Jan 11, 2026 "Faith Is Not Homework" (1 John 5: 1-15)

 

Faith Is Not Homework 

1 John 5:1-15 

 

In church circles we often hear that we need more faith. We are told when things go wrong, it is because we lack faith. However, faith is not homework . John tells us faith is different. 

 

1 John 5:2-3 ESV 

[2] By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. [3] For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 

 

John is talking about making faith your daily rhythm. John does not say this because we are weak or lazy. John says we lack faith when we are distant from God. It is harder to keep God's commands when we are not close to God. 

 

The language of relationship is keeping God's word. John is telling us that being in relationship with God we are guided to keep God's word. Obedience to God becomes natural as we depend on God more and draw closer to Him. 

 

John is not talking about doing more work to get closer to God or talking more about God. John is talking about faith that is the potential how God can work. Faith is not pretending that reality doesn't exist. Faith allows us to see the world through God's perspective. 

 

1 John 5:13 ESV 

[13] I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 

 

Christian faith is not about living in fear or asking if we are good enough. John reminds us that our confidence comes from the faithfulness of God. This assurance comes from God. 

 

1 John 5:14-15 ESV 

[14] And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 

 

Faith is not a magical spell or the power of our will, but the direction in the way we pray. When we pray, we admit that God is real and God comes first. Prayer is the way we converse with our Father.. When we pray with God, our hearts settle and we understand God more. 

 

We pray because God is already with us. We pray because that is how we converse with God. Faith is trusting that God is already holding on to us. 

 

Christian faith is not about asking us if we are strong enough or doing enough. Faith is being confident that God is strong enough. We can see the world's problems through God's perspective. 

 

Whether our faith is small or large, God will be enough. 

• It Is Well With My Soul
• Holy Forever
• Agnus Dei

Jan 4, 2026 “Loved First”(1 John 4:7-16)

 

1 John 4:7-16 New International Version

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 

¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Loved First

1 John 4:7-16

 

One of the phrases we hear much in church that we need to love. Love is central to the Christian life. When compared to faith and hope, love is greater.

 

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

[13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 

However, loving other people is not an easy thing. It can be very hard to love someone who has wronged or hurt us. We need divine intervention to love. John tells us what the source of love is. It is not that we can force ourselves to love. Love does not come from our personality, skills or will; it comes from God.

 

1 John 4:7 ESV

[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

 

Our love comes from God and if we love, we show we have been born of God and know God. In other words, our relationship with God allows us to love. Furthermore, John defines love as an action and not a feeling or a thought.

 

1 John 4:9-10 ESV

[9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  

 

Love moves towards its object of affection. God came to us and stayed with us. God did not sit in Heaven. He came as a person, Jesus Christ, and lived with us. God came not just to live with us, but to live in us.

 

1 John 4:13 ESV

[13]  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

  

We have his spirit, but we have to have faith.

 

1 John 4:15 ESV

[15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  

 

There is no work we need to do. There is no formula we have to complete. God did the work and we need to believe that He loves us.

 

When our hearts feel closed or we find it impossible to love, John reminds us to go back to the place we were loved first. When our faith is restored, love will come naturally.  

 

God is not telling us to try harder, but to go back to the cross. We don't become more loving, so that God will come into our hearts. God has already given us the gift to love, we just need to return to the truth that God loves us.

• Goodness Of God
• This I Believe (The Creed)
• God Will Make A Way

Oct 12, 2025 "How to Tell What’s Real"(1 John 4:1–8)

1 John 4:1-8 New International Version

On Denying the Incarnation
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
God’s Love and Ours
⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

How to Tell What's Real
1 John 4:1-8
 
In 1992 a false prophet told South Korea that on a specific day at midnight the rapture would occur and to be ready you need to wear white and read your Bible. Jesus did not come on that night and the false prophet was arrested because he was so disruptive and affected too many people.
 
1 John 4:1 ESV
[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  
 
The early church experienced this and warned about false spirits and prophets. It seems that it can be very easy to be dubbed and follow a false prophet, but John goes on to tell us.
 
1 John 4:2-3 ESV
[2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
 
The fact that Jesus came to the Earth in flesh shows God's love for us. God truly lived as a person and died to fulfill His promise. Our sins are forgiven and we are dead to this world and ready for the new world. We still live in the world and need to be aware of dangers, but not scared.
 
1 John 4:4 ESV
[4] Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  
 
The world continues to have false spirits and prophets ready to deceive us, but we are on the winning side. Jesus is greater than the evil in this world. There are many false teachers, but Jesus is greater than them even if the world listens to them.
 
1 John 4:5-6 ESV
[5] They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
 
When we truly believe that Jesus came to earth thus God became human, we show that understanding of what God has done for us and the consequences of this. However, it is not enough just to know this. We have to practice this knowledge.
 
1 John 4:7 ESV
[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  
 
The only way to do this is to love. Love is the proof that God lives in us. When we truly and fully believe that Jesus came to die for us. We can love like Jesus. We can forgive like Jesus. We can see others like how God sees us.  
 
By not loving, we demonstrate that we do not have a genuine relationship with God.
 
1 John 4:8 ESV
[8] Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  
 
We need to make decisions to love like Christ. We need to forgive as Christ forgave us. We need to let Jesus live in us completely, so that the world will see Jesus in us and not the spirit of this present world.
 

• Beautiful Saviour
• King of Kings
• Blessed Assurance
• 
  

“The Impact of Light 💡 in Christian Relationship” (1 John 1:5-7, Matthew 5:14-16)

The definition of light is the unveiling of the life of God within you which becomes. 

Light in your relationship with God 

Light in your relationship with other Christians 

Light in your relationship with the world. 

Goes up to God. Moves in the church. Moves to the world.

 

Upward 

Many Christians were confused who is God. John wrote this passage to show God's nature. That is that God is light. 

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 

1 John 1:5 ESV 

John also knew that our relationship with God is important, and many so-called Christians do not walk in the light. To have fellowship with God, we need to walk in light and not in darkness. We cannot leave out the truth. Knowing who God is not enough, we need to act. Our claim to know God needs to be reflected in our work. 

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 

1 John 1:6 ESV 

Inward 

Without an upward relationship with God, we cannot have fellowship with other Christians. It is difficult to have fellowship with other Christians from such diverse backgrounds, classes, nationalities, and maturity. When we walk in the light and have fellowship with God, our focus and priorities are on God, and this allows us to have relationships with other Christians.  

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 

1 John 1:7 ESV 

 

Outward 

Based on our fellowship with God and other Christians is different to the world. Our relationship to the world is an example. We are to stand out for God. We are a light that shines out to the world.  

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

Matthew 5:14 ESV 

We cannot have equal fellowship with non-believers or the world. We are to be an example to every person around us. If we do not talk about our beliefs or people cannot see that we are Christians, we are hiding our light. If we do not do good works or stand against sin, what good are we. 

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 

Matthew 5:15 ESV

• Think About His Love 주의 사랑을 주의 선하심을
• Through It All 영원한 생명의 주님

• Awesome God 나의 주 크고 놀라운 하나님

"Love One Another, Brothers and Sisters"(1 John 3:1)

 1 John 3:1 ESV

There are two reasons that churches take their members to outings. One is to bask in God's love and the other is to have fellowship. We need fellowship since we area family. If God is our father, then we are brothers and sisters with other Christians. We must love our church members. This is a command.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 ESV

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:11 ESV

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:21 ESV

Sometimes we need to intervene and help our brothers and sisters. It is not enough just to say that we love them. We need to correct them, and encourage them. They also need to correct us and to encourage us. We also need to do this with love and do this with mutual love.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

James 5:16 ESV

Some people think that the church is for righteous people but really it is for sinners. The church is for people to encourage other sinners to do good and to ve better. To live as Children of God is not always easy and we need to help each other.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

Galatians 6:6 ESV

Although we may not be certified teachers, we can still instruct others in God's good word. Just like a family, we will not lose our place as brothers and sisters, but we should be estranged. Let us please our Father God through our obedience to love one another. 

God is Love (1 John 4:7-13)