Proof of Life: False Prophets
1 John 4:1-6
Connect:
Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.
Prayer:
Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.
Review:
This series, Proof of Life, is looking at how we KNOW that we are saved, born of the Spirit, alive in Christ… and what that looks like in our daily walk! This week we looked at how we can test for the difference between true and false teaching…
The Grand Tour of the message: Thinking back on what you heard this Sunday…
o What did you learn about God?
o What did you learn about people?
o What did you learn about yourself?
o What do you want to commit to putting into practice?
Reflection:
Personal Experience:
Share a time when you were SURE you could trust someone, but it turned out that they were telling you a half truth. What happened, what were the consequences, and how did you feel coming out of the experience?
Group Discussion:
Read 1 John 4:1-6
What is so dangerous about a “half truth” when it comes to sharing God’s truth? (Sharing about God’s grace but omitting His judgement, sharing God’s love but omitting His holiness, sharing what we are saved for but omitting what we are saved from…) (Acts 20:27, Gal 1:8-9, 2 Timothy3:16-17, Matt 28:19-20)
Share about a sermon or teaching you heard that “seemed off somehow”. What was missing, and what did Scripture have to say about that missing piece? (Acts 17:11, John 8:31-32, Col 2:8, 2 Peter 2:1, Matt 7:15-16)
John says here, “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Why is it so important that Jesus, as the Messiah (the Christ) came in the flesh? (1 Cor 15:14-17, John 1:14, Luke 24:39, Heb 2:14, Rom 8:3, 1 Tim 3:16, 2 John 1:7)
Ben said, “If your view of Jesus doesn’t challenge you, then you have the wrong Jesus.” What are some ways that Jesus challenges you?
1 John 4:4 talks about power: The power of the antichrist and the greater power that is “in us”. If we don’t read Scripture, if we quench the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, if we avoid fellowship with other believers who can sharpen us and help with accountability… how and why might that affect the way God’s power is at work in us? (Hos 4:6, Is 55:10-11, Matt 4:4, Rom 15:4, Heb 4:12, Col 3:16)
1 John 4:6 talks in very confident, prophetic language saying “We are from God.” What is he saying here— how do we recognize someone is sent “from God”? (Deut 18:18-19, Jer 28:9, Matt 7:15-16, Matt 24:24, John 6:13, 10:27, 2 Peter 1:21, Rev 19:10)
Application:
Are we using Scripture and the clear conviction of the Holy Spirit as the shared measure of what is true (or not) when it comes to God’s truth? The only way to discern that is to know Scripture by reading it daily, and to develop the habit of obeying quickly when the Holy Spirit convicts/guides us. Are we doing that?
Prayer:
Spend some time praying together that God will give us a deep hunger for HIs Word and the will to obey quickly when we sense the Holy Spirit leading us into God’s truth.
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