What Does it Mean to Be God’s Children?

What Does it Mean to Be God’s Children?

Our earthly family relationships can be complex, and sometimes downright messy. But our God defines fatherly love, as we’ll learn this week from 1 John 2:28-3:10. The apostle John wants his readers to know that they are dearly loved by their Heavenly Father. As we rest secure in our identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters, our lives begin to reflect him to the world.  1 John 2:28-3:10

Who is Jesus?

Not every spiritual voice leads us closer to Jesus. Some draw us away from him altogether, while others subtly distort who he is.This week, the Apostle John teaches us how to discern truth from distortion, especially when it comes to the identity of Christ. He reminds us that the gospel of Jesus we received is not something that needs updating, but something we are called to remain in.(1 Jn 2:18 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukwyLzcCEkg&t=138s]-27; 4:1-6)

Walking Like Jesus

John turns to an important question: How do we know that we truly know God? His answer may surprise us. Genuine faith is not measured merely by what we say, but by how we live. As we mature in Christ, our love for him grows, our desire to obey him deepens, and our attachment to the things of this world begins to fade. For John, knowing Jesus means walking like Jesus. (1 John 2:3-17)

Walking in the Light

John has made it clear that Jesus, the eternal God, did in fact take on flesh and dwell among us. But what was it all for? In this passage, John confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: sin is real, and it separates us from a holy God. Neither God nor his people can pretend otherwise. Yet he also proclaims a radically hopeful truth—that the God who is light has not abandoned us in our darkness. Let’s lean in to discover how God responds to the darkness that separates us from him. (1 John 1:5 - 2:2)

The Word of Life

(Pardon the poor audio quality for the first 16 minutes of this sermon. It gets corrected half way through.)In a world filled with competing voices and endless sources of information, how can we know who to trust, what is true, and how we are called to live?In 1 John, the Apostle John writes to those seeking clarity about who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and how we are called to live in response to the gospel—with lives marked by holiness, love, and mercy.Join us this summer as we journey through John’s first letter. Together we'll discover the truth of the gospel, learn how to walk in the light, and walk in love, as Children of God.