I invite you to turn to the back of your Bibles this morning to the book of 1st John, where we will be reading from chapter 3, verses 1 through 24.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called

Children of God, and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Beloved, we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared.

But we know that when he appears, we will be like him him because we shall see him as he is and

everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.

Sin is lawlessness.

You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on

sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you.

Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from

the beginning. The reason the son of God appeared

was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning,

for God's seed abides in Him and He cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil.

Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,

nor is the one who does not love his brother.

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning

that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain who was of the

evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds

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