By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sermon Text: I John 1:1-4
Sermon Theme
The First Epistle of John presents a picture of a community of churches that had followed the Gospel of John as their primary source of the Christian message. In all likelihood, these churches were in Asia minor probably in the area of Ephesus (Acts 19-20) around the end of the first century A.D. These Christians are facing a changing world both within the church and in the surrounding Roman Empire. In the face of new challenges, they had to redefine and reaffirm what they believed. This letter calls them to be clear about the Gospel, “the word of life,” and to demonstrate that Gospel in a hands-on manner. We, like them, live in a rapidly changing world in which we are called to show that we have heard, seen and touched the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon Outline
- Declare. John is writing to Christians in a changing, and indeed threatening, world. They had been a community for about seventy years. Now they were witnessing attempts to change the gospel message with which they had begun. The Roman Emperor, Domition, had declared himself to be “Lord and God.” John calls on his readers to declare their faith not only verbally but through the life experiences of hearing, seeing and touching.
- Decide. Faith always demands a decision. The faith that John declares leads to fellowship with God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. The fellowship of believers is based on the fellowship that exists in the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Most of those in John’s congregation had been born after the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their task was to live out the fellowship guaranteed in Christ in a changing, confusing and even threatening world. This is the task of Christians in every generation. This year is the sixtieth anniversary of a major change in the life of Grace Presbyterian Church. Sixty years ago, Grace merged with South Presbyterian Church (now Trinity Presbyterian Church). This change had its own challenges and struggles. Yet out of this came our Missions program and the Missions Conference we just completed for the fifty-eighth year. The challenge of change can lead us to new ways of declaring the “word of life.”
- Demonstrate. In the face of serious and demanding issues, John writes of having complete joy. This joy arises from the encounter we have with each other and with the living Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a world of uncertain change. In this context, people need to be touched by those who have been touched by Jesus. We can touch people’s lives through caring and compassion. We need to be taken out of our personal comfort zone and show, not just tell, others about Jesus Christ. To be in mission is to touch others with the reality of Jesus Christ. This can be done through hosting homeless families, tutoring in schools, music and the arts, programs on the internet and a host of other possibilities. John calls us to expand our fellowship in Jesus Christ. This fulfills Jesus’ promise that our joy will be complete (John 15:11).
Questions for Us
- What are ways in which we can declare our faith openly? How can we share what we have heard, seen and touched?
- George Barna has written that American culture completely reinvents itself every three to five years. What does that say about the kind of Christian fellowship we need to maintain to be effective in a continually changing world?
- What are some of the concrete ways that we, who have been touched by Christ, can touch those we encounter in the world around us?
