4/25 Sunday School "God is....Life"

Lessons by Jared Graves

Introduction

Review. This is the final week of our series on 1 John. We have learned two attributes of God so far. The first week we learned that God is… (Light) and last week we talked about God being… (Love). Today, we are going to talk about God being life.

Activity: Have a large dry-erase board to mark on for this lesson. On one side of the board have written “Good world”. With a line dividing the two sides, write “Bad world” on the other side of the board. Students are going to list the difference in the two and which aspects of everyday life fit in which category.

One of the predominant misconceptions of our faith is that we are to be completely and utterly secluded from the world. It is especially bad when people have kids and remember all the stuff they had to deal with in high school and life and so they are ULTRA protective to try and keep them away from the things of this world. In our English translations of the Bible we find that we are supposed to stay away from the world and out of the world. However, we find that in the original language, there is a difference in “worlds”. There is the world of the flesh, which is all the things that are sinful and detrimental to our Christian walk, and then there is the world of people and creation that God loves and created. That is why the phrase be in the world, but of the world makes sense. We are supposed live in this world, be with all different types of people, but we need to avoid sin and the things that would compromise our faith.

Before we begin today, let’s discuss and list the differences in the “good world” that we are to be apart of, and the “bad world that we should avoid”.

Bible Study/Exegesis (What it meant then)- 1 John 5

Everyone turn to 1 John 5

Read 1 John 5:1-5

·      In Christ we are victorious. What is the end for all those in the world? Death. 10 out of every 10 people die. It is the ultimate statistic. However, if we have Christ, we are victorious over this world and we can hope in a life that is given by the Life-Giver.

·      What does it mean that we have victory over our faith?

Read 1 John 5:6-12

·      Do you see what John has done here? There is pattern that he followed the entire letter: This is who God is, this is how God does this, and this is what you should do about it. Now look at what He did with the pattern: This is who God is (Life), this is how God does it (overcoming the world), but now John shows that this is what God did about it. God sent His Son to live in worldly terms.

·      What is the big deal about the difference in water and blood? Water came from Heaven as an inanimate object. It doesn’t breathe, etc. Jesus wasn’t a vapor, or something that was not real, He was real, He bled, He was like us.

Read 1 John 5:13-21

·      What is this sin that leads to death? Which sins do not lead to death? Should we more concerned with discerning which sin is which or just try not to sin at all?

·      Why is verse 21 there? How does it relate to God being life? Idols are temporary and lead to death. God is living and offers us life.

Application/Hermeneutics (What it means now):

Which of the three attributes of God that we have studied this month appeals most to people?

What is one thing you learned today?