God’s Missionaries to the World and Satan’s Missionaries to the Church (3 John)

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A church is made up of people—not buildings; flesh and blood—not brick and mortar. It seems beyond some people’s capacity to picture a church as something more than a building. If you tell some people, “A church is not a building; it is a group of people who gather weekly to give their worship to Jesus,” they look at you as if you were doing the twist in a hip-hop world. Or maybe better for our county, as if you were doing the waltz at a country line dance. That’s out of place. It doesn't fit.

Christian Hospitality – Part 2 (2 John 5–11)

Title: Christian Hospitality

Text: 2 John 5–11

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My wife and I try to get our children in bed by a certain time every night. When they go to bed, we stay up and talk. Sometimes I will talk to her about the text I am preaching on Sunday. It helps me to hash-it-out in a community setting before I give it. You get the 10:30 a.m. version, and she gets the early service. Now, I don’t bring a pulpit in the living room and sing a couple of congregational hymns, but I do give a come-forward invitation (just kidding!). Just a five-minute conversation can help me ground all my exegesis in the reality of everyday life.

Christian Hospitality: Truth and Love

Most sinners loved being around Jesus. They enjoyed His company, sought Him out, invited Him to their homes and parties. Today, most sinners do not want to be around Christians. Non-believers tore off the roof to get to Jesus. Sometimes, they crawl out of the windows to get away from us!

4 Truths Every Christian Should Know

Title: 4 Truths Every Christian Should Know

Text: 1 John 5:13–21

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It’s about 11:30 at night. I get a call. On the other end of the phone is a friend who is broken. I can tell he is fighting back the tears. A battle he will lose shortly. A child who beamed with potential and radiated with life had his life ripped away from him in a tragedy. A freak accident—a one-in-a-million type of situation—robbed a family of their only son.

Is There Enough Evidence?

Title: Is There Enough Evidence?

Text: 1 John 5:6–12

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The most publicized criminal case in American history involved a former professional football star and actor. He was on trial for two counts of murder after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her male “friend” Ronald Goldman were found dead in June of 1994. The rest of that year and the entirety of the next year, Americans became infatuated with this case. Newspapers, the evening news, and talk shows made this case the story of the year in 1995.

Is Your Salvation the Real Thing?

Title: Is Your Salvation the Real Thing?

Text: 1 John 5:1–5

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J. D. Greear is a Southern Baptist pastor of one the largest churches in North Carolina. Every Sunday more than eight thousand people gather at the multi-site church called The Summit Church. The average age of the church’s attendees is twenty-nine.

Perfect Love

Title: Perfect Love

Text: 1 John 4:13–21

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A group of professional people posed a question to a group of four- to eight-year-olds. The answers they received were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

God's Love

Title: God’s Love

Text: 1 John 4:7–12

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We have taken a break from our 1 John series entitled “Authentic Christianity” for a couple of weeks. We are returning now to the book of 1 John. As you have noticed, while we are walking verse by verse through this book, John has a very unique writing style and way of thinking. God used this human instrument’s personality to pen down exactly what He desired to be written.