Week 3: Knowing and Keeping – 1 John 2:1-11
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 2:1-11 gives us two tests to know if we have a genuine faith: Am I seeking to know and obey God’s Word? Is there someone I won’t forgive?
LIVE OAK CONNECTION POINT:
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DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What is something you are looking forward to in the next 3 months?
- Tell the group about someone who has been a role model for you?
- Has your view of obedience changed from when you were a child to now? If so, explain how and what has contributed to that change.
READ: 1 John 2:1-11.
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?
- What does this passage tell me about who I am?
- Doug said that the first test in this passage to know if you really know God and have eternal life is: The Obedience Test: “Am I seeking to KNOW and KEEP His commands?”
- How would you complete the following statement? “Obedience to God’s Word can be a challenge when…”
- Where or when in life are your tempted to be on a “happiness quest” rather than a “truth quest”?
- Have you experienced a time in your spiritual journey when you obeyed God even when it was either inconvenient, didn’t make sense, or brought temporary pain (or all three)? If so, can you think of one significant thing you learned about yourself or God through the process?
- What are some of your best practices for engaging with God’s Word to KNOW it & KEEP it?
- 1 John 2:6 challenges us to “live as Jesus did”. What do you think that means?
- Doug said that “If I am living in Christ, then I will live as He lived” and “To live as Jesus lived, I need the life of Christ in me.” How can we lean into our identity in Christ and practice the presence of Jesus this week?
- In 1 John 2:6 it says, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” Can you think of something from Jesus’ life or from this weeks sermon that could serve as an example you would like to follow?
- Doug said that the second test in this passage to know if you really know God and have eternal life is a specific area of obedience that Jesus calls us to and it is a challenging area to obey: The Forgiveness Test: “Is there someone I will not forgive?”
- How would you complete this statement? “Forgiveness can be a challenge when …”
- READ: Colossians 3:3. What does this tell us about how we engage with those who are hard to forgive?
- 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 2:3 “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.”
PRAYER:
Spend some time praying for each other.
Scripture References:
1 John 5:13; 1 John 2:1-2, 3-11; Titus 1:16; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 5:7-8; Leviticus 19:18; John 13:34-35; John 15:13; Matthew 5:43-48; Matthew 18:21-35; Romans 12:17-21; 2 Timothy 4:14-17.
