Tag: 1 John series
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The True God — 1 John 5:19‑21
As the Apostle John wraps up his first epistle, he simply warns his audience, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” But how are we to guard ourselves in a world filled with idolatry and with hearts so eager to construct new ones? Pastor Nate Harlan leads us to this encouraging conclusion of our series on 1…
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How We Persevere — 1 John 5:16‑18
Our salvation does not ultimately rest on our strength, our ability, our righteousness. Instead, perseverance is a gift that is granted to us by God’s unconditional love through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a shepherd and we are his sheep. That is the basis for our assurance.
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That You May Know — 1 John 5:13-15
The Apostle John wants us to have certainty about God’s intentions toward us. He wants to remove all doubts from our minds. How do we attain salvation? Only by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as Pastor Nate Harlan says, God’s generosity is the basis of our confidence in Him as our…
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The Testimony of God — 1 John 5:6-12
In this passage, the Apostle John is concerned with defending the basis of our faith. How do we know these promises are true and that the gospel isn’t just wishful thinking? The answer we receive here is the same answer the Bible always gives: We know the gospel is true because God said so and…
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Overcoming the World — 1 John 5:1-5
You must live by faith to overcome the world. But how do you know if your faith is strong enough? Pastor Nate Harlan gives the good news: Your faith in God is a gift from Him. So it does not depend on your strength. Instead, it depends on His perfect strength.
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Knowing and Believing — 1 John 4:13-21
Christian, God loves you. His love for you is shown in the fact that He gave his Son as a propitiation for your sins. And the Apostle John is telling us in this passage that, more than anything, we must know and believe the love that God has for us.
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God Is Love — 1 John 4:7-12
Bumper stickers and graphic tees frequently quote the Bible and simply say, “God Is Love.” But what is love? Pastor Nate Harlan answers from the text of 1 John and the life of Christ: Love suffers willingly for the glory of God and for the good of others. Anything less is a lie.
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Test the Spirits — 1 John 4:1-6
Pastor Nate Harlan equips us to test the spirits — that is, false teaching inspired by demonic influence. We must be diligent or we will be led away into heresy and idolatry.
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When Our Hearts Condemn Us, Part 2 — 1 John 3:19-24
God’s love for his children is extravagant. In this second part of Pastor Nate Harlan’s sermon on 1 John 3:19-24, we focus on what the Apostle John tells us about this important topic. We are not to live in a state of insecurity about our relationship with God. We are to live trusting in the…
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When Our Hearts Condemn Us — 1 John 3:19-24
If you are struggling with the assurance of your salvation, if you lack confidence before God, you are more concerned about yourself than about others. This lack of confidence before God can actually make us selfish and keep us from obeying His command to love the brothers. Having biblical confidence equips us to love others…
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Be Not Surprised — 1 John 3:11‑18
No one wants to be hated, so the temptation for the Christian is to compromise with the world so the world won’t hate us. But as Pastor Nate Harlan says, simply by your example of following Jesus, you are exposing the wickedness of the unbelievers around you. We cannot cave in to the pressure to…
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Who Is Your Father? 1 John 2:28‑3:10
Are you a child of the devil or are you a child of God? Can you know for sure? What the Apostle John tells us in this passage is that you can discover the answer. But the process is uncomfortable because it requires deep self-examination: Do you practice sin or do you practice righteousness? Hear Pastor…
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Purifying Hope — 1 John 2:28–3:10
Hope has a central importance in the Christian’s life. Just like faith, hope by itself is useless. Hope must have an object. Moreover, you cannot follow Jesus faithfully without having hope. Pastor Nate Harlan digs into the purifying aspect of hope in the first of a series of sermons on this particular passage.
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Abide in Christ — 1 John 2:24–28
We are not saved by sound doctrine. But we cannot be saved apart from it. Pastor Nate Harlan shows us from 1 John that we should be concerned with doctrine because we want eternal life. And to have eternal life, we need to abide in the truth of the gospel and abide in Christ. (Our…
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Why Christmas Matters — 1 John 2:18–23
The teaching of the Incarnation, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, is viciously attacked today. This is an old lie; the Apostle John himself also faced this lie among the heretical Gnostics of his era. But as Pastor Nate Harlan preaches on 1 John 2:18–23, we discover that if the Incarnation is false,…
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Love Not the World — 1 John 2:12–17
The Apostle John warns us to love not the world. But what is the antidote to loving the world? It’s remembering who you are in Christ and being thankful. Pastor Nate Harlan preaches on 1 John 2:12–17 and encourages us, especially if we are little children, fathers, or young men.
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The Light of the World — 1 John 2:7–11
The theme of brotherly love is a fundamental concern of this epistle. In order for you to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you will show love for your brothers in Christ. There is more to being a Christian than having mere knowledge. We also must love the church.
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Keeping Christ’s Commandments — 1 John 2:3‑6
Do you want assurance for your salvation? Do you want to know that you are in Christ and that God has redeemed you from your sins? Then ask yourself this question: Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? What is my attitude toward the church? There is no such thing as a Christian…
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Christ Our Advocate — 1 John 2:1–2
One sin is enough to sever your relationship with God. One act of disobedience in the garden made Adam into God’s enemy, because through that act, Adam called God a liar. One sin leaves us with no excuse and no defense. But we have an advocate in Christ who promises to preserve his sheep. Hear…
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Walking in the Light — 1 John 1:5–10
Pastor Nate Harlan leads us through this encapsulation of the Gospel in John’s first epistle. An important lesson: If a church’s members fail to confess their sins to one another, they will not have true fellowship with one another. And if they do not have fellowship with one another, they will not have fellowship with…
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Made Manifest — 1 John 1:1‑4
Why does the incarnation of Jesus Christ matter? Pastor Nate Harlan begins a series through the book of 1 John to discover the answers. We soon realize the importance of doctrine, in this case the doctrines of Christology, that guard us from heresies that would either deny Christ’s divinity or his humanity.