Bible Study: March 11, 2026

Prayer

Since last week, has God answered any of our prayers? Let us know! Or, share something great that's happened in the last week. Then, let’s focus on our present prayer requests: What's on your mind or heart that we can pray for concerning you or someone you love?

Praise

We Are One in the Spirit

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

And we pray that all unity will one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,

and they'll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,

And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land.

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,

And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride.

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,

And all praise to Christ Jesus, who is God's only Son,

And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one

Proclamation  

Passage: 1 John 2:1-14

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, ² and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

³ Now by this we know that we have come to know him, if we obey his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; ⁵ but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk in the same way as he walked.

A New Commandment

⁷ Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. ⁹ Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves a brother or sister abides in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. ¹¹ But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

¹² I am writing to you, little children,    

because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.

¹³ I am writing to you, parents,    

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young people,    

because you have conquered the evil one.

¹⁴ I write to you, children,    

because you know the Father.

I write to you, parents,    

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young people,    

because you are strong    

and the word of God abides in you,        

and you have overcome the evil one.

Ponder

1.     What warms your heart from the song or biblical passage above, and why?

2.     John states here in verses one and two that he writes so that we ‘may not sin’, while still recognizing that the battle with sin rages on throughout our Christian maturity. But then, John calls Jesus ‘our advocate with the Father.’ What do you think that image suggests about how Christ relates to us and the Father when we miss the mark?

3.     In verses seven and eight, John says he is ‘writing no new commandment’, yet also says it is ‘a new commandment.’ How do you understand that paradox? What quality and example has changed since Leviticus 19 when the people were told to ‘love their neighbour as themselves?’

4.     In verse eight, John says, ‘the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.’ Where do you see that light breaking into the world today?

5.     Think carefully about this one: why do you think love is such a central test of authentic faith? Why doesn’t John say service, or worship, or duty, or honor, or grace, or joy? Why love? Also, what are some new practical ways City Centre Church can live out this commandment to love one another?

6.    John’s poem addresses “children”, “young people”, and “parents” not literally here, but those who are at different stages of spiritual maturity. What might spiritual growth look like over the course of a believer’s life?

Purposeful Prayer

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