Illustrations from 1 John

📖Stories & Illustrations(38)🎬Movie Analogies(35)📜Theological Quotes(22)📝Commentary(20)🙏Devotionals(20)

The Girl from Guangzhou

In 2012, a couple from Portland, Oregon, traveled to Guangzhou, China, to finalize the adoption of a three-year-old girl named Mei. She had spent her...

1 John 3:1-3Universal

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Lens Perspective

The Word That Will Not Bend

In 1611, when the King James translators labored over the Greek text of First John, they came to a phrase that stopped them cold: "ho...

1 John 4:7-8Liberation Theologylove

Devotional

Daily Digital Discipleship

Dear Heavenly Father, As I pause to reflect on the role of Digital Discipleship in my life, I am struck by the profound truth found in 1 John 4:19: "We love because He first loved us." Your love, relentless and...

1 John 4:19Missional

The Orphan Who Became a Goddaughter of the Queen

In 1850, a young African girl named Sarah Forbes Bonetta arrived on English shores. Born an Egbado princess, she had been orphaned when her parents...

1 John 3:1-3Universal

1 John 2:28-3:3Roman Catholicsanctifying gracethe communion of saints

Roman Catholic Lens Commentary: 1 John 2:28-3:3

We read this passage as an affirmation of our identity as children of God, emphasizing our call to holiness and the hope of eternal life with Christ. The text underscores that abiding in Christ leads us to confidence and righteousness, a theme that resonates deeply within our sacramental understandi

1 John 4:18Universalfearlove

Frozen: Let It Go and True Love (1 John 4:18)

In the beloved film *Frozen*, we meet Elsa, a young woman burdened by a gift that feels more like a curse. Since childhood, she has hidden away her icy powers, fearing not just the world around her but the very...

1 John 4:7-8Dispensationallove

The Garden That Refused a Fence

A small church in Portland inherited a vacant lot next door, choked with blackberry brambles and broken glass. Someone suggested a community garden. The first...

Corrie ten Boom's Return to Ravensbruck

In 1947, Corrie ten Boom stood in a church basement in Munich, sharing her message of God's forgiveness after the horrors of the Nazi concentration...

1 John 4:7-16Universal

1 John 2:1-6Roman CatholicThe Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, as the ongoing advocacy and intercession of ChristThe necessity of grace and works for salvation, as articulated by the Council of Trent

Roman Catholic Lens Commentary: 1 John 2:1-6

In the Roman Catholic tradition, we read 1 John 2:1-6 in light of the Incarnation and the sacramental life. This passage speaks to the role of Jesus Christ as our Advocate, who is present in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. The text underscores the necessity of obedience to God's command

1 John 2:1-6Black Churchliberationholistic salvation

Black Church Tradition Lens Commentary: 1 John 2:1-6

We read this passage as a call to live out the commandment of love as a true reflection of our relationship with Jesus. In the Black Church Tradition, we see 1 John 2:1-6 as a mandate for both personal holiness and communal solidarity. The text speaks directly to our lived experience of struggle and

1 John 4:7-8Anglicanordered loveformed

Chariots of Fire: Ordered Love, Expressed Joy - Anglican (1 John 4:7-8)

Imagine the brisk morning air of Scotland, where the sun peeks over the horizon, casting golden rays upon the dew-kissed grass of a small, bustling town. Here, in the early 1920s, a young man named Eric Liddell readies himself not...

adults

1 John 4:7-8Roman Catholicincarnational loveworks of mercy

The Letters: Mother Teresa's Love Made Visible - Catholic (1 John 4:7-8)

In the heart of Calcutta, where the vibrant hues of the marketplace mingle with the somber realities of poverty, there lived a woman who transformed despair into hope through her profound love—Mother Teresa. Picture her, small in stature but overflowing...

adults

Selma: Love as Justice Action - Progressive (1 John 4:7-8)

In the heart of Selma, Alabama, on that fateful day in March 1965, the air was thick with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Thousands of marchers gathered, their spirits buoyed by a profound love that transcended mere sentiment. They...

1 John 4:7-8Universal

1 John 1:5-10Black Churchdeliveranceliberation

Black Church Tradition Lens Commentary: 1 John 1:5-10

In 1 John 1:5-10, we read this as a powerful reminder of God's unwavering light that penetrates the darkness of oppression and sin. This passage speaks directly to our communal experience, affirming that God's light exposes injustice and calls us into the liberating truth. We see the call to walk in

1 John 4:7-8Liberation Theologylove

The Surgeon's Precise Hand

A gifted cardiac surgeon does not express love for his patient by setting aside his medical textbooks and improvising in the operating room. He expresses...

Contemporary

Tell the Court I Love My Wife

In 1967, as ACLU attorney Bernard Cohen prepared to argue before the United States Supreme Court, he asked his client Richard Loving if there was...

1 John 4:7-8Universallovejustice

Contemporary

Love That Leaves the Shore

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 clipped the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., and plunged into the ice-covered Potomac River during a...

1 John 3:18Universalcourageselflessness

Contemporary

When Small Hands Carry the Light

During the darkest years of World War II, while German bombs fell on British cities and the outcome of civilization hung in the balance, an...

1 John 4:4Universalgood vs. evilfriendship

1 John 4:7-8Charismaticlove

The Well Beneath Words

In the monastery at Gethsemani, Thomas Merton once described a moment during centering prayer when every thought finally fell silent — not the silence of...

Historical

Love Measured in Shoe Leather

By 1944, the Weihsien internment camp near Weifang, China, had stripped its prisoners down to almost nothing. Among the roughly 1,800 Allied civilians held by...

1 John 3:17Universalgenerosityhumility

1 John 4:7-8Liberation Theologylove

The Architect's Blueprint

A structural engineer was once called to inspect a building whose walls had begun to crack. The owner insisted the foundation was fine — he...

1 John 4:7-8Black Churchliberating lovedignifying

The Color Purple: Love That Liberates - Black Church (1 John 4:7-8)

In *The Color Purple*, we witness Celie's journey from darkness to light, a transformation sparked by the radiant love of Shug Avery. Imagine Celie, a young woman burdened by a lifetime of abuse, her spirit shackled by the chains of...

adults

A Modern Story of Nonviolent Resistance

In the bustling streets of our cities, where voices often clash with dissonance, there exists a quiet strength—a spirit of Nonviolent Resistance that echoes the same courage we find in the lives of biblical heroes. Imagine a community gathered, not...

1 John 4:19Pentecostal