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1 John 2, part 1

Last Sunday, we moved into the first couple of verses of chapter two of first John. They helped form the complete thought about living in the truth, and the sacrifice of Jesus for us when we fall out of line with the truth (into error or sin).

As we move further into chapter two, we will be looking at how we can be certain that we know God. In the Bible, there are two kinds of "knowing": the understanding of facts and direct personal experience. We can "know" God, as in, have an understanding that He is the Creator and that we are accountable to Him, but that doesn't mean that we have experienced Him personally. The Christian is expected to have experience with God. John uses "to know" 23 times in his letter. This very important concept is the hinge on which his whole treatise to Christians turns.

"Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD..." ~Hosea 6:3

1 John 1

John lays out the importance of truth in the first chapter of 1 John. We cannot proceed in our Christian experience without having the foundation of truth. And this permeates how we live, how we treat others, how we view God, and what kind of teaching we are willing to accept from someone claiming to have spiritual authority. John reassures his readers that because he was an eye witness of Jesus Christ, we can truth what he is saying. It is in line with what Christ said, did and taught. It is the truth, and we can measure ourselves and other teaching against that standard.

Journey through the Bible: 1 John

Although this letter is near the "back" of the Bible, and not great in length or size compared to a couple of its closer neighbours (Hebrews or Revelation), the book of first John is a gem for the Christian. It has such words of comfort and exhortation, masterfully blended together. We find it both challenging and reassuring at once, in reading it through.

The apostle John wrote his gospel to give the readers a knowledge of the God-nature of the man Jesus Christ, that they would believe and be saved. In his first letter, he writes to the follower of Christ to give them knowledge or reassurance that they are, in fact, in the faith and walking with God. It is a sort of self-examination for the professing Christian. You will no doubt be blessed by our journey through this book!

Guest Teacher This Sunday

This Sunday we will have the blessing of having Paul Buckner share the Word with us. Paul and his wife Sheryl are from Calgary and have come several times to Edmonton over the past few years, and it is always an encouragement when they do. Come with a hungry heart and enjoy fellowship this weekend. We will resume our study through the Bible next Sunday, moving into the book of 1 John!

2 Peter 3, part 2

This Sunday we will be finishing the letter of 2 Peter! These closing verses are both a strong warning and encouragement. First, the warning against mishandling passages that are difficult to understand. Then, the encouragement to grow in knowing Jesus and to stay the course as we await His return. We all need to be reminded of that, and to keep in view that heaven is our home. How we live here and now greatly impacts our there and then.

2 Peter 2

This Sunday we will be covering just a few verses, but the topic is anything but small! Peter gives strong warnings to his readers about the plague of false teachers. Like the false prophets of the Old Testament, seeking to please the people for their own gain and to the hearers' demise, false teachers are not out to please God. Most of the New Testament was penned to address false teachings themselves. Only through abiding in God's Word and learning to rightly divide it can we grow and mature as Christians, and avoid the dangers of bad doctrine.