Church Of The Harvest | Sermon Podcast | Cleveland, TN · Word Of Life Ministries - Church of the Harvest

We are Family - What Real Faith Looks Like - Pastor Todd Haggard

·40 min·2 clips

Sin separates believers from the Lord and from brothers and sisters in Christ.

1. Church Of The Harvest | Sermon Podcast | Cleveland, TN frames Todd Haggard's message around 1 John and the title 'We Are Family.' 2. Pastor Todd Haggard is the speaker, and he says he is reading the NIV, counting family words, and trying not to meander. 3. The sermon asks what First John is doing with repeated family language and why 'children of God' matters in chapter 3. 4. Haggard says family words appear 66 times in First John and that the letter has about 33 paragraphs. 5. He reads the chapter as a warning and encouragement about being 'children of God' rather than just hearing isolated verses. 6. He says believers are not called to fit in but to 'fit together,' using gears in a clock as his picture. 7. He argues that God made each person exactly as intended, even when believers compare themselves to siblings in the church. 8. He says purification is not a destination and uses 'be being made holy' language to describe a process. 9. He points to 1 John 3:2-3 and says 'what we will be has not yet been made known' until Jesus appears. 10. He says grace and the Holy Spirit make purification a daily work, not something believers finish once. 11. He contrasts relapse into sin with the idea that Satan never takes a day off from accusation. 12. Haggard says righteousness has an account-settled side and a character-shaping side, and he contrasts those two facets. 13. He cites Abraham as righteous before God even while still making serious mistakes, including lying about Sarah. 14. He says the greatest danger of sin is separation from the Lord and from brothers and sisters in Christ. 15. He uses Adam and Eve hiding after disobedience to show that shame creates distance even when God still loves his children. 16. He says loving one another was the plan from the beginning and that God wants relationship more than performance. 17. He says believers who do not abide in love are moving toward death, and he contrasts love and hate with life and death. 18. The tone is conversational and classroom-like, with jokes, side comments, and repeated direct address to the congregation. 19. People interested in 1 John, grace, and church relationships would likely listen. 20. Listeners wanting a tight, verse-by-verse exegesis may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Church Of The Harvest | Sermon Podcast | Cleveland, TN