knowusbyourlove (original) (raw)

This community has been inactive for a really long time. And that's mostly my fault. So I have a few questions for people who are still members.

1. Do you want this community to come back and be active again?

2. I'm not actually Christian anymore. I am a seminary student and so know enough to keep contributing, but it's likely to be more academic than spiritual. Is that a problem? I can leave or stick around, up to you guys.

3. Is anyone interested in modding this community, either as a co-mod or replacing me as the main moderator?

4. Anything in particular you'd like to study?

5. Anything else?

Sorry guys, I kinda dropped the ball. For a few months. Life got crazy, and it seemed like very little was happening here, and it got pushed aside. Which was not right or fair.

I would like to correct this, and also hopefully improve the community and make it more what you all want. So, I'm asking for input. What would you like to see in this community? Were you happy with how it was running before, or are there things you would change?

Also, we finished with 1-3 John, so we are onto our next book. Or topical study or whatever you guys want. Suggestions?

Again, I am very sorry I let this group lapse. I hope that we can bring it back and that it will thrive and that we will all grow through it and our discussions with each other.

Hello everyone. I'm extremely sorry for the delay, but we're back and I'll definitely be making some changes so that I won't disappear from the community and forget to post again.

This week we're discussing 3 John. There seems to be two issues I can pick out of this very short book.

1. Supporting those working for God (5-8) vs refusing to help them (9-10)

2. Doing good and walking in the truth (3-4, 11)

Any other lessons or interesting things you drew from this section?

How do we support those working for God, and are there areas where we've neglected this that we can change?

Maybe this is interference from something one of my professors mentions a lot, but I'm seeing the doing good/walking in truth parts to be speaking of creating discord. Diotrephes is criticized for not supporting other believers and seeking his own will instead of working with the church and recognizing them. He even expels people from his church if they disagree with him and help out the other believers that John mentions. So the issue he is addressing here is humility and harmony. Thoughts?

Hello everyone,

As I mentioned earlier, this week's reading is 2 John. I have compiled the following questions, but feel free to comment on anything which stood out or was of interest to you.

(1) To whom is this letter addressed?

(2) How do you interpret John's warning against visitors who do not bring true teachings?

(3) In today's world, how can we walk in truth?

Here is the wiki for 2 John

I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Hi everyone,

This post is an announcement to let everybody know that we'll be studying 2 John during the coming week. Some discussion questions will be forthcoming.

Have a great weekend!

Ok, everybody! Time for the second half. This week we are reading 1 John 4-5.

My questions for this section:

**(1)**What is the antichrist?

(2)"Everyone who loves is born of God" (1 John 4:7). Everyone loves someone, so this is probably a different, higher form of love. How can we have and show this kind of love?

**(3)**We love God by obeying his commandments (1 John 5:2). How do we love those around us?

**(4)**In 1 John 5:16-17, the author talks about mortal sin, but doesn't define what he means. The notes in my Bible suggest that a mortal sin may be denial of the Lord, while a non-mortal sin may be failure to obey. Other people with notes in your Bibles, what do they say? Do you have any other thoughts on this?

Again, if you have other thoughts/questions, talk about those, and if you don't like mine, feel free to ignore them and focus on what you think is important.

There was a request last week that we list resources for understanding these sections. Here's what I found, if you have others that you think are useful, post about them and I'll edit the entry to add them to the list.

The Wikipedia article

Commentaries on BibleGateway.com

Some background about the letter, and a commentary

A complicated but very interesting commentary explaining some of the words used in the Greek

Hi everybody! Sorry for the late post...I have lost internet as a result of a storm, and may not have it back for another week or two. I'm posting from a library now, but might not be able to get back to it anytime soon.

As ohhellsyeah said, this week we are reading 1 John 1-3. If anyone would like to talk about anything that stood out to them in this section, or has any questions, please post. I'll post a few starter questions to get things going, but don't feel like you have to comment on them if there are other things you would rather talk about.

(1) In chapter 1, John says that none of us are without sin, and if we say we are, we are liars (1 John 1:8). Later, he says that no one who is in Christ sins (1 John 3:6). What does he mean? When we believe and choose to follow God, does it really mean that we will never sin again?

(2) Throughout this section, he talks about the importance of following God's commandments. How do we do this in our world today? How can we practically apply this to our lives and ensure that we are doing God's will?

**(3)**In chapter 2, he talks about false teachers. How do we identify false teachers and stay away from them?

Now, what did everyone else think, of these questions, or the section in general? I look forward to seeing what you all have to say.

Hi everyone!

This post is a locked announcement to let everyone know what we will be studying this week. We are going to be reading 1 John 1-3.
stlyn will be posting some discussion questions in a new post that everyone will be able to comment on. Of course you will all be able to bring up any other points for discussion that you might have.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

I hope you like our community. I have high hopes for it.

We're planning to read and discuss one chapter/section of the Bible per week. Does anyone have any suggestions of sections you would like to start with? If you do, please comment here and let us know.