14th July 2019 - Will Ackels

 Emily opened the service with the announcements and handed over to Will Ackles to present the service.

Will called on Nancy to chat to the kids.

Will began with a review of the first Sunday—John was writing to a people who were, for a variety of common reasons, discouraged and doubting two things: could/would Christ deliver what he promised and were they worthy of receiving it. His response was to remind the people of two things: the identity of Christ and the relationship with that identity and their lives. 1 John then is a letter about two things: doctrine and ethics. It is about what it means to be a Christian, one of God’s peculiar/distinct/set-apart people. What it means to be a light to the culture rather than a mirror of the culture.

​Will then took the service forward after reverting to his previous discussion from John 1 1:4
In it John identifies three components in the identity of Jesus that should give his readers confidence and encouragement, three things shared by no one else. 1–Christ, ‘was from the beginning’ means he was/is creator. As such he and he alone knows the purpose for creation and for each person. Without him we create meanings but they are not real or lasting. 2–Christ is life. Apart from him people exist, but do not have life to the fullest. 3–Christ declares that we can have a relationship with God as our loving father. Nature hints at a god of power, but says nothing of his moral character. Religions try to reach god or placate him. Jesus says he loves us.