Sermon text
1 John 4:7–12
⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Applying the text
- What does the text teach us about the love of God?
- Why is our love for one another the test for the genuineness of our relationship with God?
- How is God challenging you to grow in your love for others? What specific changes need to be made in your life?
Call to Worship
Psalm 32:1–6a
¹ Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found...
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, You have raised Jesus from death to life, and crowned Him Lord of all. We confess that we have not bowed before Him, or acknowledged His rule in our lives. We have gone along with the ways of the world, and failed to give Him glory. Forgive us and raise us from sin, that we may be Your faithful people, obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ, who rules the world and is head of the Church, His Body. In His name we pray, amen.
January Memory Verse
Deuteronomy 7:9
⁹ Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations...
Resources for Parents
Every Sunday, the children's ministry team creates lessons that cover the scripture and concepts from a recent sermon. The teachers ask simple questions to help the kids learn to understand and apply what God says in the Bible.
We want to equip parents to talk to their kids about what they're learning. The following is the content that the children's classes taught this week. We encourage parents to use this resource at home to help you and your kids grow as you learn from God's word together.
Children's Lesson from Sunday, January 12
Scripture:
1 Peter 1:13-25
The Main Point:
God is holy.
Vocabulary Word for PreK and Elementary 1 Classes:
Holy: Other, set apart; perfect in goodness and righteousness
Questions:
Q: From our Bible lesson, what are some things God has done for us?
A: Come to live as a man, died for our sin, make us born again.
Q: How do our lives change after God gives us a new heart?
A: We can say NO to sin and YES to God.
Q: What does holy mean?
A: Set apart, different, perfect in goodness and righteousness.
New City Catechism Question #48
Question:
What is the Church?
Answer:
A community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together.
(Note: All of our classes work through one question per month from the New City Catechism. You can download the New City Catechism app with all the questions and children's songs for free.)
