John writes this short note to his dear friend Gaius. May we encourage each other by giving words of truth and grace to one other in Christ.
3 John 1: Greeting
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,
6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.
10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink.
14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them.
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Things to think about…
John’s third letter leaves no doubt as to its recipient – “to the beloved Gaius”. What a tender address. May we address those in Christ with such tender affection and grace. It is not just health, wealth and happiness John is espousing to Gaius here in 3Jn 1:2. John wants him to be well not only in body, but in soul. John’s joy is confirmed because Gaius is “walking in the truth” 3Jn 1:3,4. Lord continue to grant this grace to your people.
John compares Gaius’ godly character along with Demetrius in the church as those who welcome strangers and have a good testimony etc, in contrast to the character of Diotrephes who puts himself first and is dividing the church by saying that the Apostle John and his fellow workers should not be received by the church, 3Jn 1:9. John says he is dealing with it, having written a letter to the church, 3Jn 1:9. Sometimes this is required, but it’s never pleasant.
This Diotrephes is a real piece of work. He has slinked his way into the church and is a leader. As such he forbids true followers of Christ from joining the church. As such he is an instrument of Satan. Every pastor has had to deal with such people at one point or another. The Apostle Paul says “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”, 1 Tim 5:20. John says he will be doing just that with respect to Diotrephes when he arrives, vs 10.
Sometimes when we are confronted by a challenging figure in the church like Diotrephes, the temptation is to fight fire with fire. Never the best option. John here simply says “do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God”, vs 11. John makes the point that our response even in difficult situations is associated with our identity and therefore our destiny in God. Love covers a multitude of sins, 1 Pet 4:8.
When confronting bad behaviour or encouraging or comforting someone, face to face is always the better option – John gives Gaius the same signoff as he did ‘to the elect lady’, in his second letter by saying, “I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink, I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.”, 3Jn13,14. With all the technology we have to communicate today, nothing will ever surpass the clarity of engaging with someone in person.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points
1. A new admin and finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Pray for Florida and the US as they enter into the elections in a few weeks.
3. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
4. Pray for Tuesday night that it would be a time of healing and hope
5. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
6. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
7. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
8. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
9. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
10. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
11. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
12. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
13. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
14. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Sinwar the evil Hamas mastermind of Oct 7, 2023 has been killed. Pray some form of restoration and peace can come as a result.
2. The Wave of Light ceremony on Tuesday night was a blessing to all who attended in person and online. Thankyou Anna
3. Visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
4. Praise God for Sunday’s ministry. The Lord continues to bless his word.
5. Praise God for Kids@Church ministry.
6. Finances continue to be met. Praise God
7. New equipment for PlayPatch
8. Tad’s health continues to improve.
9. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. PlayPatch back this Friday morning – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
2. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
3. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for October...
Q. 25. Why did they eat the forbidden fruit? A. Because they did not believe what God had said.
Bible References – Gen.3:1-6; Heb.11:6.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
