1. John 5:1-12
Faith Conquers the World
- Verse 4: "This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.", writes someone ion this ancient letter
- Back in Bethlehem people began to understand that Jesus is the Son of God and that conquered their world:
- hardworking shepherds in tough economic times
- living in an occupied land permanently loosing friends and family to the enemy, just like the brace men and women we remember this Memorial Day Weekend
- experiencing the rule of death in this world where ultimately gravity is going to win
- getting up every morning we try to overcome gravity, every night we surrender
- the shepherds found a meaning in all this mess we have to endure every day
- Once you believe Jesus is the Son of God, you also come to realize that everybody is a child of God
- Love everybody extraordinarily
Three that testify
- The Letter continues, Verse 7-8: "There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood" What are they?
- Spirit: Gives faith and love
- Water: Baptism is grateful reply
- Blood: Communion reassures us
God’s Testimony in the Spirit
- Verse 11: "God gave us eternal life"
"God gave"
- not an unknown power
- not a natural possession of ours
- giving act, gratefully to be received
"us"
- not "me"
- Israel, all peoples and because of that also me
- not limited to the church, they are only those who already have replied
- "us" means everybody is a child of God
"eternal life"
- not about the afterlife and what may or may not happen
- about God’s never ending love
- this faith and love are shared with us through the spirit
- we shall overcome this current recession
- we shall be at peace with our mortality
- we shall love everybody extraordinarily
- Because everybody is a child of God, because Jesus is the Son of God
Our Testimony in the Water of Baptism
- professing Jesus as the Son of God
- recognizing in every human being a beloved one of God
- act accordingly
- help your acquaintances, coworkers, neighbors, friends and family professing Jesus as the Son of God
- help them desire to be baptized or reaffirm their baptism in case they got lost on the way
- in our day and age most people were baptized at some point
- help them remember what’s so great about their Testimony in the Water of Baptism, their grateful reply to God’s initial love
The Testimony in Blood
- I do not feel equipped to share the faith
- Baloney: All it takes is to tell people that you experience a loving community of faith
- At its best this community is gathered around Christ’s table and enjoys communion with Jesus and with one another
- And after worship we sit together over coffee and goodies and talk about what is going on in our lives
- That is God’s way of equipping us to live extraordinary love
- Verse 4: "This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith."
