Evaluating the Evidence (1 John 2:3-11)
Sermon Notes
Sermon Series: How to Live, How to Love
Sermon Title: Evaluating the Evidence
Passage: 1 John 2:3-11
Preacher: Ashley Herr
3 steps to help us evaluate the evidence:
1. WHAT we do: Those who know him obey the words of Jesus (v3-5a)
2. HOW we do what we do: Those who abide in him walk in the way of Jesus (v5b-6)
3. WHY we do what we do: Those who live in his light love like Jesus (v7-11)
The command to love is new in that
It has been expanded in terms of who we are commanded to love
It has been extended in terms of how far we are commanded to love
Reflection
What in my life am I not trusting Jesus with - failing to obey what he says or where he leads? As you read 1 John 2:3-5a, repent of your sin and disobedience.
How have I laid down my cross, rather than my life - choosing the easy path over the way of Jesus? As you read 1 John 2:5b-6, return to Jesus as you hear the voice of the Good Shepherd calling out to you
How have I limited who I am called to love and the extent to which I am called to love in order to love like Jesus? As you read 1 John 7-11, receive the love of Jesus, feeling his presence.
Sermon Footnotes
“Every summons of Christ leads to death.” - translation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s line provided by Scot McKnight (A Fellowship of Differents, p201)
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship, p89)
“We have defined the ‘one another’ so tightly that it means only ‘love the people who reinforce your own sense of who you are'.” - N.T. Wright (John from the NT Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guide, p95-96)
