1 John 3:11-24
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This is the sixth sermon in our series on 1 John: In Real Life. This sermon is “Love & Belonging”.
Questions and going deeper resources
Small group questions
Connect What is one area of your life this week in which you can grow in delight in Godʼs love and grow in obedience (especially by throwing off sin)?
Warm-Up
- What does our culture say about love? What do Shakespeareʼs works tell us?
- What has been your experience of Christian love at St Barts and other places?
Read 1 John 3:11-15
- What teaching about love is John drawing on when he urges his readers to love one another? (See John 13:34 and 15:12-13.)
- What is “new” about Jesusʼ command to love? Why is this change so important?
- Why does John use the example of Cain to teach about love? Why does Cain murder Abel? What does this reveal about the link between our motives and our actions?
- When can it be hard for you to love your brothers and sisters in Christ? How do we make sure our thoughts, feelings and actions align with Jesusʼ command to love one another?
Read 1 John 3:16-18
- How does John tell us we can know what love is? How can we practically show love to others?
- What is the connection between loving the people around us and loving God?
- Share an example of a fellow Christian who has shown generosity to yourself?
- Do you find being generous easy or difficult? Share the reasons for this with your group.
- What are the broader outcomes of a generous Christian community (beyond meeting the needs)?
Read 1 John 3:19-24
- How do we know that we belong to the truth?
- How does God help us even when we fail to love God or love our fellow Christians?
- What binds us together in Christian community despite our differences?
- How does the Spirit help us to live lives of love? How does our experience of Godʼs love and the love of other Christians help us to share the Gospel on our frontlines?
Apply How can you show generosity to a fellow Christian this week?
Prayer
Loving Father, Open our eyes to people around us, and help us to see them as you do. Give us the wisdom and strength to take action, so others may see the depth of your love. In Jesusʼ name, Amen.
Going deeper resources
On Your Front Line this Week
How could you share time with someone else over a meal this week?
For Families
Download: some of the family resources to use at home: stbartskids.org
Listen, Watch, and Read
- Listen “Kindness Overcoming Self-Pity” by Timothy Keller
- Listen: “Go on loving one another” by Gwilym Davies
- Listen: “The Love Test” by Christopher Hobbs
Series Resources
- Watch: “1-3 John Overview” by the Bible Project
- Learn: “Introduction to 1 John” by the Gospel Coalition
- Read: “The Letters of John (Tyndale New Testament Series)” by John Stott: St Bartʼs Library, Purchase
- Listen: “Confident Christians” Series in 1 John by St Helenʼs Bishopsgate
- Watch: “Johannine Christianity: the Letters” by Open Yale University
