Week 9: Loving from a Changed Life – 1 John 4:7-21
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 4:13 shows us The LIFE CHANGE Test: Is the Holy Spirit changing me from the inside out? When I have God’s Holy Spirit living in me, He will change me from the inside out and it will show up by the way I love others.
DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What is a HIGH and a LOW from the past week?
- When was a time when someone expressed love to you, or you felt loved by someone, the way Jesus would love you?
- When is it difficult for you to love others the way Jesus would?
READ: 1 John 4:7-21.
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 there are 3 questions we all ask. How does 1 John 4:7-21 speak to each of these?
IDENTITY: Who am I? PURPOSE: Why am I here? BELONGING: Where do I belong?
1 John 4:17-28 talks about being complete and confident on the “day of judgement” when we stand before God one day. How do these verses speak to the confidence we can have for that day and the confidence we can live in every day?
Ephesians 3:12 Hebrews 4:16 Hebrews 10:15-25
- One of John’s tests for knowing if you have a genuine faith is The LIFE CHANGE Test: Is the Holy Spirit changing me from the inside out? What are some ways you have seen God change you from the inside out?
- 1 John 4:16 talks about RELYING on the love of God. Doug said that to love like Jesus we need to rely on His love for us, rely on His love for others, and rely on His Holy Spirit to help us love beyond ourselves. What does it look like practically to rely on God to love others?
- Is there anything specific you would like prayer for that you sense the Holy Spirit is working on to change you from the inside out?
- 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.
*** 3 SERVICES (8:30am/10am/ 11:30am):
>What service will you be ATTENDING starting January 11, 2026?
>If you already serve on Sundays, what service will you be SERVING starting January 11?
>If you not already serving on Sundays, would you pray about serving on Sundays to allow us to create a service for us to make room for more?
*Go to SIGN UP & EVENTS to let us know which service you will be attending and serving, or to sign up to serve, and to help us decide which sermon series will kick off the 3 services era of Live Oak.
MEMORY VERSE: *Challenge yourself or your group to commit this verse to memory:
1 John 4:13 “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.”
PRAYER:
Spend some time praying for each other.
Scripture References:
1 John 5:13; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 John 3:1; John 1:12; Romans 5:8 Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 3:14-19; Psalm 139; Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 10:15-25; 1 John 3:16
