Sermon Tone Analysis

Fatherly Advice

John and James were called by Jesus "sons of Thunder."

Perhaps they were hot-headed and impulsive but spending intimate time with Jesus made John tender, humble, and self-abasing.

The beloved (of Jesus) apostle John wrote this powerful book that shares a dozen phrases with the Gospel of John.

John and James were called by Jesus "sons of Thunder."

Perhaps they were hot-headed and impulsive but spending intimate time with Jesus made John tender, humble, and self-abasing.

The beloved (of Jesus) apostle John wrote this powerful book that shares a dozen phrases with the Gospel of John.

It was written around 90 A.D. to fellow believers from Ephesus.

It was written around 90 A.D. to fellow believers from Ephesus.

He seems to be addressing false teaching known as Gnosticism

They believed generally that hey some special revelation superior to that of normal Christianity, handed down mystically from Christ or other great ones but known only to the inner circle of the initiated.

He’s the last of 12 apostles

10 have died a martyr’s death and one committed suicide.

He likely writing from Ephesus as a man in his 80s.

It’s difficult to outline this book

A good outline for the book could be

A good outline for the book could be 1) God is Light, Ch.1-2 2) God is Love, Ch.3-4 and 3) God is Life, Ch. 5.

1) God is Light, Ch.1-2

2) God is Love, Ch.3-4

3) God is Life, Ch. 5.

Have you wondered why our zeal for the Lord cools off so quickly, how fellow believers can just walk away from the faith, how can you tell if people are really saved, or if I myself am truly saved?

Have you wondered why our zeal for the Lord cools off so quickly, how fellow believers can just walk away from the faith, how can you tell if people are really saved, or if I myself am truly saved?

Statistics

Statistics

Author: John

Date: 90 A.D.

Key Verses: 5:13

Key Verses: 5:13

Key Words: know - 38 times, world - 23 times, love - 46 times, life - 15 times, children - 12 times, truth - 11 times, witness - 7 times, light and darkness - 6 times, fellowship - 4 times (more than any other book), anti-christ - 3 times.

5 chapters, 105 verses, 2523 words

Key Words: know - 38 times, world - 23 times, love - 46 times, life - 15 times, children - 12 times, truth - 11 times, witness - 7 times, light and darkness - 6 times, fellowship - 4 times (more than any other book), anti-christ - 3 times.

5 chapters, 105 verses, 2,523 words

Belief

In the very front of the letter in chapter 1, John introduces this first letter in a lot of the same ways he introduces his gospel.

He says, “That which was from the beginning…” So he is talking about all the way back to creation, all the way back beginning with God.

He says we have seen, touched, and gazed upon Him, He has been made manifest to us from the Father, and He is eternal life.

So who is John talking about?

Who was from the beginning, who was made manifest by the Father, and who did John actually see, touch, walk with, and behold?

His name is Jesus.

So Jesus is eternal life.

At the end of the letter, he actually says Jesus is the one true God and eternal life.

So again, the big question we are looking at is whether or not you have Jesus.

So John is going to do is give us a series of tests to see whether or not we have Jesus.

Belief

Belief

As we get into this letter, John is going to show us that being a true believer starts with belief.

He is really big on believing the right things.

they believe the right things, make sure they believe the truth about who Jesus is.

So belief is really important for John.

The reason being that belief is going to point to birth.

He talks about the antichrist a lot.

An antichrist is those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus was sent from God, and that Jesus was actually in the flesh.

So being an antichrist is not knowing the right information.

It is believing the wrong things.

He continually tells the people to make sure they believe the right things, make sure they believe the truth about who Jesus is.

So belief is really important for John.

The reason being that belief is going to point to birth.

Birth

Spiritual birth comes because true belief brings about birth from God.

There is a lot of dialog about being a child, a child of God, or a child of Satan.

That is the distinction for John; there is not a gray area.

You are either a child of God, or you are a child of Satan.

There is not a middle ground of being an ‘ok kid’; no, you are either God’s son, or Satan’s son.

So that is a big deal.

John will show that birth actually points to life.

Life

When John talks about life, or living, he says, “abiding.”

That is a word John uses over twenty times.

He is big on abiding in Jesus, making sure that we are abiding in God, and God is abiding in us, that the Spirit is abiding in us, and we are abiding in the Spirit, and we are abiding in His Word.

What does “abiding” come from?

If you look at the letter as a whole, abiding, or life, comes from a new birth.

The new birth comes from believing and trusting in Jesus Christ.

So how do we know that we are abiding in Jesus?

We are going to see a series of tests that John gives us to see whether or not we are abiding in Jesus

Are You Abiding in Jesus?

Are You Abiding in Jesus?

What do believers do?

Believers walk like Jesus.

What do believers do?

Believers walk like Jesus.

It is plain and simple.