Torn Apart: the WNL Fall Series

Branch Parents

Tomorrow night, we will begin Torn Apart: a Study of First John, the sermons series that I'll be preaching through for the entire fall semester.  I am very excited about the series because I believe that your kids will really get a lot out of it in terms of knowledge and application.  In each part of the series, we will comb through the verses for that session and then discuss the truths presented in those verses.  Then, we'll talk about the similarities between our circumstances and the circumstances of those to whom the letter was written.  Lastly, we'll get into how the truths can be practically applied in our lives.  Allow me to give you a little background:

Tradition tells us that I John was written by John the Apostle, one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus Christ.  Toward the end of his life, John lived in a city in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) called Ephesus.  John had probably planted several churches in and around Ephesus.  Not long after these churches were established, several influential members from these churches began to proclaim a new belief system.  They believed that they possessed special spiritual insight and knowledge that "normal" believers were incapable of understanding.  Unfortunately, many of these beliefs were clearly contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that was the foundation of the churches in the first place.  Therefore, John writes this letter in order to confront this dangerous belief system (and the people proclaiming it) that is popping up in his churches - an issue that is putting the very salvation of people's souls at stake.


What exactly is this new belief system?  Well, we can tell a lot from what John writes (not to mention other historical sources that confirm what we know from John).  This new belief is probably an early form of Gnosticism, a system of belief that held that only certain people were able to receive this special knowledge (gnosis = "knowledge" in Greek).  Gnostics believed in a moral separation between the physical and the spiritual - everything that is spiritual was good; everything that is physical was evil.  Under the inspiration of this "enlightenment", these influential church members asserted several false beliefs.  I've summarized them for you:

1.) They couldn't sin (I John 1:8).  The fact that they had received this special knowledge was proof to them that God did not regard them as sinful, but rather perfect - like Him.  Therefore, they did not possess the ability to sin.

2.) They didn't sin (I John 1:10).  Since the only thing that really mattered to God was the soul (because the body - which is physical - was inherently evil), then it didn't really matter what you did with your body.  So...SIN PARTY!!!  WHOOO HOOOO!!!

3.) They were better than others ( I John 1:9-10).  Since they alone possessed this knowledge, what was the point of hanging out with a bunch non-enlightened chowder heads?

4.) Jesus didn't actually come in the flesh (I John 4:2-3).  If the body was evil because it was physical, then it is impossible that Jesus (who is God and, therefore, perfect and good) actually came in the flesh.  He likely only "appeared" to come in the flesh (this philosophy is known as Docetism, by the way).

Now, here's the question: why would I choose I John for a sermon series?  Answer: because the world our teens are growing up in is a LOT like the world of the Christians John was writing to!  The more I read through this book, the more I realized how much humanity hasn't really changed.  Still - 2,000 years later - our kids are surrounded by a culture that constantly downplays its sinfulness (and consequently, its need for Christ), considers the Gospel to be archaic and "old news" rather than the good news, and doesn't really believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God who came in flesh.

More to the point, our teens are growing up in a world that pressures them to accept a belief system that is more tolerant, more fun, more pleasurable, and more centered on self.  And honestly, it's way easier to accept that belief system than it is to accept the "Good News" of the Gospel - which sometimes seems like a death sentence for real life, to be honest.  However, in the end, the truth is that these new systems of belief are all the same: they are temporarily fun, ultimately empty, and cannot save.

Only Christ can save.

My hope and prayer is that, through this sermon series, our teens will:

...trust in the Gospel by recognizing their sinfulness and consequent need for Jesus Christ.
...identify and resist beliefs and philosophies that can't stand up to the Gospel.
...not abandon the truth of the Gospel because it's hard to hear/live sometimes.
...realize that real life in Christ is infinitely better than anything the world can ever give them.
...know that God is the embodiment of love.
...learn that loving God results in loving people.

I can't even express how excited I am, and I hope that you will join me in praying for your children and staying up to date with me as I continue to dialogue continually with you over the next several weeks about the important fruit that God's Word will bear in the lives of our teens.

Two thing you need to know:

1.) Each week, I'll provide you with a summary of what was taught as well as specific questions that you can ask your teens to initiate and encourage discussion.

2.) I'll also record the sermon for each WNL so that you can listen to it on your own time and hear exactly what your students heard if you desire.  I will post the sermons to the "MEDIA" section of the Branch website under "video".

Feel free to comment on this post or email me with any questions, suggestions, or comments.

in Him

sray