A Negative Example

In 3 John 9, we have a negative example of a man named Diotrephes. He was a man who put himself first in the church and rejected authority. As we study this man and his characteristics, they certainly do not glorify Christ! John calls this man out and we have a written record of his negative example. What can we learn from this man? What situations might believers be tempted to be first? As you study this section of Scripture, do you find yourself like Diotrephes in any way? We encourage you to ask these hard questions of yourself. Evaluate your life - are you a negative example like Diotrephes or are you a godly example like Gaius?

Hospitality

As we have studied 2 John and are now studying 3 John, we can see that hospitality was an important part of the believers in John's day. We also know from Scripture that we ought to be showing hospitality to others (Romans 12:13). Our topic of discussion today then is, "how can we show hospitality to other Christians?" We hope this is an encouragement to you as you seek to be obedient to God. How do you show hospitality to others?

Praying for the Believers

Today we want to talk specifically about praying for other believers. We know that prayer is an important characteristic in the life of the believer. We've talked about how it is an encouragement to others when we pray for them. But today, our conversation is more about How you can pray for other believers. We can see from 3 John that John prays for his fellow believers and we see how he prays for them. So we will take thoughts from this text and seek to apply it directly to how we pray for others. What about you? How doe you specifically pray for other believers?

Encouraging the Believers

Today we talk about why it is important to tell other believers that you are praying for them. First of all, it's so encouraging! It also is biblical. We see in this letter that John not only prays for Gaius, but he also tells Gaius of his prayers. What an example of love. When we not only show love by praying, we love even more by telling the believer we've prayed. Is there someone who you have been praying for that you could encourage by telling them so? Or, is there someone you should begin to pray for? Let's pray and tell.....it's such an encouragement!

3 John

We begin a 2 week study of 3 John today. As you read through this book, you will find many similarities between 2 and 3 John. 3 John addresses hospitality and false teachers as 2 John does. This letter was written to Gaius, a very faithful Christian. This is the only book in the Bible that is address to one specific person. John prayed that Gaius' health would be as strong as his spiritual health. Doesn't this tell you something about this faithful Christian? John was very enthusiastic about the positive reports he received regarding Gaius. I hope that as we have discussed qualities of Gaius today, that you will be encouraged reflect on which qualities you need to develop in your own life.

Showing Love

Today we talk about how we can be loving and kind AND still refuse to accept false teachers. That is a hard thought! I don't know about you, but when one is trying to get me to accept a false belief, I am tempted to get pretty huffy quick! Yes, it is good to stand up for God's truth and turn from any false belief. However, it is so important that as we refuse to accept a false way, that we do show love. Here's a few thoughts we share today:

1. Remember Ephesians 4:32 - be kind to others.
2. Use Scripture to defend your belief. Don't just say, "I think," but rather say, "God says."
3. Look at them as Christ does...an unbeliever who needs the Savior. You may be the first person they have met who is a Christian.
4. Don't take it personal. They will answer to God someday for their rejection of the Truth!

Let us know your experience(s) with dealing those who believed falsely. What did you say? Was it hard to show love and kindess? How can we better prepare ourselves for future interaction with people such as these?

Believing a lie?

Today we ask why believers so often tempted to take false teaching lightly? Do we think we would never stray from our faith? Do we not realize the seriousness of their unbiblical belief? Do we think it's OK for them to believe what they want to keep the relationship peaceful? Are we afraid of speaking up for our faith? These are serious questions that you ought take the time to answer in your own life. We share our thoughts today regarding this....what do you think?

False Teachers

As we move into verses 7-13 of 2 John, we encounter those pesky false teachers again! What did they deny? They denied the deity of Jesus Christ. John spent a lot of time in his 1st letter to warn the believers of these false teachers. Here in 2 John, he is warning them again! John encouraged the believers to watch out for them so as to guard the faith. The reader of this letter was warned to not even let these false teachers into his or her house! In doing this, they would be vulnerable to the false teacher's lies. Christians often invited strangers into their home because they were following the command to show hospitality and love to others. Yet, in this case, John said to not allow the false teachers in their home. We hope this discussion of these verses help you to understand this context of Scripture. In two days, we'll get into the more practical application of the truth John wrote about.

Love for the Church Family

How do we show love for our church family? We have talked so much about loving others in the past, and today we want to ask specifically regarding those in our church family. What do you do weekly, monthly or randomly to show love to your church family. Again, we shared many things from our hearts today, and we want to hear from you too! What steps can you take today to show love?

Love for the Church Leadership

Today we are asking a very practical question for every one of us: "How can we show our love for our church leadership?" Specifically this applies to your pastor(s), elder(s) and/or deacon(s). We have a lot of thoughts about this, and would love to hear from you. How have you shown love for them? Or, how have you seen others show their love?

Joy

John had great joy when he hear that children were walking in the truth! (verse 4) Isn't it so encouraging to see others thrive in their Christian walk with God? We talk some today about when we have had joy seeing others walk in the truth. Will you share your joy with us?

The Truth

2 John 2 tells us that the truth "will be with us forever." How is that so? Today we discuss how important this fact is in the believer's life. How do you cultivate the truth in your life and how are you doing encouraging others to walk in the truth?

Beginning 2 John

Today, we begin our study in the book of 2 John! We are excited as we begin this study as we have much more to learn from John's writings. We hope that you will notice that we have made some changes to our study format. We desire to discuss Scripture in a way that will help you understand what is going on as well as how to apply truths to your life. You will still find study notes to help you as we go along (available on the right of our blog) and we will be referring to the questions quite frequently to help keep us all on track! Our discussion today focuses on some general questions about the book.

Overall, John wants his readers to:

1. Walk in the truth
2. Obey the commandments
3. Love one another
4. Guard the teachings of Christ to not be deceived by the antichrist

As you read through this book, what are some initial thoughts you have about it? What is different about this writing than 1 John? What things are similar? We hope you'll join us as we study!

Idolatry, part 2

Today and tomorrow, we will each share personal examples of what modern "idols" we are tempted by. We pray that by sharing our struggles, that it will encourage you to identify any idols you may have and be honest in dealing with them biblically. Would you share what you are tempted with? How do you use Scripture to overcome the temptation? How have you grown spiritually because of this struggle? Please share!

Idolatry

As we end our study of 1 John, we read John's words, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." What is an idol? It is anything that draws our attention away from God. What occupies my heart's desires - is it God? Or do I desire something else? So think through this with us for the next few days. What consumes you? What are you willing to sin to get? Hopefully you can use these questions to determine if you desire something other than our loving God.