Defining Love – 1 John 4:10-11 (3/6/2023) - What is love? God is love. And in giving his Son as a sacrifice for us, he models what it is to love. And we are to follow his example.
• God Lives in Us If We Love One Another – 1 John 4:12 (7/8/2024) - As I love others, God’s love flows through me. And it does not leave me unchanged. It will work to transform me into the image of Christ.
• Perfect Love Drives Out Fear – 1 John 4:18 (10/5/2017) - Love drives out fear, fear of death and the judgement. When we abide in God's love we need not fear what is to come and can have confidence.
• Because God First Loved Me – 1 John 4:19 (10/2/2022) - God loves me. In spite of who and what I am. And, because God first loved me, I am able to love other people in return.
• The Challenge to Love – 1 John 4:20-21 (10/26/2018) - John here challenges us with the need to love fellow believers. And not just the lovely. But also to those who act unlovingly toward you.
• A Command to Love – 1 John 4:21 (8/4/2023) - Love one another. This is not an optional suggestion. It is a command to love. Even those who are hard to love.
• Loving God Means Keeping His Commands – 1 John 5:3 (10/6/2017) - Can you love God without obedience to him? John pretty clearly responds to that question saying that obedience to God is love for him. I cannot rightly claim to love God and blatantly disregard his instruction for my life.
• Overcoming the World – 1 John 5:4-5 (1/29/2024) - Faith allows us to endure the trials and thorns that come our way, overcoming this world and everything in it.
• A Missing Passage in Many Modern Translations – 1 John 5:7-8 (12/16/2024) - The evidence is overwhelming in favor of 1 John 5:7 being a late scribal addition rather than an original part of the text.
• God Has Given Us Eternal Life – 1 John 5:11-12 (3/7/2023) - Eternal life is not just something we look forward to. God has given eternal life to all who are in Christ. And we have it now.
• Assurance of Eternal Life – 1 John 5:11-13 (10/29/2018) - Can you have assurance of eternal life? You can! John says that all who have the Son can know with certainty that they have eternal life.
• Praying for One Who Has Sinned – 1 John 5:16 (8/5/2023) - How should we respond to a brother or sister who sins? Rather than condemn them, or ignore their sin, we should love them by praying for them.
• Keep Yourselves from Idols – 1 John 5:21 (9/9/2022) - John tells us to keep ourselves from idols. An idol is anything that takes away from God's rightful place in your life.

2 John

• The Lady Chosen by God – 2 John 1:1 (3/8/2023) - The Church is much more that just an organization of Christians. It is the chosen bride of Christ. And we are her children.
• Walking Together in Love – 2 John 1:5-6 (9/13/2022) - Jesus' instructions for us were mostly pretty simple. To love God, and to love others. We are to walk together in love.
• Have Nothing to Do With Antichrists – 2 John 1:10-11 (10/7/2017) - Jesus is fully God and fully man, one in essence with the Father and the Spirit, but distinct. Those who teach otherwise are antichrists.

3 John

• Linking Physical Health to Spiritual Health – 3 John 1:1-3 (12/18/2024) - Shouldn’t I be at least as concerned about my spiritual health as I am about my physical health? Which is ultimately more important?
• Offer Support to Missionaries (10/8/2017) - Support a missionary; pray for them, write to them, offer financial support, welcome them when they visit; be a fellow worker with them.

Jude

• Wrapped in the Love of God – Jude 1:1-2 (7/11/2024) - The picture here is of God, our heavenly Father, with his arms wrapped tightly around us. His embrace assures us of his love.
• Contending for the Faith – Jude 1:3-4 (9/14/2022) - Many false teachers sneak into the church today. This makes it very important that we contend for the faith passed down to us.
• Jesus in the Old Testament – Jude 1:5 (12/19/2024) - Jude understood Jesus to be active, as God, throughout the story of redemption in both the Old Testament and the New.
• As You Wait for the Lord – Jude 1:20-21 (12/14/2020) - How should we live while we wait for the coming of our Lord? By keeping yourself in the love of God, investing time in the word and prayer.
• Kept from Stumbling – Jude 1:24-25 (9/8/2017) - Praise be to God who can keep us from stumbling and bring us to himself in the end. Holy and without fault. And with great joy.