Scripture: 1 John 4:4-6 Series: 2020
Preaching on 1 John 4:4-6, the sermon resists reading the passage as a rivalry between the children of God and the world. Drawing on Texas sports rivalries and the way sports-radio language has turned politics into a team sport, it warns against dividing the world into ‘us and them’—insisting there is no ‘them’ to God. Yet God’s love must not be received passively or complacently, like a windfall inheritance; evil is the corruption of good, and the human heart can corrupt any gift. The remedy is to be the church: worshipping, serving, and praying together to be one and to not grow complacent.
Illustrations: texas-sports-rivalries, sports-radio-politics, summer-of-george, rich-uncle-severance
March 21
“You are from God, little children, and you have defeated these people because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world. So they speak from the world’s point of view and the world listens to them. We are from God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God doesn’t listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:4-6 CEB
- Sports rivalries
- Oilers and Cowboys
- College station and Bryan
- UT and A&M
- tu
- T-sippers
Us and Them I grew up surrounded by rivalry.
In this passage, John can be read as describing a rivalry between the children of God and those of the world.
Over the last 30 years, the language of sports radio took over politics in this country so that now it is basically a team sport.
John doesn’t want us to divide the world into us and them. The word of God for us this day is the word of God for us. It is not about them. There is no them to God. And yet we must not grow lazy with God’s great love.
Summer of George actual plot.
What is actually not from God does not exist. It is evil. It is corruption of what is Good. The human heart can corrupt anything good. We cannot simply receive the gift of God and assume it will turn out well.
We must not treat God’s love like a team sport. We must not treat God’s love like inheriting the estate of a rich uncle of getting a three month severance package. How do we protect ourselves from this temptation? By being the church. By doing the things of God. By worshipping together, by serving together, in prayer.
May we pray to be one. May we pray to not grow complacent