Hymn # 421 Rock of Ages
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
God's Will for our Lives – 1 Thessalonians 5:9-22
Hymn # 432 Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners
Scripture: 1 John 3:1-3
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Sermon: Children of God
Sermon Notes:
It is very easy for people to forget God's love for us. When we do so it is easy for us to love him truly.
This letter was written to encourage the believer's who were being pressured away from God.
So John wanted to remind the people of God who God was.
John wants to assure the people of God's great love for them.
1. See the great love of God.
A. He calls us his children.
God calls only certain people his children. All others are children of wrath, children of the devil.
We are not naturally part of God's family. We are naturally God's enemies.
So God took his natural enemy and chose to adopt into his own family. God adopted people who willingly killed his own son. THAT is God's love for us.
God made me his child.
B. We, as children of God, no longer fit into the world. So we stand against the things of the world like mercy killing, abortion, and more. The world will then scorn us.
C. Overtime we start to resemble God more and more. Which means more scorn. But we also see all your weaknesses.
D. God adopted me. I didn't make myself part of his family he chose me! So it should not surprise us that sometimes we struggle with fitting into our adopted family.
E. A day is coming when we shall be transformed to truly be God's children. We will one day be like God.
God in his great love will not let us go.
This is our hope.
F. This hope enables us to continue striving. Striving to be more and more the people he calls us to be. Striving through the reading of his word, through the thinking on him, through prayer, and talking/being with others who love him to.
We do this by looking to God's great love for us
- Hymn # 724 Only Trust Him
- Hymn # 667 To God Be the Glory
- Hymn # 319--2 Thanks we Give