JOY LIFE AND FELLOWSHIP 1 JOHN 1:1-4 7/22/2012
WWW.NORTHPOINTSB.COM PASTOR
PAUL M. REINHARD
Welcome:
Spend
a few minutes having a snack, meeting new people, and connecting with those in
your Life Group. Unplug from the week
and prepare to engage!
Worship: Connect with God through songs, prayers, and
creative arts. Invite the Holy Spirit to
move and minister in your group! Be open
to God’s leading and presence! Enjoy
this time with God and one another.
Word: This
week we began our series in 1 John. John
uses the word love over and over, but we are also going to find that he is
willing to challenge the church. In
fact, we are going to find that his LOVE for Christ compels him to challenge the
church. He begins this letter with words
of proclamation, and invitation. The
proclamation is about Christ! The
invitation is for us! These opening
verses lay an important foundation for where he will take us in the next four
chapters. Don’t miss them!
1. Have you ever been the one to make an
announcement? Maybe to your family, or to a class, or at camp. What was it like?
2. Today we are going to reflect upon the
words of 1 John 1:1-4. As we do, allow
the Holy Spirit to speak life, joy, and fellowship into your life! I pray that God will stir you deeply as you
reflect upon His word! This week use the
Message by Eugene Petersen. Sometimes
working from a different version allows you to hear differently!
1
John 1:1-4 (MSG) 1
From the very first day, we were
there, taking it all in—
we heard
it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands.
2 The
Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen!
And now
we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly,
this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. 3 We
saw it, we heard it,
and now
we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of
communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 Our
motive for writing
is simply
this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
A. Why do you think John takes such care to
declare that they saw it, heard it, and touched it? Why might this have been important to his
audience? Is it important to you? Verses 1 & 3
B. “The Word of Life appeared right before
our eyes!” Think about the gospel of
John, and the other gospel accounts of Jesus.
If you had been with the disciples, which stories would have made you
say, “The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes?” Verse 2
C. Explain the fellowship triangle that we
looked at Sunday morning! Verse 3
D. John gives us one clear and final reason
for writing this letter.
What is it? Verse 4
a. How could this apply to a believer?
b. How could this apply to a not yet
believer?
Witness: Have you had the joy of praying with
someone to receive Christ?
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