Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In 1 John 2, the Apostle teaches that Christians have been “anointed by the Holy One” (1 John 2:20). In fact, in our passage for this Sunday, 1 John 2:18-27, he mentions our “anointing” three times. Clearly John wants his readers to take to heart this important truth. John’s words become especially urgent when we realize that he is instructing the believers on how to remain faithful to Jesus when false teachers, whom John calls “antichrists,” are trying to lure them away from the truth of the Gospel message.
In the Old Testament, a priest or king was anointed by having oil poured on their head as a way of setting them apart for special service to God. Jesus Christ himself (Christ means “anointed”) is the great anointed Priest and King to which all other Israelite priests and kings pointed.
When John is telling us how to stand firm against false teaching, he points us to the anointing that we have received as God’s people, a people set apart to serve him in the midst of a hostile and oftentimes confusing world. The anointing we have received is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you,” John tells us (1 John 2:27). Praise God that when he calls us to himself to serve him, he also commits to be with us and to sustain us through the struggles of the Christian life by anointing us with his Spirit! This Sunday we will dig into 1 John 2:18-27, a passage of warning, but also a passage of hope and promise, that highlights the great resources God has given us for living a faithful Christian life.
Please take note of the following announcements and prayer requests for this week:
Meals for the Vilands
The Vilands are home from the hospital! We are thankful to have the opportunity to serve the Vilands through providing meals for them over the next few weeks. If you are able to take or send the new parents a meal, it would be a great help in these early days. The link to participate is in your email. Please contact Val Austin with questions.
Prayer Requests
Donna Siefert: Please continue to pray that our Lord would comfort and uphold Donna Siefert and her family after the loss of Donna’s father, George Slivinski, on Saturday, July 4.
Dave Wright: Please pray for healing following hip replacement surgery on Friday, July 10.
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. (1 John 2:24-25)
In Him,
Pastor Rhett