Presumption and assurance may look and act alike, but they are very different. Assurance is vigilant, wary of threats, within and without. While presumption thinks itself bullet-proof, invincible. Assurance welcomes warnings. Presumption plows ahead. Join us as we examine 1 John 2:15-17 and consider John’s warning not to love the world and how that warning impacts our assurance.

“Actions speak louder than words!” “If you talk the talk, walk the walk.” But assurance is declared as much as displayed. When deeds are done, we still need words. We need to hear assuring words from Christian friends declaring the reality of our faith. Listen as we examine 1 John 2:12-14 and consider the importance of pastoral care and encouragement in providing assurance of our faith.

How can I know that I know? There are tests for everything so that we can know that we know what we know. But when it comes to the most important thing we need to know, we look to mere feeling or experience, content not to know that we know. Join us as we examine 1 John 2:7-11 and consider the social dimension of assurance and what our relationships with others reveal about our relationship with God.

How can I know that I know? That my faith is real? John’s flock in Ephesus asked this. Their assurance was shaken by false teachers who promoted religious experience over the gospel. So John writes to give them and us the truth about assurance. Join us as we examine 1 John 2:1-6 and consider the first building blocks for the assurance of our faith.

Fake news is dangerous, but none more deadly than lies about God’s holy nature, our sinful condition, & how sinful men are reconciled to a holy God. The Apostles constantly refuted lies & silenced liars who hijacked the gospel. Lies still with us today.  Join us as we examine 1 John 1:5-10 and refute the most insidious mantras of Christless Christianity while rejoicing in the grace of God given only through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

What is the first handhold on the climb to assurance of faith? Trusting our works? Outward piety? Triaging sin? Or the celebrity teachers we follow? To be sure these are unreliable. So in his 1st letter the beloved disciple, John shows where to start. Join us as we begin an examination of 1 John and consider the source, character, and impact of a believer’s growing assurance of faith.