At my church, we are spending this term in the books of 1, 2, and 3 John.
We heard our first sermon this week, and in it, our Senior Minister Neil Fitzpatrick encouraged up to be spending some time in 1 John – reading it and reflecting on it, in preparation for the sermons each week. (You can listen to the first sermon here).
As I learned at church this week, 1 John is written unlike any other book in the New Testament. John is not a linear thinker – he doesn’t develop an argument point-by-point like Paul does. Instead, John has chosen several key themes and those themes keep recurring over and over again throughout the letter. A theme introduced in chapter 1 might be mentioned again in chapter 2 before given its complete treatment in chapter 4 – for instance.
Because of this structure, 1 John is a book that’s worth reading, and re-reading, and then reading again. In fact, Neil encouraged us all to try reading through 1 John every day this week.
In the list below, I’ve compiled a list of resources that might help people not only read the text of 1 John, but to listen to it, ponder it, and reflect deeply on what God has to say to us through this book.
Please let me know if you find this list helpful, or if you have some other resources you’d like to add.
Read / Listen:
The Bible app on iPhone
It should only take you about 10 minutes to read 1 John, perhaps you could find some time during your commute, or set yourself the challenge to read 1 John before you check Facebook for the day.
This app also contains an audiobook version of 1 John, which will take you 16 minutes to listen to (or 8 minutes if you’re a double-speed listener like me!)
Read
Easy Summary – An Introduction to 1 John
More Advanced – A list of Commentaries on 1, 2, and 3 John
Watch
The Bible Project Summary of 1 John
Look at
Infographics about 1 John
Did you find this list helpful? Please let me know if you have any other suggestions to add.
A Woman of The Word 