High School | Written To You (1 John 1) | Collin Warner

Main message: John wrote 1 John to believers to combat false teaching, strengthen faithful living, and give Christians assurance that they truly have eternal life; studying the letter should lead each reader to honestly examine their walk with Jesus.

Key points:

• Author and context: the apostle John — an eyewitness and member of Jesus’ inner circle who was changed from a “son of thunder” into the apostle of love — likely wrote to multiple churches (probably around Ephesus) late in the first century.
• Purpose: John’s explicit aims were to expose deception, call Christians to authentic Jesus‑centered living, and give believers certainty of salvation.
• Three tests John gives for assurance: obedience/holiness (do you live like Jesus taught?), the love test (do you love other believers?), and the loyalty test (do you continue to believe and hold to Christ?).
• Practical requirement: readers must humbly and honestly examine and test their own lives (self‑examination) to receive the assurance John offers.
• The sermon frames the series theme “Written to You”: though addressed to first‑century churches, John’s warnings and assurances apply to Christians today facing different deceptions.

Scriptures mentioned: 1 John 1:1-4, 1 John 1:4, 1 John 2:1, 1 John 2:13, 1 John 2:21, 1 John 2:26, 1 John 5:13, John 20:31, Matthew 4:21-22, Mark 5:37, Mark 3:17, Luke 9:53-54, John 13:34-35, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 5:1, 1 John 2:19, 1 Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 10:22, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 6:4.