Basic Christianity: Remaining in Christ

Today’s post is part of a series to help us take what we learn on Sunday into the rest of the week. These posts summarize the main points from the week’s sermon and include questions for continued reflection and prayer. The posts in this series are written by members of our church’s Adult Christian Formation team.

 

Last Sunday’s service theme was “Only God Remains Forever,” and Pastor Bobby preached on remaining in Christ from the passage 1 John 2:24-29.

He started by addressing the need to remain. The word “remain” appears 6 times in these verses, and 1 John emphasizes that we should cling to both our core beliefs (the Gospel revealed to us from the beginning) and our mission. On the basis of what we have known of Christ from the beginning, we are sent for an encounter with people around us. This depends on us remaining in Christ.

That means that we need the power to remain, given by the Holy Spirit. The “anointing” of the Spirit makes the Gospel real to us and makes Jesus “weighty” in our lives.

Finally, we are called to remain until Christ comes. We are called to do what is right and remain in Christ so that when he appears we will not be ashamed. This is rooted in our identity as dear children of God.

Questions for Prayer and Reflection

  1. What did the Holy Spirit say to you through this Scripture and sermon?
  2. How have you experienced remaining in Jesus as part of your life story?
  3. What would it look like for a church community to experience the “weight” of Jesus in our lives together?
  4. How could you carry your belief in the good news about Jesus into an interaction with someone who doesn’t know Jesus yet? How might a lifestyle of remaining in Christ change that kind of interaction?
  5. Is your heart ready for Jesus to appear and find you doing what is right as a child of God?
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