Teaching Plan January-April 2025
Starting on 19th January and continuing through until Easter Sunday we are going to be focusing together on John's letters.
These are deeply relational letters founded on John’s first-hand experience of Jesus, revealed to him as the eternal son of God. John's message to the church is based on his direct experience and by revelation. This is what John heard, what he saw and what he touched.
Moreover, he wrote to a church in tension, both with the world and more to the point within itself. Therefore, John’s message resonates with and speaks powerfully to the issues the church faces in our contemporary culture, as we try to be an authentic and faithful Jesus-following community of faith.
These letters help us to understand the centrality of love in building healthy Christian communities of faith that carry the witness of Christ to the world. This is the eternal love that comes from God, revealed in Jesus. It challenges us to walk in its light and respond in kind by the way we love others.
Let's all be seeking the Holy Spirit at this time for how we can be faithfully living out John's heart for the church today.
|
Week to |
Subject / Bible refs |
Speaker(s) |
|
19 Jan |
1: Introduction and cover letters: what has been heard, seen, and touched
2 John, 3 John, 1 John 1:1–1:4 |
Andy Read |
|
26 Jan |
2: God is light - so walk in the light of God's forgiveness
1 John 1:5–2:2 |
Paul Wratten |
|
02 Feb |
(Family meeting) |
TBA |
|
09 Feb |
3: Light versus Darkness - walking in the way of Jesus
1 John 2:3–2:11 |
Nigel Rivers |
|
16 Feb |
4: Sharing our experiences of responding to God's voice
1 John 1:1–1 John 2:11 |
TBA |
|
23 Feb |
5: Eternal or Temporary - focus on loving God
1 John 2:12–17 |
TBA |
|
02 Mar |
(Family meeting) |
TBA |
|
09 Mar |
6: Real or Fake - do not be tempted by other versions of the Gospel
1 John 2:18–3:10 |
TBA |
|
16 Mar |
7: Sharing our experiences of responding to seeing God move in the world
1 John 2:12–3:10 |
TBA |
|
23 Mar |
8: Love versus Hate - the Theology of love that leads to eternal life
1 John 3:11–4:21 |
TBA |
|
30 Mar |
9: Theological and Pastoral Conclusions
1 John 5:1–21 |
TBA |
|
06 Apr |
(Family meeting) |
TBA |
|
13 Apr |
10: Sharing our experiences of being touched by God's love
1 John 3:11–5:21 |
TBA |
|
20 Apr |
Easter: Celebrating Jesus – God has heard, God has seen and God with us |
TBA |