Christ Our Advocate

[Announce text] Please look with me in Scripture at 1 John 2:1-6.

[Scripture introduction] John’s first epistle is written to the church concerning how Christians ought avoid sin and imitate the life of the Son.

[Reannounce and read text] Read with me these words concerning Christ our advocate and how his life influences our life in 1 John 2:1-6. [The preacher reads the Scripture passage out loud.]

[Prayer for illumination] Pray with me as we ask God to lead us into the truth of his inspired Word. [The minister offers a brief prayer asking the Holy Spirit to bless the understanding of the preacher and hearers as God’s Word is proclaimed.]

[Introduction]

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. (The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost, 16-20)

Didache: Two Ways there are, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the Two Ways.

Now, the Way of Life is this: first, love the God who made you; secondly, your neighbor as yourself:3 do not do to another what you do not wish to be done to yourself.

The Way of Death is this. First of all, it is wicked and altogether accursed: murders, adulteries, lustful desires, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magical arts, sorceries, robberies, false testimonies, hypocrisy, duplicity, fraud, pride, malice, surliness, covetousness, foul talk, jealousy, rashness, haughtiness, false pretensions, the lack of the fear of God.

Hence, John wrote so we will walk the path of light and imitate the life of the Son. Which brings us back to 1 John 1:2-6.

[Main point 1] Jesus' cruciform love saves (vv. 1-2)

Do not love sin!

There’s hope with we do sin.

Jesus Christ the righteous is our Advocate. (Purifies and defends us)

His self sacrifice is the truest expression of divine love.

[Main point 2] God's cruciform love perfects (v. 5)

The path of cruciform love defines Christianity.

We can claim we understand God only when we keep his commandment (1 John 3:23). Faith in Christ and obtaining cruciform love in us.

The crucified love perfects the believer and their love for one another.

[Main point 3] Christians' cruciform love is love (v. 6)

The path of life begins through death of oneself. Death on a cross and offering your life to the Father. The self-giving love of the believer is trust love one can experience because it comes fro heaven.

[Dominate Thought] Cruciform love saves.

[Conclusion] The invitation I give to you is to love as Jesus’ hung on the cross for his enemies. When we love like him, the world sees love incarnate.

[Prayer for Transformation] Pray with me as we ask the Lord to transform us. [The minister prays for the congregation to reflect, repent, and renew themselves to Lord and to drink of the salvation of Christ.]