This post by christinecoltman was originally published at GRACE PLACE
The heart of the matter

Read together 1 John 1 v 1-10
- John is writing to believers – discuss and write down a couple of sentences stating what you think the big idea of the passage is.
2. In verse 1 John begins with ‘That which was from the beginning’. What does this mean? (Genesis Ch 1v1 John Ch 1 v 1-5 v14).
3. John was the last living apostle so was uniquely qualified to testify about the life of Jesus. In 1 John 1 v1-3 he says, ‘seen with our eyes, we have looked at and our hands have touched’. Can you list noteworthy events in the bible where John was present.
Luke Ch 5 v 1-11,
Luke Ch 8 v 40-56,
Luke Ch 9 v 28 – 36,
John Ch 20 v 1-9,
Luke Ch 24 v 36-40
4. What does John liken ‘living in and out of fellowship’ with, in 1 John 1 v 5-10?
5. If light is being in fellowship with God and one another (1 John Ch 1 v 7), what prevents us from having real and deep relationships with each other? Why do we settle for surface relationships?
Final thought: How can we move from surface relationships with our fellow Christians to deep fellowship with one another?