Lee Sommiz Paraphrase of 1 John 5:13-21
13 I have written this letter so that you who have believed God’s testimony about His Son may have confident possession of His eternal life. 14 Another thing we can have confidence about before Him is when we ask God for something that we know is in keeping with His character and desires, He will hear our requests. 15 Knowing that He hears these kinds of requests means that He will also grant them to us. 16 Be alert and cry out to God on behalf of others who you see are beset by sin. God desires to restore them. I am not suggesting that you do so if you sense that they will never repent. 17 All sin is deadly unless one repents. 18 Everyone born of God rises above sin because the One born of God keeps them from the harm caused by evil. 19 We know that we are born of God but all who are not remain slaves to the evil one. 20 We also know that God’s Son came and has imparted to us a new way of understanding that enables deep confidence in knowing God, the True God in a personal and experiential way. We are incorporated into Him who is the truth, His Son Jesus the Anointed One. This is the real God and His eternal life. 21 Beloved children, always be on the alert and guard against every rival to your affection for God.
The Village Church’s sermon podcast is more than just a weekly message. It is an invitation into the great and ongoing story of God’s work in the world. Pastors Eric, Mark, Susan, Daniel, and other leaders open the Scriptures not as a collection of abstract ideas but as the living, breathing witness to God’s kingdom breaking into our midst. Each episode is a call—not merely to listen, but to take part, to step forward into the life of faith with renewed vision and purpose.
Week by week, the pastors and leaders explore the deep rhythms of Christian discipleship—prayer, fasting, generosity—not as isolated duties but as part of a larger, richer, and more beautiful whole. They unpack these ancient practices in light of Jesus himself, the one in whom heaven and earth have come together. But they also turn their attention to the realities of everyday life—relationships, finances, the struggles and joys of being human—demonstrating how the gospel is not merely about what we believe but about how we live as God's renewed people in the present age.
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