A Study of 1 John: That You May Know
Week 6: Changed & Changing – 1 John 3:1-9
1 John was written “so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). So, how do you know? 1 John 2:28-3:9 gives us two tests: The IDENTITY Test: Who do you think you are? & The SIN TEST: Am I making progress or excuses? The love, presence, and work of God in our lives will change our identity and start a process of changing us from the inside out.
LIVE OAK CONNECTION POINT:
- Baptism might be your next step in your walk with God. Our next opportunity is coming Sunday, December 7. If you think baptism is your next step, let us know here.
DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What was a HIGH and a LOW from the past week?
- As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
READ: 1 John 2:28-29, 3:1-9.
Spend some time SOAPing this passage. You can either spend time SOAPing individually and documenting for a several minutes and then spend time sharing with each -OR- SOAP in real time with each other. Either way make as many observations as you can.
- Observations: What are the things that stand out to you about this passage?
- How would you summarize this passage in one sentence?
- What does this passage tell me about who God is?
- One of John’s tests for knowing if someone has a genuine faith is The IDENTITY Test: Who do you think you are? Why is identity, who you think you are, so important?
Doug offered “5 Lies We Believe About Our Identity”. Which lies are you most likely to struggle with?
I am what I have. I am what I do. I am what other people say of think about me.
I am nothing more than my worst moment. I am nothing less than my best moment.
- Doug challenged us to start an “Identity in Christ List” that lists out phrases of who we are in Christ with Scripture tied to each one. Start with this passage: What Identity in Christ statements do you see in this passage and tell you about who you are in Christ?
- How could we encourage each other in knowing and living out our identity in Christ?
- The second test presented in this passage is The SIN Test: Am I making progress or excuses? What can we take from 1 John 2:28-3:9 help us in our struggle against sin?
- Why does knowing your identity in Christ, and knowing who you are becoming in Christ as a work in progress, help you in the struggle against sin?
READ: 2 Peter 1:3-11. What stands out from this passage about living out our identity in Christ, overcoming our struggle with sin and our old self and persevering in the process of God working on helping us become more like Jesus?
- What else stood out from this week’s sermon?
- APPLICATION: What is your big takeaway from this week’s sermon? Be specific.
NEXT STEPS:
Everyone has a next step to apply what we have learned. What is your next step?Be specific.
MEMORY VERSE: *Challenge yourself or your group to commit this verse to memory:
1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
PRAYER:
Spend some time praying for each other.
Scripture References:
1 John 5:13; 1 John 2:28-29; 1 John 3:1-9; John 1:10-13; Ephesians 2:1-5; Romans 7:18-25; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:5-11