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- Herausgeber: IVP Bible Studies
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Serie: IVP Bible Study Experience
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
We are in a season of church meltdown. The apostle John—the beloved disciple and the author of the Gospel by the same name—wrote letters to churches caught in a turbulent season of leadership failures, divisions over interpretation and practice, church splits, and even a powerful leader stirring up dissent. Sound familiar? It seems as though the church is melting under an angry heat wave of national politics, racism, injustice, and abuse. Is there any hope? Tara Beth Leach invites us to listen for John's guidance to the church. The same message John sent to Christians in his day is also a message for us today! Darkness seems to surround us, leaving so many without hope. But Jesus, the Light of the world, invites his followers to share that light with others and become the kind of community that brings love, hope, and healing to every darkened space. Join us for these next six weeks and learn to live in the light! A New Bible Study Experience From IVP! These Bible studies offer you a fresh opportunity to engage with Scripture. Each study includes: - weekly group sessions—for a group of any size - access to weekly teaching videos - five days of individual study and reflection each weekThe refreshing, accessible, and insightful content from trusted Bible teachers will encourage you in your faith!
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Live in the Light
Radiating the Hope of the Letters of John
Contents
Introduction
An Invitationto Light
Not too long ago, I was driving my boys to school on the most beautiful fall day. Leaves were starting to turn, I had a pumpkin-flavored coffee in my hand, I had just finished a fulfilling workout, and my boys were happily chatting in the backseat. I had nothing but joy in my heart and my mind, and I found myself thanking God for the gift of my children and the gift of the day. I hugged and kissed my boys goodbye and watched them saunter into the school as they chatted with their friends, when suddenly, fear darkened my heart.
What if . . .
Another horrific mass shooting had happened and the thought of such a scene dampened my joy.
It’s the What if? questions that lurk around the corners of every joyful day. What-if situations exist for all of us, and they can be downright frightening. On that day, for me, it was a school shooting. Your what-if fear could be job loss, illness, or loneliness. Sometimes, darkness seems to overcome, drown, and penetrate. Click on the news, and despair comes knocking on the doors of our emotions. Even as Christians, we wonder, What do we do? What is God going to do? Is there any hope? Will the light eventually win?
At the heart of Scripture is a robust call for the people of God to bear witness to the light of God amid a weary, groaning, and dark world. To be a witness means we are called to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God. To be a witness means we are called to mirror the things of God—the goodness of God, the light of God, and the love of God. Bearing witness means that we are to resemble the characteristics of God, so that when people look at us they will see what God is like. At the heart of the letters of John in the New Testament is a vision for such a witness—that is, to live light and hope when darkness seems to be looming. In the end, light wins. In the present, light is here. In the now, we are called to live the light.
The apostle John, the author of these three letters—who also authored the fourth Gospel earlier in his life and the book of Revelation later in his life—is referred to as “the beloved disciple” of Jesus. John followed in the footsteps of his rabbi, Jesus. He witnessed Jesus turning water into wine; he stood by as Jesus healed the invalid near the waters of Bethesda; he witnessed the wonder of Jesus feeding five thousand with only a few loaves and fishes; he was there at the transfiguration; he followed Jesus to the cross and cared for Jesus’ mother, Mary; and he was one of the first to hear the news of the empty tomb. In the book of Acts, we see that John became one of the first leaders of the early Christian church.
Some years later, John wrote letters to turbulent churches rife with leadership failures, divisions over theology and practice, church splits, and even an infamous “antichrist” who convinced faithful Christians to revolt.
Maybe that sounds eerily similar. It does to me. It seems as though the church is melting under the heat wave of national politics and conspiracy theories, divisions over race and justice, wars raging in the backyards of innocent civilians (sometimes in the name of Christianity!), and hunger raging in the bellies of infants. Where do we stand as a church? Does the world see the light and hope in us amid the darkness?
As a pastor, I feel the weightiness of John’s letters. He writes as one who knows division, church splits, struggle, and ongoing conflict. At the same time, John writes because he believes in Jesus and he believes in the church. John believed the words of Jesus when he said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We do have trouble in our world today, but Jesus has indeed overcome the world.
For John, the future of the church is not a lost cause. He does not believe his words will be in vain, but instead he recognizes the authority given to him as an apostle, a pastor, a church planter, and an elder. He gives a vision for radiance—that is, as the light of Jesus fills our lives, it exudes and beams out of us and cuts through the darkness. It’s the kind of radiance that flows out of our relationship with God and one another—one that is wrapped in light, in which God is the source of all these things.
When I think of things such as these, I can’t help but imagine what could happen if Jesus’ people took John’s clarion call to heart. To live a radiant Christian life is to reflect and emit the truth, light, love, and freedom of Jesus—it is to glow in darkness. Thus, the invitation John gives to the reader is an invitation to a life of beaming light.
Over the next six weeks, listen for John’s invitations to the earliest Christians and the invitations for us today. The backdrop of the world in which we live is full of bitterness, war, strife, abuse, and misery. We are surrounded by the despairing, hurting, and hopeless. The world needs Jesus, and the world needs to know that Jesus’ family is like Jesus. When the church is truly light, others are drawn into the love and truth of Jesus through our fellowship.
This is a six-week study with weekly teachings and group discussions and five days of individual study per week. It walks through the letters of John and also includes other books of the Bible, especially written by John the apostle. It is recommended that group time be a minimum of sixty to ninety minutes so that groups can have plenty of time for prayer requests and fellowship as well as the video teaching and group discussion. Plan to pick five days a week for individual study that should take about fifteen to twenty minutes per day. Days one through four include readings and written reflections, and day five is a guided prayer practice.
My prayer for you is that over the next six weeks, the light of Jesus and his truth would bathe you in his love, light, and forgiveness. I don’t know where you find yourself these days; whether you’re new in your Christian journey or a mature Christian, I pray that this study would grow you. May the Lord meet with you in every moment, and may Jesus embolden you to truth; may the Spirit empower you to freedom; may the Lord propel you to love; and may the Father impel you to light.
How to Use This Book
Whether you are engaging in this study with a large group, a small group, in a coffee shop with a friend, or by yourself in your favorite chair, here are some helpful suggestions.
For the Group Session . . .
Set aside a designated day and time for a weekly gathering—in person or virtually—for the next six weeks. The content (video and discussion) will take about an hour, but I recommend allowing some additional time for a check-in or to share prayer requests.
The videos are accessed through the QR code in the book. These videos were created with a group in mind—that you would watch the video together and then immediately engage in the content that follows. But it means that individuals also have access, which is nice if someone has to miss a group gathering.
A few tips on engaging in a group discussion:
Be willing to participate in the discussion. The leader of your group will moderate the conversation, and it helps them to have willing participants.
Be careful not to dominate the discussion. We are sometimes so eager to express our thoughts that we leave too little opportunity for others to respond. By all means participate, but also make space for others’ contributions.
Be sensitive to the other members of the group. Listen attentively—you might be surprised by their insights!
When possible, link what you say to the comments of others. This will encourage some of the more hesitant members of the group to participate.
Stick to the topic being discussed and try to avoid “rabbit trails.”
Expect God to teach you through the content being discussed and through the other members of the group.
Pray that you will have an enjoyable and profitable time together, but also that as a result of the study you will find ways to respond individually or even as a group.
Remember that anything said in the group is considered confidential and should not be discussed outside the group unless specific permission is given to do so.
If you have time, a good check-in question might be to name a highlight from the previous week of study—either from the group session or individual days. This study is designed so that you can still participate in the group session even if you haven’t done all the homework, but—of course—I think you’ll still want to engage with everything!
For the Individual Days . . .
Following the group session are five days of content for you to engage with during the week between group gatherings. I wrote this study with you in mind—so the content is meaningful but not overwhelming, and it’s designed to fit into your normal, everyday life.
A few tips for engaging in individual study and reflection:
As you begin each day, invite God to speak to you through his Word.
Write your answers to the questions in the spaces provided or in a journal. Writing can bring clarity and deeper understanding.
Keep your Bible handy—you’ll be using it to look up passages. Sometimes I find it’s helpful to look up a passage in another translation, and most often I use an app on my phone for that.
It might also be helpful to have a Bible dictionary handy to look up any unfamiliar words, names, or places.
A the end of each day, thank God for what you have learned and pray about any applications that have come to mind.
