4/30 Sermon on 1 John, Part 3

Last Sunday's message at The Family Church here in Gainesville was the third part of a series, titled Let There Be Light and based on the New Testament book of 1 John.  This particular sermon, Changed, uses Chapter 2, Verses 6-14...you can read them through the following link to Bible Gateway: [link].  Being in the emergency room last Sunday morning, I wasn't able to attend the services then...but my church has a video channel on YouTube through which one can gain access to sermons past and present.  Consequently, I was later able to watch all of Pastor Philip Griffin's important message...and you can, too, through the following link to the pertinent YouTube site: [link]...

There was a lot of good stuff loaded into this message, and I'll list what I think were the main things that Pastor Philip said:

Knowing Jesus will change the way we live, love, and grow. 

The Old Testament command to love our neighbors as ourselves has been extended by Jesus to include our enemies and those toward whom we are indifferent...Pastor Philip pointed out that the Greek word for "hate" employed in the focus passage means both "detest" and "disregard".

It is necessary to talk about one's own experiences of discrimination and persecution...Philip recalled his childhood in Mexico and standing out there among the other children as being different...and thus subject to violent persecution, even to the extent that his life was threatened.  Although we can sympathize with those who have suffered discrimination, we can never fully understand the extent of their sufferings as they have experienced them.  But the love of Christ compels us to see life from others' perspectives and we are here to help one another.  If one part of the body (i.e. the Church) suffers, we all suffer.

The darkness of hate blinds us to God's great love and forgiveness as well as the nature of the true enemy, which is not of flesh but of spirit: the devil.

As Christians, doubting our forgiveness through Jesus diminishes his name.  The way to spiritual maturity is to go beyond overcoming one's own personal problems and to reach out and help others in their spiritual journeys, mentoring and discipling being two ways to achieve this.

Yes, this message contained much food for thought, meditation, and prayer.   I don't believe in dwelling on one's own past experiences to the point where they cloud the present, but Philip is right in that we each need to recognize how they...especially the experiences of persecution...have affected us, whether or not we want to consciously recognize it.  And to extend the meaning of hatred to include not just those whom we vehemently dislike, but also those whom we feel comfortable ignoring, was eye-opening...