4/12/26 - The Book of 1st John : Chapter 1- Pastor Melissa Stelly

“Genuine fellowship with God, made possible only through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, transforms how we walk, how we love, and how we discern truth from deception.”

Matthew 4:18-22 NLT

“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

A little farther up the shore,he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”

Luke 9: 51-56 NLT

"As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them.”

1 John 1: 10

“Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.”

Central Idea: “Jesus’ incarnation was God’s radical plan to bring salvation to humanity enslaved by sin—and our response to that plan is to walk in the light through honest confession and genuine fellowship.

I. The Word of Life Incarnate (vv. 1–4 NIV)

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”

II. God Is Light (vv. 5–7 NIV)

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

III. The Deadly Trap of Denial (vv. 8–10)

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

First lie (v. 8): “We have no sin.” 

Second lie (v. 10): “We have not sinned.” 

The remedy (v. 9): Confession. 

1. Anchor your faith in the incarnation. 
2. Make confession a regular spiritual discipline. 
3. Pursue transparency in community.