Welcome to “Proof of Life”! This guide has been created as a conversation catalyst for you and your friends to dialogue and discover the true life that God has created each of us to experience. This series of discussions will lead you through the life-affirming truths revealed in the book of First John. John writes his letter as a loving father to his cherished family in the faith. He, as a long-time follower of Jesus, is reflecting on a lifetime of relationship with God. John challenges us to substantiate our faith and fellowship with God through specific “proofs of life”. Enjoy the journey to life! Erwin
Authors Erwin R. McManus Chris Crossan Dave Auda
“Proof of Life”: Assessment Place your response number on the ____ after each statement. 1= strongly disagree 2= disagree
3= undecided
4= agree
5= strongly agree
Add each line and total at the bottom of the page.
1) Passport to Life _____
I am faithfully following Jesus Christ the true God, my only passport to true life and eternal life.
2) Proof 1: Light _____
I live and walk in the light of God and express it by loving my brother.
3) Proof 2: Passion _____
When I make wrong choices and actions, I quickly confess and experience forgiveness from God, change my thoughts, attitudes, words and actions; then, do my best to repair any hurt relationship.
4) Proof 3: Truth _____
When God reveals his truth to me, I immediately agree with him and make every step necessary to obey Him and his word.
5) Proof 4: Love _____
Since God expressed his love for me through personal sacrifice, I also demonstrate my love for him through giving my time, talents and resources to others in need.
6) Proof 5: World _____
I regularly stand up and speak up for what is true, right and good, whether anyone joins me or not.
TOTAL
__________
6 - 12: keep examining & exploring true life 13 – 18: keep stretching & pressing yourself to choose true life 19 – 30: keep celebrating & excelling in true life
Proof of Life - Discussion 1
“Passport to Life”
OPENING 1.) If you have ever travelled internationally, you understand the importance of always having your passport with you. Why is a passport so critical? Have you ever had your passport lost or stolen? What happened? What did you have to do to regain it or replace it? 2.) Have you ever had “such good news” that you couldn’t wait to share it with anyone and everyone you know? NOTE John, the “Beloved” disciple, writes his letter, First John, as a loving father to his cherished family in the faith. He, as a long-time follower of Jesus, is reflecting on a lifetime of relationship with God. Through this letter, he hopes to assure us that we are “children of God”. He also inspires us to “walk in fellowship with God”. John additionally challenges us to substantiate our faith and fellowship with God through specific “proofs of life”. We will explore these “proofs” in the coming weeks. Today, we want to examine the God of life, who gives us true life through Jesus Christ. 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. - I John 1:1-4 NOTE John is so excited to share the “Word of Life”! 1.) Who is the Word of Life? What does this passage indicate to back up your conclusion? 2.) Why is it important for John to support his claims about the Word of Life with what he has experienced through his own eyes, ears and hands? 3.) Why is the “Word of Life” an excellent moniker for describing Jesus?
NOTE Apparently, John, as one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples, picked up on the fact that Jesus often referred to himself as “life”. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” - John 11:25-26 4.) Why do you believe Jesus embraced this “life” metaphor so often? NOTE The “life” motif is a favorite of John’s as well. In chapter 1, he refers to Jesus as the Word of Life. Let’s look at two other passages. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. - I John 4:9 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. - I John 5:11-12 5.) Where can we discover true life? 6.) Who is our only passport to eternal life? 7.) How do you feel about that exclusive relationship? 8.) How have you searched for life in all the wrong places? 9.) Describe how you have seen, heard and touched God in your life. 10.) In what beautiful ways has Jesus given you new life? 11.) Who in your circle of relationships needs to hear your “new life” story this coming week?
Proof of Life- Discussion 2
“Proof 1: Light”
OPENING 1.) When you were a kid, were you ever afraid of the dark? Why? What were you imagining? 2.) Have you ever experienced a blackout night? What were your initial feelings? What did you do? NOTE The Apostle John starts to lay out the “tests” of mans fellowship with God right away in this first chapter of his book. He begins with “Light”, contrasting the imagery of light vs darkness, and describing the behavior of those who walk in each context. 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 yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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. 1.) Why would “light” be a powerful description of God? 2.) What hope do you find in the claim, “… in him there is no darkness”? 3.) What does it look like to “walk in the darkness”? 4.) What does it look like to “walk in the light”? 5.) What is the lie we attempt to claim in vs. 6? NOTE The test of our fellowship with God is directly linked to our capacity to walk as God walks, in the light. John goes on to describe this in very practical terms. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
6.) What is the “old command” God gave to his children? (To love others) Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. 7.) What is this “new command,” that John is talking about? “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 8.) How would you summarize the “Light” proof that John outlines in I John 2:9-11? 9.) If “walking in the light” is defined as “loving your brother”, how does your life demonstrate that?
Proof of Life – Discussion 3
“Proof 2: Passion”
OPENING Have you ever experienced a friendship with someone, only to be deeply disappointed by them over time? What was that person like initially? How did they end up hurting you? NOTE John knew from personal experience that sin would treat us the same way. It always looks inviting and fun in the beginning, but in the end it disappoints and even hurts us. We are all too often led by our passions down a deadend path. So, John instructs us in what to do when we blow it and do something wrong. Then he gives us some food for thought on how to stay close to God and keep ourselves out of trouble. 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 has no place in our lives. – 1 John 1:8-10 1) How is it possible to deceive ourselves? 2) What does it mean for us to ‘confess our sins?’ 3) What does God promise to do when we admit we’ve done wrong? NOTE In the third chapter of John’s letter, he clearly explains the principles of “Passion”. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. – 1 John 3:3-10
4) What is John’s definition of sin in this paragraph? 5) Why did Jesus come to the earth? 6) What distinguishes the children of God from the rest of the world? Is it that they never do anything wrong? Explain. 7) How do you feel about John’s description of the children of God having a passion for doing what is right? 8) What happens when we are ‘born of God?’ NOTE According to another passage of scripture, the Apostle Paul advises us, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2 9.) Is there some way you may be conforming to the world’s pattern? 10.) What are some ways that you can renew your mind and draw closer to God?
Proof of Life – Discussion 4 “Proof 3: Truth”
OPENING As you consider your teen years, did you ever have a moment (or more) of defiance against your parents? What happened as a result? NOTE The Apostle John wrote his letter to the followers of Jesus in order to help them deepen their relationship with God. Although most of us, at one time or another, have shown disrespect to our parents, now we have the opportunity to show our genuine respect to God. Today we will look at “Truth”, or “obedience” as a significant proof of our faithfulness and fellowship with God. To understand the background of John’s letter, there were certain people called the Gnostics who claimed to have a special knowledge of God that no one else had, except those who joined their secret society. Unfortunately, their lifestyle and behavior were no different than the “worldly” people around them. John wrote: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. – 1 John 2:3-6 1.) How do you feel about the word obey? 2.) Why would obeying God’s truth be so critical? 3.) What does it mean to “walk as Jesus walked?” Does it only mean we must keep a set of rules he handed down to us? NOTE Sometimes the Old Testament conveys the idea of keeping God’s law, his ten commandments, etc. But notice what God says about his followers: I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. - Jeremiah 24:7 4.) What is important to God: people’s outward behavior, their inner attitude, or both?
5.) How would you counsel a person who claims to obey God’s rules, but whose heart seems distant from knowing God? 6.) How would you challenge a person who claims to know God personally, but whose lifestyle is not reflective of God?
NOTE Notice how inseparable these two things – knowing God and obeying him – are in the prayer of Jesus: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent…I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.” – John 17:1-3, 6 7.) In terms of your relationship with God, how do you describe yourself as someone who knows and follows God… or, someone who is on a journey to discover him… how do you describe it? 8.) Believing truth can be relatively easy; living the truth can be a completely different matter. Share a story of when it was very difficult to live out the truth God revealed to you. 9.) When you consider your own life, is there any area that God desires you to obey him more closely in?
Proof of Life - Discussion 5 “Proof 4: Love”
OPENING Describe a time in your life when you felt deeply loved by someone. What did they do for you? Why did you feel loved? NOTE Some consider John “the apostle of love” because he had so much to say concerning true love. The society in his day had much confusion and controversy around this topic. Therefore, John speaks out with authority, clarity and truth about genuine love. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. – 1 John 4:7-16 1) Where is the source of true love? 2) How can we know that God loves us? 3) Does God’s love for us contain any personal implications? If so, explain. 4) What can we say about a person who demonstrates genuine love for others? 5) Is it possible for someone who doesn’t know Jesus personally to still have true love for someone else? What do you think?
NOTE John provides us with even more details on what it means to love others. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:16-18 6) What do you think it means that we ‘lay down our lives for our brothers?’ 7) Is there currently someone you know who has a need, someone who would benefit from your gift of personal time or practical help? If so, how could you demonstrate God’s love to them? John poetically summarizes this topic with the following paragraph: We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. – 1 John 4:19-21 8) Why do you think John so frequently ties our love for God with our love for others? Why are they inseparable? 9) In Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables”, he writes an amazing line of prose, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” How does this statement also challenge you to love?
Proof of Life - Discussion 6
“Proof 5: World”
OPENING 1) Have you ever found yourself in a group of people who were making a bad decision or heading in a wrong direction? How did you feel? Did you say or do anything? If so, how did the group respond to you? 2) Do you tend to be a person who “goes with the flow”, or one who occasionally “rocks the boat”? Why? NOTE The “apostle of love” makes a dramatic shift. In today’s scripture, John turns from his thematic exhortations of how to love God and others and strongly warns the followers of Jesus what not to love. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. - I John 2:15-17 1) How do you feel about John’s sudden shift of tone and theme? 2) Why do you think he would give such an uncompromising command? 3) What does John mean by “the world”? 4) How would a person demonstrate a love for this world? NOTE John points out 3 specific problem areas that identify those who love this world. He warns against 1) “the lust of the flesh”, 2) “the lust of the eyes” and 3) “the boastful pride of life”. Let’s pair up and create other ways of describing these problem areas. (Give a few minutes for the pairs to discuss & create. Then, go through each of John’s statements, one at a time, asking the pairs to share their descriptions.) Lust of the flesh: indulging in self-serving desires & relationships Lust of the eyes: greedily striving for prestige & possessions Boastful pride of life: pretentious arrogance about your accomplishments & importance
5) Which of these problem areas haunt your mind and heart the most? 6) What do you think about John’s premise that loving this world and loving God are mutually exclusive? 7) What is the ultimate fate for loving this world? 8) What is the future destiny for those who love God and do his will? NOTE John’s teaching basically boils down to this: the followers of Jesus must consistently live lives that move in the opposite direction to the natural flow of the people around them. In essence, they move forward through a backward world. This lifestyle will undoubtedly be met with resistance from the status quo. John prepares the lovers of God for what to expect in this culture clash. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. - I John 3:13 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” - John 15:18 9) Why would anyone hate the lovers of God? NOTE The apostle Paul goes so far as to describe this struggle in terms of warfare. I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. - 2 Corinthians 10:2-5 10) What world-loving thoughts taunt your life? 11) What world-loving strongholds dominate the lives of your friends or family? 12) How will you take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus ?
Proof of Life - Discussion 7 “Beware of Counterfeits”
OPENING Have you ever been handed a counterfeit bill? What was it like when you discovered the money was not genuine? NOTE As John concludes his life-affirming letter, he recaps his major themes with clear, concise certainties. He wants God’s beloved children to be absolutely assured of what is true and real. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. - I John 5:13-15 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. - I John 5:18-21 1) What things are the children of God certain of? What do “we know”? v 13 – we know we have eternal life through Jesus v 15 – we know God hears and answers our prayers v 18 – we know we cannot continue to sin v 19 – we know as God’s children we’re out of place in this world v 20 – we know that Jesus Christ is the true God and our passport to eternal life 2) Which of these certainties is most comforting and compelling for you? Why? 3) Why do you think John’s closing statement is a strong warning to avoid idols? (I John 5:21)
NOTE Just as lifeless idols subtly lead people away from the living God, our own selfish nature and our confused and broken culture incrementally draw us into false expressions of life. We actually exchange real life for a counterfeit existence. Therefore, the faithful apostle John stands up and speaks out: Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. - I John 5:5 God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. - I John 5:11-12 4) What counterfeit life, or lives, have you ever settled for? 5) What persuaded you that true life is only found in Jesus? 6) What further Proof of Life might you need? 7) How can we pray for you as we wrap up these disc?
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