06/07/2026
Notes from today’s sermon at The Blue Point Bible Church, “Concerned But Not A Crisis, Yet… An Intro to Letters From John & James Sermon Series”.
By AD 62, the Apostle Paul is in prison and a shift within the Jewish priesthood causes James and others (many scholars include the Apostle John) to be arrested. In his book, The Final Decade Before The End, Ed Stevens explains, “The Ananus family had a grudge against Jesus and His family, so it is no surprise to see the younger Ananus continue the persecution against the relatives of Jesus as soon as he had the opportunity. This grudge was a rivalry for power. The Herodian rulers and chief priestly families did not want a descendant of David to taske the throne in Jerusalem. It would definaterly cause trouble with Rome and cause the loss of their own powerful rule of Judea. They would not hesistate doing whatever was necessary to prevent that”.
These men, John & James, had written letters from Jerusalem right before their arrest to help stabilize the churches that the Apostle Paul was responsible for. The epistlles of John (1nd, 2nd, & 3rd John) speak to the love we should have for God and one another, a fulfilling fellowship that demonstrates fulfilling life, lives that have and continue to move away from sin, and the exhortation to stay away from false teachings (no sin, Jesus is not the Christ, no physical Jewish Jesus Christ, and other idolatrous notions). James writes to urge the saints to use and live with wisdom, guarding their tongues, and coupling faith with works (a living faith).
Today we read through 1st John and along with marking out important details we allowed for an asking of questions. What details stand out to you? What questions regarding the text of 1st John or his other epistles, or regarding the book of James do you have?