Weekends of September 22 & 29

2 & 3 John are short letters written in order to address congregational issues. John is asking the people in the congregation to speak truth in love to some difficult situations.

Discussion Questions:

Have you heard much teaching from these two books? Why do you think they are included in the New Testament for everyone to read?
Both letters emphasize love and truth. How difficult do you find it to keep the emphasis of BOTH LOVE AND TRUTH? How doe this change our interactions with others when we keep both in mind?
We spoke about the two sides of the church - the Divine side (called and formed by God) and the human side (human frailty and shortcomings). How can we better live with the tension of understanding both sides of the church so that we don’t live in disappointment and disillusionment?
3 John speaks plainly about Diotrephes who loved to be first, gossiped about John, and competed for authority in the church. The sermon talked about three things we should ask ourselves as we learn from this situation:
Do we walk in love AND truth - OR
-Are we controlling a situation out of pride (wanting to be first)
-Are we gosipping about others (to make ourselves look better)
-Are we competing with others instead of cooperating (to be in power)
How can we apply these questions and other applications that we have learned from these books?