On Sunday, July 20, 2025 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on the books of 2 and 3 John.  This message was part 2 in the “Postcards” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal refelction or group discussion.  You will also find the sermon audio and video to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read 2 and 3 John
3. In what ways is it loving to sometimes “close the door” to certain teaching or ideas?
4. In the message we reminded one another of 7 of the core truths of Christianity.  Was anything left off that list that you thought should have been included?  Anything on that list that seems “extra”?
5. Are there any influences in your life to which you need to close the door?
6. In 3 John, Gaius’ hospitality to visiting missionaries is celebrated?  In what ways could you follow Gaius lead in being hospitable to missionaries today?
7. Do you have any hospitality heroes when it comes to supporting missionaries?
8. What stands out to you most from this message?  Any particular takeaway?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the link below:

Postcards #2 7.20.25

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the livestream use YouTube online:

 

The Bible is God’s Word.

Over a 1,600 year period, God delivered His Word to His people in 66 installments – the books of the Old and New Testament. Though the DELIVERY of His Word occurred from Moses (who wrote Genesis in the 1500s BC) in the Old Testament to the Apostle John (who wrote the Revelation in 95AD) in the New Testament (a span of 1,600 years), the EVENTS God’s Word describe an even longer timeline.  The Bible points beyond time; looking backward before the creation of the world, and extending forward into the future when this creation is replaced with a new heaven and earth.  And in between eternity past and future, we find plenty of insight for today.

There is no book like it.

In the delivery of His Word, God showed much creativity in varied styles:

• Some of the Bible is prophetic, other parts are law.
• Some of the Bible is poetic, while other parts are history.
• Some of it is figurative and emotive, other parts are real and raw.
• Some letters were written to nations, while others were written to churches, and still others *  were written to individuals.
• Some books are long, spanning over 100 chapters, while others are short, covering just a couple of hundred words.

The Bible is anything but boring … and all of it is true and authoritative.  We simply must read this book.  God has preserved it to introduce us to Himself that we might trust Him and know the way He is calling us to go.  Of course, Jesus reveals God to us as well … but the Living Word (JESUS) always works consistent with the written Word (BIBLE).

In the New Testament there are a few books that were written to individuals or family groups.  In our current sermon series “Postcards” we are looking at the the 4 shortest books of the New Testament:  Philemon, 2 & 3 John, and Jude.  Last week (in part 1) we looked at the letter the Apostle Paul wrote to Philemon (and the church that met in his home in Colssae).  This week we will look at the two short epistles of 2 & 3 John.  These letters were written to (mostly) individuals: a woman (and her children) in 2 John, and to a man named Gaius in 3 John.  In these two short letters, the Apostle John (identified merely as “the elder” since he wrote these epistles when he was well advanced in age) writes to instruct his friends and fellow Jesus followers on two very practical points: there were some doors John wanted them to “open” and some that he wanted them to “close.”

This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church we will look at these 2 letters together to see their connection to our homes and church today.  Hope you can make it to our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 service.  See you there for part 2 of this series … and bring friends!