Well, as it has already become quite apparent, it is family weekend — which means we have kids from elementary in the service, middle school students, high school students. And as I said earlier, we know that we have a lot of people visiting because of the May celebrations for graduation. So if you’re new, you’re here with friends and family — we’re super glad that you’re here. We hope that today is just a really great day for you as we’ve come to worship the Lord together as a church family.

Today we are finishing up our series, Love Made Known, in the New Testament book of First John. We’ve been in this series for eight weeks looking at the epistle, the letter of First John. So if you have a Bible, you can take your Bible and turn to First John chapter five. If you need a Bible, come to the prayer room after the gathering. Our team will be in there — if you need prayer, but also if you need a Bible. It’ll be at no cost to you. We want to make sure that everyone has a copy of God’s word.

Well, in 2017, our family grew to eleven people and at that moment we needed a different vehicle. So we went and bought an airport shuttle and we drove that airport shuttle around everywhere we went, because we couldn’t afford to put everybody on a plane. We took this airport shuttle everywhere. And if you look closely in the photo on the screen, you can count body parts of eleven different people. They’re all in that photo. All eleven people in my family — and that’s back when my beard was brown. A lot has happened in a short amount of time in my life.

In the van, oh, we’ve got great stories from the van. It was a full sensory experience. Windows all around — you’re seeing things as you drive. You’ve got eleven people in a small area — you’re hearing things as you go down the road. Every decent road trip has excellent junk food, so you’re tasting things. You’ve got so many people crammed into a small environment — you’re feeling things. And you know, if there are that many people in that close of an environment, you’re smelling things all the way down the road. All five senses engaged in the van. And we have so many fun stories from being in that airport shuttle and going to so many different places. We love telling those stories — they’re the kind of stories where you just had to be there. Because if you were there, then you know, because you were there. We love all of us love to share stories about the fact that we were there and what it was like to be there. Because if you were there, then you know. And that is how we give witness — or testimony — to the things that we have experienced. And we all do it naturally, all the time.

Well, as we get into our text today, the question we’re going to use to lead us in is: what is a Christian testimony? What is a Christian testimony? It’s the God story — of who God is, of what God has done, and how God has impacted me. And so in our Bibles, we’re going to look at 1 John chapter five, verses one through thirteen.

And for all the kids in the room, I want you to know we’re going to do something really fun with all the kids at the end of the gathering today. It’s going to be a great time. So we’re going to have a great time together.

In verse one, it says this: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify — the Spirit and the water and the blood — and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God, that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Let’s pray. Father God, this passage is clearly about the testimony — the testimony of God and the testimony of God’s people. Lord, would the testimony of scripture inform our own personal testimony? Would you use your word to impact us and to guide us and to lead us, that we might be in alignment with the testimony that you want us to have about the person of Jesus? God, help us. And I pray this in Jesus’ name. And all God’s family said, Amen.

So what is a Christian testimony? A Christian testimony is a witness of facts concerning Jesus Christ. That’s what makes a Christian testimony different from another type of testimony or story. A Christian testimony is a witness of facts concerning Jesus Christ.

During resurrection week — Easter week, Holy Week — this year at Big Valley Grace Community Church, our kids ministry developed a game to help kids solve the mystery of the empty tomb. The way they went about solving this mystery was by opening their Bibles and looking at verses from scripture that provide facts about the various scenes and locations during the last week of Jesus’s life as he was heading to the cross and then the resurrection. In the same way that our kids ministry is discipling boys and girls to open up their Bibles and look for the facts so that those facts will inform the mysteries we have about Jesus Christ — we’re going to do the exact same thing in our gathering today.

This passage is full of facts. And these facts — it does not matter what age you are. Whether you’re a kid in elementary, a student in middle school or high school, a young adult, a young married, a young family, in your career, a grandparent — the facts we’re going to look at today are applicable for every person who is in Jesus Christ. And if you are here and you want to grow in your ability to have conversations with people about Jesus Christ — in giving your Christian testimony — then you need to pay attention to these six facts, because they’re going to be very helpful as you’re talking about Jesus.

In verses nine and ten, it uses the same phrase twice: “the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.” To be borne means to be revealed in this passage. Something was hidden and now it has been made known — it’s a testimony, a witness of facts that have been revealed. So this is saying that God the Father has given story, or witness, or testimony — has revealed the facts — concerning his Son, who is Jesus Christ.

Fact number one: the baptism of Jesus is a witness. All four of our gospels in the Bible point to the fact of the baptism of Jesus. When Jesus was going to be baptized, John the Baptist tried to stop Jesus from being baptized. And the response Jesus gave to John the Baptist was, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “This is a really important moment, and it’s going to be a part of the witness of the facts of who I am and what I have come to accomplish in righteousness before God the Father. So I need to be baptized.”

In verses six through eight in our text: “This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ — not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify — the Spirit and the water and the blood — and these three agree.” In this text, there are some different viewpoints on what water refers to. For the purpose of today’s teaching, we are going to understand water as representing the baptism of Jesus. And God the Father confirmed the baptism of Jesus as a witness of an important fact. At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father spoke audibly. The voice of God was heard. And God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”

As we are having conversations about our Christian testimony, we can use this fact. Fact number one — the baptism of Jesus is a witness.

Fact number two: the crucifixion of Jesus is a witness. And all four of the gospels point to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane heading toward the cross, he prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” In other words: if there’s a way for this to be accomplished without me having to die on the cross, let this pass. But if not — not my will but yours be done.

The crucifixion of Jesus is an important fact as part of the witness of who Christ is and what he has accomplished. We’ll look at those three verses again: “This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ — not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify — the Spirit and the water and the blood — and these three agree.”

At the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, there was a tremendous amount of facts presented in that moment that gave witness to the death of Jesus on the cross. Scripture says that there was darkness for hours over the whole land. It says that the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom in two. It says that the bodies of many saints who had been buried came up out of the tombs, went into the city, and appeared to many people. God the Father made sure that the witness of the fact of the crucifixion of Jesus was verifiable. As we’re having conversations about our Christian testimony with others, we need to use this fact. Fact number two — the crucifixion of Jesus is a witness.

Fact number three: God the Holy Spirit is a witness. All four of the gospels in our Bible point to God the Holy Spirit as a witness to the person and the work of Jesus Christ. When the announcement was made that Jesus was going to be conceived, the message that came to Mary — the mother of Jesus, the virgin — was that that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. So from the very moment of conception, the Holy Spirit of God has been bearing witness to the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

These same three verses again: “This is he who came by water and the blood, Jesus Christ — not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify — the Spirit and the water and the blood — and these three agree.”

When the New Testament is written and it’s looking back at the life of Jesus, it describes the work of the Holy Spirit this way: “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.” So from the moment of conception to the resurrection, the Holy Spirit of God is identified as bearing witness to the fact of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. As we’re having conversations with people about our Christian testimony, we need to include fact number three — God the Holy Spirit is a witness.

Fact number four: God the Father is a witness. And all four gospels record the fact that God the Father is a witness. When Jesus was transfigured before a few disciples, the voice of God was audibly heard at the transfiguration and was recorded as saying, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” Listen to him.

In verses nine and ten: “If we receive the testimony of men” — in other words, if we believe each other — “the testimony of God is greater.” So what God has to say is greater than what we have to say. “For this is the testimony of God, that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.” The creator of the universe — of every planet, every star, every solar system, every galaxy, the creator of all of creation — has spoken about Jesus. And for a person to deny what the creator has said is to say that the one who created everything doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

When Jesus prayed in the high priestly prayer, recorded in John 17, he prayed, “Father, glorify your name.” And it’s recorded that the Father answered back, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” As we’re having conversations with people about our Christian witness, our testimony, we need to include fact number four — God the Father is a witness.

Now, fact number five: our spiritual birth is a witness. Now take note — the first four were not about us. The baptism of Jesus is a witness. The crucifixion of Jesus is a witness. God the Holy Spirit is a witness. God the Father is a witness. Well, fact number five is about what happens in us. Our spiritual birth is a witness.

In all four gospels, they record the fact that when a person comes to spiritual life in Jesus Christ, they become a witness for Jesus. In the early church, it’s recorded that the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the risen Lord Jesus. So when we come into new life in Jesus, we bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the living Jesus Christ who is alive.

There are three verses from this passage I want to point out — verses one, four, and ten. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” Verse four: “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.” Verse ten: “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.”

When we move from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive — when we are born again because of faith placed in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross as our Lord and as our Savior, that we might have forgiveness of our sin and a relationship with God, the hope of heaven for eternity — it creates in us a witness to the person of Jesus. Our spiritual birth is a witness.

Now I want to share with you a very, very practical example from this school year regarding a couple of students in our town. My neighbor sent me a video at the beginning of the school year regarding an event called See You at the Pole — where students gather at their flagpole to spend time praying for their school campus. He was so impressed by what he saw as a teacher in a public school that he sent me the video. He’s like, “You’ve got to see this.”

Well, when the students at Prescott Middle School — that school right there — when they got done praying at their flagpole at the beginning of this last school year, a teacher was there and said, “I would like to open up my classroom once a week at lunch for anyone who would like to come and pray all school year long.” That teacher bought pizza once a week for the entire school year to provide an opportunity for these students to meet weekly in his classroom. He provided lunch for them. They talked about Jesus. They talked about salvation. They shared scripture. They prayed together. They even at one moment this past school year remembered the Lord in communion on a public school campus. How incredible is that?

So we as a church family had the privilege just a couple months ago to have two of the students from this prayer group at Prescott Middle School be baptized in our gathering. When these students shared their testimony, the student on the left shared about how she was the one who started the prayer around the flagpole at Prescott Middle School and got that group together this year. She was also the one who worked with the teacher to have the weekly prayer time in the classroom all year long. And she shared in this room — she gave testimony about how God had used her to share Jesus Christ at Prescott Middle School this year.

Now, the student on the right is a student who came to the Bible study, who came to the prayer group at Prescott Middle School. And when she gave her testimony right here in our worship gathering just a few months ago, she shared this: “Last year, I was very, very down about who I was as a person. But by coming to this group and hearing the message of Jesus and understanding salvation, I came to realize that I have value as a person and that I have been made beautiful in my own unique way.” Pretty amazing. She said, “I understand that I am beautiful in my own unique way.” And then she looked at the whole church family and said, “And so are you.”

Now it keeps going — because the student on the left has younger siblings. And those younger siblings saw what their older sister had done in getting this prayer group around the flagpole and having a prayer group all year long. The younger siblings have asked their parents, “Will you help us do that at our campus this next year? We want to pray at our school. We want to have a prayer group.” Isn’t that amazing?

This is a picture of fact number five. Our spiritual birth is a witness. And what these two students have done is they have lived out the vision of our church — to make it a matter of prayer, to invite people to salvation in Jesus Christ, to help them take the step to be baptized, and to get into a group. These two students have lived out the vision of Big Valley Grace Community Church. Make it a matter of prayer. God, would you allow me to have one person come to salvation in Jesus Christ this year? To help that person be baptized. To help that person get into a group for the purpose of discipleship. It is incredibly inspiring — what these students are doing and how they’re an example to people of all ages. Totally incredible. Fact number five — our spiritual birth is a witness.

Fact number six: eternal life is a witness. When we’re having conversations with people about Jesus and our Christian testimony, we need to talk about fact number six — eternal life is a witness. And all four gospels record the fact that eternal life is a witness. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The end of our passage — verses eleven, twelve, and thirteen: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

There are many aspects of life that are a mystery. But these are facts in our Bible that point to eternal life. And while you may not have all of life figured out, these are facts that you can know — that you may know that you have eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Everyone is in a van. Your van is on some road trip. Your van is going wherever it’s going. And you’ve got whoever you’ve got with you in your van. Everybody’s in a van. Everybody’s going somewhere. And everybody’s going somewhere with someone. And I just want to challenge you that the best stories are the stories that have to do with these facts — where, if you were there, you know, because of the way that your life has been changed by Jesus Christ. Facts that point to eternal life. And the best stories are about the best facts. And the best facts are found right here in our Bible, in scripture.

We affirm the truth of the word of God. We affirm the Bible. We affirm the truth of scripture. And as you are having conversations about your Christian testimony, these are the facts that you need to include. The baptism of Jesus is a witness. The crucifixion of Jesus is a witness. God the Holy Spirit is a witness. God the Father is a witness. Our spiritual birth is a witness. And eternal life is a witness.

How would you fill in this sentence? I want to share my Christian testimony with — what’s the name you’d put there? I’d like to share my Christian testimony with who? What’s the name that you would put in that blank? And I want to challenge you to do this before today is over — that you would share with one other person the name that you put in that blank, and that other person might know that you’re praying for an opportunity to be able to share your Christian testimony with the person whose name you put there.

Well, we’re going to end our gathering in a really fun way. So all the kids that are in the room, I want to invite all the kids up onto the stage with me. Let’s welcome the kids as they come up.

Okay, we’re going to say a verse together. Don’t be shy — I don’t bite. I even took a shower today. Everything’s going to be fine. Come on up. Yeah, all the kids up here. Don’t be shy. Look how many kids are in the room — that’s incredible. There are kids everywhere.

Okay, if you’re shorter, go to the front so people can see you. If you’re taller, go to the back. There you go. It’s like a family photo. Oh, this is great.

We’re going to say First John 5:11 out loud, because we’re going to do right now exactly what we’ve been talking about. As we do it the first time, maybe you get a word not quite right — that’s okay, because we’re going to do it a few times. We’re going to practice saying this out loud and we’re going to do what we just taught about. We’re going to do it together right here with the kids of our church. Here we go.

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” First John 5:11.

Okay, now we’re warmed up. Let’s try it again. “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” First John 5:11.

Okay, now — everybody’s using your inside voice. I need you to use your outside voice. I need us to get way louder. Use your big outside voice as we say it this last time. Here we go.

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” First John 5:11.

Now wait — do you want to be louder than the other services were? Okay, well you’re going to have to be a little bit louder. The kids in the other service were louder. Can you be a little bit louder? One last time. Here we go.

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” First John 5:11.

Hey — give it up for them. So fun. So fun. All right, kids, I’m going to pray for you.

Father God, Lord, thanks for all the kids. May what we’re talking about be true in their hearts. God, may this be the generation that bears the testimony of Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you that you bless our church family with the next generation of boys and girls who are going to become men and women who will follow Jesus Christ. And so God, we pray blessing over this generation right here. God, may they give testimony and witness concerning who Jesus is and what he has accomplished for us. So God, we pray blessing over the kids. We pray this in Jesus’ name. And all God’s family said, Amen.

Hey, let’s appreciate all the kids. Good job, guys. You did great. Church family, we love you and we’re going to see you again real soon.