Essential Pictures

1 John 2:28-3:10

I often have to remove photos from camera roll.

dont 7 of the awesome lamb i smoked on the traeger.

i don’t 8 of my failed video recordings

I just want to keep the essential memories or most important ones

Recently we did new staff photos…like any good parent who has tried to photo a toddler, you get thousands of photos for one or two really good ones

A few things make for a good picture - right lighting, right angle, and right framing.

We need to frame some proper images regarding our faith.

I want to share three essential pictures of our faith today.

(1) A Family Picture

1 John 2:28–3:1 (NLT)

28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. 1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

We can call Him Father.

John calls us little children…not an insult, but reminder of position and posture (humble, awe, childlike)

we call each other brother and sister

Romans 8:5-17

no other religion does the familial thing.

illus: Njay Gupta

(2) Picture Perfect Future

[you don’t need no filter]

1John 3:2-3

What will it be like when the cosmos are renewed??

…childlike curiosity!

Revelation 21:1–4 (NLT)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Romans 8:18-23

Hope is the picture we see.

Imagination incubates our Hope for tomorrow.

Hope is what propels our allegiance to proper relationship.

When you see God clearly and His purpose clearly, you wont’ want to love anything else!

(3) A Relationship Portrait

1 John 3:4-8

All sin is contrary to law, because the law was showing us how to abide in relationship and covenant communion with God.

Jesus was without sin - never missing the mark of abiding relationship with God. Jesus was the sinless one. When we keep our eyes and love focused on the sinless one, we will sin less.

We sin less than we think.

empowered by Spirit. Grace empowers us to no longer be a slave to missing the mark

walking the dog, drinking coffee, experiencing an emotion, etc - not sinful if your are child of God.

We sin more than we admit.

Admitting our sin is more important that knowing we sin. Because, for them who know what is sin and does it without repenting, to him it becomes rebellion.

We can act out of character, but we remain in the family, with family DNA.

Four things I often remind our kids that we embody and live as Hunts:

listen to authorities

kind to everyone

do our best with good attitudes

always tell the truth

Acting out of character long enough and your form a new character.

illus: prodigal son, left the family, disavowed (denied) the family…had he died in the prodigal years, he would have died without the protection of the family. This is a modern tale of the OT, and those who rebelled against the covenant they were once participating in. They were mutinous against the kingdom of God.

vs 9-10

Three prevailing portraits of NT for God’s people to understand the manifold relationship with God…

Body - HOW we grow and mature

Family - HEARTBEAT of warmth and love

Kingdom - WHAT describing the reality of partnership with the King

When we get a glimpse of the real Jesus, our desire to sin fades away.

When I lose sight of love for my family, I get distracted. When I lose sight of love I have for my wife, I can fracture the relationship…I miss the mark

illus: Portrait Mode, brings into focus the subject, and blurs the other. Bring Jesus into focus

The antidote to sin is love; Love received by God and love returned to God.

The habitual practice of goodness is evidence of what God has done in them.

Faith (embodied loyal trust) is EVIDENCE of what is not seen (internal seed of being REBORN).

practicing right living is EVIDENCE of what God has done IN us and FOR us.

The right acts of loyalty are not so that God has confidence in you, but so that you know you have confidence (assurance) in God.

Response.

Some of us have the wrong snapshots framed in our imagination about our faith and relationship with God.

ASK the HOLY SPIRIT:

God, help me see a picture of our relationships right now.

God, show me a picture of what you want our relationship to look like.

——————————————————————-

Talk it Over (with friends, a spouse, or your Group)

Read 1 John 28-3:10. What do you notice in this passage?

Sunday’s message was about getting an accurate picture of Jesus and our relationship with Him. What was one key take-away for you?

John calls us “little children”. Do you find that encouraging or do you find yourself resistant to that label? Why?

Read Romans 8 (whole chapter). What do you notice about God in this passage? What in this passage correlates to the passage in 1 John that we read earlier?

What are some terms you would use to describe the DNA or characteristics of God’s family?

At the end of service, we paused to ask God to give us a picture of our current relationship with Him. What images did you see?

Recite ‌the above prayer as a group.