Confidence in Him

Have you ever questioned God’s love for you?  Have you ever not felt worthy enough to even call upon His name?  Guess what?  You are not worthy…and neither am I.

Today’s Verses:
1 John 3:19-24

I love receiving good news.  Today’s verses bring good news to all believers.  John says that we can have confidence before God.  Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  God is a gracious and merciful God, full of compassion.  Because of this, He allows us to enter His presence, right now, anytime, without the need for a reservation or appointment.  Have you spent time with Him today?  We know that we are in Him when we obey Him.

Discussion Questions:
1.  How has Satan tried to lie to you about God’s love for you?

2.  In what ways has God shown His mercy and grace to you?

3.  How are you doing in the area of obeying God?

4.  Does your obedience show your love for God?

Love Out Loud

If there is one thing that the world could use more of, it’s love for each other.  It’s a shame that there is so much violence and hatred in the world today.  As believers, we are commanded to love one another.

Today’s Verses:
1 John 3:11-18

Last night during youth, we discussed the greatest love that has ever been displayed through the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.  His love was unconditional.  He offered love and forgiveness to those that crucified Him.  If you and I are going to make a difference in the world, we must learn to love like Jesus did.  John says that we know we are true Christians if we have the love of Christ in us and offer that love to those around us.  It’s easy to say that we love everyone, but we are called to love with action, not with words.  You might call this, “Love Out Loud!”.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Is there anyone that you hate?  What does God’s Word say about that?

2.  How can you love someone that has hurt you so bad?

3.  Do you know someone in need?  How can you be a blessing to them and show them the love of Christ?

4.  What makes it so difficult to love everyone?

Lawless Living

Have you ever had the urge to do whatever you wanted, even when you knew it was wrong?  Sure, we all have been tempted to sin.  Unfortunately, we all stumble and fall to sin.  But what about someone who continues to commit the same sin time after time?  What about the person who continues to live in their sin?

Today’s Verses:
1 John 3:4-10

No one ever said reading the Bible would be easy.  God does not attempt to sugar coat the way He feels about sin.  It is clear in this passage that God hates sin.  He loved you and me so much that He sent His son Jesus to take away our sins, not just to cover them up.  Vs. 6 says that “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning.”  This is a pretty strong statement.  I have always struggled with this verse.  There have been times in my past that I have continued to fall in the same area of sin.  It scared me to think that if I continued to live that life of sin, that God said that if I truly was born of God, I would not continue to sin.  God’s ultimate desire is that we truly repent, which means to turn from our sin and follow after Him.  He wants us to live a righteous life, one that is wholly devoted to becoming like Christ.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Is there an area in your life that you continue to fall to sin?

2.  Do you believe God can help you overcome this struggle?

3.  Are you willing to do whatever it takes to overcome your sins?

4.  How would your life be different if you chose not to give into the temptation?

Lavishing Love

How often do you stop to think about how much God really loves you?  Most of us believe God loves us but do we understand how much?

Today’s Verses:
1 John 3:1-3

Wow!  Did you catch that?  God has given us the right to become Children of God through the blood of Jesus!  I absolutely love my children.  I’m crazy about them.  That love cannot even compare to the amount of love our God has for us.  His love is not based on what we do for Him.  His love for us isn’t determined by our performance.  His love is 100% unconditional.  That means no conditions, no strings attached.  Just simple, untainted love.  I’m not sure what you are going through today, but please know this…God is madly in love with you!  Why don’t you spend some time right now thanking Him for all the ways He loves you and share with Him how much you love Him.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Have there been times when you felt like God did not love you?

2.  Do you believe that your feelings can lie to you?

3.  How has God shown His love to you recently?

4.  How have you shown your love for God recently?

5.  Who do you know that needs to hear about this love?

Are you ready?

Have you ever stopped to think about the return of Christ?  Jesus promised that He would come again and that it would be soon.  What if He chose to come back right now?  Would you be ready to meet Him?

Today’s Verses:
1 John 2:28-29

The Bible is clear that each one of us will give an account before God when we die or when He comes again (whichever comes first).  If you were to stand before God, would you be proud of the life that you lived?  Is it a life that has reflected the love of Christ to others?  Is it a life dedicated to seeking the Lord and His will for your life?  Or would you be ashamed of the way that you have lived, ashamed to stand before His presence?  John says that we need to continue in Christ so that when He does come, we can stand before Him confident and unashamed.

Discussion Questions:
1.  If you could change one thing, maybe one decision, or one action from your past, what would it be?

2.  Knowing that you can never go back and undo your past, how does it affect how you live your future?

3.  Would you be ready if God came back today?

4.  Would you be able to stand before Him unashamed and confident?

Remain in Him

From the beginning of time, God has given each of us free will.  In other words, we have the freedom to choose to follow Him, to obey, to rebel, and to reject.

Today’s Verses:
1 John 2:24-27

It is a shame when I see someone that was raised in church to one day, turn away and rebel against the very things they were taught as a child.  John encourages us to make sure that the truths that we have been taught “remain in us”.  The reward for doing so is eternal life.  There are friends and even family members that sometimes try to lead us astray from the truths of the Bible.  The way that we can stand firm is to make sure the Word of God remains in us and that we remain in Christ.

Discussion Questions:
1.  What does it mean to remain in Christ?

2.  What role does the Holy Spirit play in helping us to remain in Christ?

3.  Have you ever rebelled from the truth that you have been taught?

4.  Did you ever come back to the truth?  What helped you get back to where you needed to be?

The Antichrist

People claim that the end times is near but do we really believe it?  Throughout Scripture, we read this very truth, even James says, “this is the last hour”.  Some believe that since people have been saying this since 2000 years ago, that it isn’t going to happen.  I believe the opposite is true.  Since it has been proclaimed for 2000 years, we are closer now than we have ever been to the end times!

Today’s Verses:
1 John 2:18-23

John says that the time is near for the return of Christ and that the Antichrist is soon to arrive on the scene. The Antichrist denies the Father and the Son and will mislead the people away from Biblical truth.  In fact, he says that there have already been many Antichrists.  Who could he be referring to?  What about Adolf Hitler?  How about Osama Bin Laden?  These are not “the Antichrist” but they were definitely anti-God.  We need to know the Word so that we can recognize Antichrists.  It is extremely important that we study the Word of God so that we can identify false teachings when they arise.  When the Antichrist steps on the scene, the Bible says that many will follow him and be deceived.  He will have the appearance of a godly person but will be ungodly.  Beware of wolves in sheep clothing.

Discussion Questions:
1.  What does the Bible say about the Antichrist?

2.  How can we recognize false teachings?

3.  Should we be concerned about the Antichrist?

The Disease called Stuffitis

The world is a beautiful place.  God has blessed us tremendously with the things we have and the gifts that He has given.  But sometimes we get too attached to this world.

Today’s Verses:
1 John 2:15-17

Have you ever been infected with Stuffitis?  It is a disease that starts with lusting after something that you do not have and eventually consumes your thoughts and dictates your actions towards an endless pursuit of stuff.  If not treated properly, it can lead to pride by boasting about what you have or have achieved.   If we are honest, we all have chased after worldly desires only to find ourselves wanting more.  That is because what the world has to offer, never fully satisfies.  You will always end up empty if you pursue the world.  On the contrast, if you pursue God’s righteousness and the will of God, you will be completely satisfied.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Do you ever find yourself wanting the things of this world instead of really seeking the will of God?

2.  Why is it that the things of this world never truly satisfy?

3.  Why is boasting about what you have or what you have accomplished not of God?

More than overcomers

Have you ever thought of yourself as a failure?  Maybe you asked a girl out and she rejected you.  Maybe you dropped in on a half pipe and did a face plant in front of everyone.  Not very pretty huh?  What about sin?  Have you ever fell there?  Sure, we all have.

Today’s Verses:
1 John 2:12-14

John says that we have overcome the evil one.  This is in the present tense, not future tense.  This means that right now, while Satan still roams the earth we are overcomers.  John says we are overcomers for three reasons:

1) Our sins have been forgiven.  Satan has no victory when a person’s sins have been forgiven. He can no longer accuse, no longer condemn because those sins are paid for by the blood of Jesus.

2.  We know Him who is from the beginning.  As a child of God, we know Him and He knows us because we have a relationship with Him.  Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God…”.  That’s right.  Satan is not mentioned here, only God.  That’s because God was not created, but Satan is a creation of God.  Therefore, God is supreme over Satan.

3.  The Word of God lives in us.  If we try to live victoriously in our own strength, we will fail.  But if we rely and depend on the Word of God, we are more than conquerors.  Trust me, I’ve read the end of the book and WE WIN!

Discussion Questions:
1.  Do you ever feel like a failure?

2.  Does this line up with what God says about you?

3.  What area in your life do you need victory over?

4.  How can the Word of God help you acheive this?

Do you love your brother?

Do you ever wonder why God sometimes repeats Himself in the Bible?  Being a parent, I’m beginning to understand why.  Many times, we have to tell our own children something to do because either they are not paying attention or they are simply stubborn and hard headed.  We as children of God are no different.

Today’s Verses:
1 John 2:7-11

John says the command to love your brother is not something new.  He is reinforcing this command because apparently we are not getting it.  The Bible teaches that if we hate our brother, we are a murderer in our hearts.  God takes our emotions and thoughts very seriously.  He says that if we hate our brother, we walk in darkness and we know that there is no place in heaven for darkness.  Hatred is not of God and has no place in a believers life…none.  When we speak against someone, we speak against God because He created them.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Have you ever said that you hated someone?

2.  Do you think there is ever a time that it is ok to hate someone?

3.  How does hatred in our heart affect our relationship with God?

4.  Who do you need to forgive in order to get past the hatred in your heart?