The God of Light and Love: Pray for One Another
Date: 2/12/23
Preacher: Dave Richards
Scripture: 1 John 5:13-17
Main Sermon Points:
1. Be watchful and wise (v.16a).
2. Be prayerful and present (v.16b).
3. Be confident and caring (v.16).
4. We should:
• Be known.
• Pray dependently.
• Model confession.
Psalm
Psalm 6 (When singing or praying this Psalm, we pray dependently for God to treat us gently with mercy and grace (v.1-3), ask him to give life (v.4-5), acknowledge and affirm our emotions and struggles (v.6-7), and confidently proclaim that God has heard us and will protect us (v.8-10).)
Read the Passage
Read the Scripture passage aloud as a group. When you’re done reading, take some time to share observations about the passage. Try not to move into interpretation or application yet. Just spend some time observing what the text says.
Discuss and Apply
Have you thought or read much about “sin that leads to death” (v.16) or the “unforgivable sin” (Matthew 12:32, Mark 3:29)? For some Christians, this topic is a source of great worry and fear; and for others it’s a fuzzy concept or a relatively minor teaching.
1. Do you have any questions or struggles concerning what this passage means? Share your thoughts with the group.
Verse 16 contains an unexpected truth–did you notice it? Remember that believers are eternally secure in Christ. And yet, when we see a brother or sister fall, John instructs us to “ask, and God will give him life.” John Piper interprets this as, “Don’t separate yourselves from the very people who could be the means of your life, be the means of your preservation.”
2. Are you known in your church community to the point that someone could see you sinning, take notice, and ask God to bring you to repentance? What needs to change?
On Sunday morning, Dave encouraged us to look at what we don’t pray for in our lives–these are the things that we feel we can handle on our own, without depending on God. Take a moment to ask the Spirit to point out those areas in your life.
3. In what area of your life is God calling you into dependence?
Don’t miss that this passage implies a command: the one who sees a brother or sister fail, “shall ask, and God will give him life.”
4. How does this passage confront and correct our natural response to the failures of others?
Close
Imagine what it looks like for Sojourn to be an honest community that shares our burdens of sin, actively praying for each other, and celebrating the healing and life that God delights to give his children.
1. How do you shield yourself from that kind of honesty and that degree of being known? What needs to change?