REFUGE KENOSHA

Life can be complicated. There's an endless amount of decisions to be made. Who should I pursue relationships with? Which career should I embrace? As complex as life may be, following Jesus was always meant to be simple. The central truths about Jesus have always been simple, but there have been many movements and ideas that have attacked the simplicity of the Gospel.

Despite what any cultural movement or time period may tell you, there are things we should not love. As Christians, more specifically, we are called to a high standard of not placing anything above our love for Jesus. As we look at 1 John 2:12-17, we will see how love for God and love for the world are opposed to one another, and that loving the world is a result of misguided passions.

Just like the word “love,” the word “hate” has taken on a variety of meanings in recent years. Although there is certainly warrant to some modern definitions, the ultimate meaning can only lie with whoever made all things. God gets to define what hate actually is. Today, as we look at 1 John 2:9-11 we will see how loving less (hate) destroys us and others quietly.

The term “love” has undergone a lot of changes in the past 100 years. However, it is only rightly defined by whoever created the world. As we look at 1 John 2:7-8, we will see how love has not and will not change. We will see how our love for others and our love for God are not things that can be separated.

How can we know that we know? How can we have some sort of assurance that we belong to Jesus? It’s a difficult question, but one that Scripture addresses in several different ways. Today, as we look at 1 John 2:3-6, we will see how obedience is a key to assurance for the Christian.

We are all sinful. Even after coming to know Christ, we will still find ourselves struggling against certain things. What should we do when we've messed up? What should we do when that one thing has gotten the best of us for the thousandth time? As we dive into 1 John 2:1-2, we will see how in our weakness, we are to trust Jesus first.

There is a common belief that as human beings, we are ever reaching a state of perfection. At the very minimum, we look back in history and claim that we are more advanced and moral than the people before us. However, this narrow-minded view of humanity discounts the main understanding that all human beings are sinful and broken. Today, as we look at 1 John 1:8-10, we will see how destructive wrong ideas about sin can actually be in our lives.

Sometimes Christians can become so enamored with the idea of becoming perfect, that they actually believe they can attain a state of sinless perfection on earth. Although such an idea is clearly absurd, many people can practically buy into this mindset when they live in a way that’s not biblical and think they are maintaining a good relationship with God. As we look at 1 John 1:6-7, we’ll see how sin can actually hurt Christian’s relationship with God.

We like to think that having complete an utter moral freedom is the key to happiness in life. Anything that would tell me not to embrace what I want to embrace is seen as oppressive. However, what if there was actually fullness and life found in living the way you were designed to live? As we unpack 1 John 1:5, we will see how there is wholeness in God’s holiness.

The word “fellowship” brings several different thoughts to our minds. For people who have never stepped foot in a church, it sounds religious, to those who grew up in certain churches, it sounds like the 1:00 greeting time during service. But what are the qualities of Christian fellowship? As we look at 1 John 1:3, we will see how fellowship is a deep sharing of life in Christ with others.