1 John: When God Is Light, We Learn to Walk in the Light

The Faith They Handed Down

We kicked off our summer series, One Hit Wonders: The People, Places, & Passages We Miss, by looking at two women who are only mentioned briefly in Scripture: Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s grandmother and mother. We do not know much about them, but we know this: they passed down a sincere faith to Timothy. Their faithfulness helped shape a young leader who would later be mentored by Paul and serve the church. This message reminds us that passing down faith is not only the work of parents, pastors, or children’s ministry volunteers. It belongs to all of God’s people. Whether through sharing our stories, learning the names of the kids in our church, asking about their lives, encouraging them, including them, or simply showing up with love and consistency, we all have a part to play in helping the next generation know and trust Jesus.

1 John: Because Christ Is Real, We Know Who to Follow

Who should we trust? In a world filled with opinions, influencers, teachers, podcasts, videos, and competing voices, John tells us not to believe every spirit but to test them. In this week's message from 1 John 4:1–6, we return to our original question: "Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?" How do we recognize what is true and who is worth following? John offers two tests. First, those who truly speak for God proclaim that Jesus is the Christ—the One through whom God has revealed Himself and brought salvation and restoration to the world. Second, their lives increasingly reflect the love of Jesus. This does not mean perfection. It does not mean we never partner with or learn from people who believe differently than we do. But it does mean we are thoughtful about whose voices shape us and whose lives we imitate. As summer begins, we end with a simple challenge: How can we trust Christ more deeply? And how can we better love the people God has placed in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities?

1 John: When Love Looks Like Jesus

In this week’s message from 1 John, we explore one of the central claims of the entire letter: God is love. Not love as sentiment or vague niceness, but love made visible in Jesus. John tells us that God’s love becomes complete in us as we love others—both those inside the church and those outside it. Which means following Jesus is not simply about believing the right things about Him, but learning to model our lives after the way He loved. We talk about how love is evidence that the life of Christ is alive in us, why fear often keeps us from loving well, and how the perfect love of God frees us from living defensively and anxiously. Because when we truly trust that we are loved by God, we become more free to love like Jesus.

1 John: We Are Children of God

After several weeks of talking about who Jesus is, antichrists, truth, sin, and counterfeit versions of Jesus, 1 John shifts direction in an encouraging way: “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” In Week 5 of Love and Light, we explore how John reminds us of the assurance we have.  We are God's children. The goal or outcome of following Jesus is not paranoia, perfectionism, or constantly wondering if we are failing God. It is relationship. We talk about family resemblance, baptism, transformation, and what it means that we are not merely followers of God but children of God. Because children slowly begin to resemble their Father. And because He is our Father, this is not just something to strive for. It is something to rest in. Something to celebrate.

1 John: When Christ Is Real, We Resist antichrists

In Week 4 of our series Love and Light through the letters of John, we wrestle with one of the most misunderstood words in the Bible: antichrist. What does John actually mean when he uses that word? Is he talking about one future figure, many antichrists already present in the world, or both? And what does any of this have to do with anointing, Jesus as “the Christ,” and our calling as followers of Jesus today? We explore why so many people throughout history have tried to predict the return of Jesus, why fear and uncertainty make us long for certainty, and why John seems less focused on helping us identify “the future bad guy” and more focused on asking how people who are supposed to represent God can become opposed to His purposes. Along the way we look at Saul, David, the meaning of anointing in the Old Testament, and the sobering reality that if we are not careful we can slowly begin resisting the very Christ we claim to follow. Because eventually we all have to grapple with who we really believe Jesus is—and whether we trust Him enough to live like He is truly the Christ.