1, 2, and 3 John: Joyful Certainty

Michael J. Kruger

I love this small group study guide series from The Good Book Company. Christians are regularly told they should spend more time studying God’s Word, but sometimes there’s not a clear plan for how to do this. These study guides provide practical, step-by-step guidance on working through books of the Bible, along with wonderful questions that encourage reflection and application. I hope churches and Christian ministries will take advantage of this wonderful resource.

Tim Chester

The aim of the The Good Book Company is to be biblical, relevant and accessible, and nothing embodies that ethos more than their Good Book Guides. Each guide provides a framework for your group to dig into the text of Scripture for itself while providing enough of a steer to keep you on track plus useful pointers towards application. The result is a great combination of fidelity to Scripture and ease of use.

“Assurance and Faith”

1, 2, and 3 John: Joyful Certainty by Sam Allberry is a well-structured, seven-session Bible study that guides both the head and the heart through the powerful themes found in John’s letters.

The questions in the study guide prompted thoughtful reflection. One particularly memorable example was the unpacking of what it means that “the world and its desires pass away.” This isn’t just an abstract idea—it includes the fleeting nature of beauty, the temporary security of wealth, and how even our proudest accomplishments can lose their luster over time.



Assurance and Faith

The study also offers practical guidance for fighting sin and walking in greater obedience to Christ. Suggestions like regularly fixing our eyes on Jesus, remembering His finished work on the cross, and creating habits of accountability (such as calendar reminders or check-ins with others) are simple yet deeply effective strategies for spiritual growth.

This study guide will help leaders give assurance to their small groups and further them in faith.


I received a media copy of 1, 2, and 3 John: Joyful Certainty and this is my honest review.

“So helpful”

Each week is filled with a section of the Bible to read, definitions, and questions to work through. There are areas for application as well as optional areas for further study and suggested prayer. I really liked all of ways I was able to work through these books.

“Clear and concise. Solid guide for individual or group settings.”

This is 7 session study on the books of 1, 2, and 2 John.

Each of the 7 sessions has the following format as well as a dictionary for some of the key words.

Talkabout: ice breaker for groups or getting your thoughts going if doing alone
Investigate: explore the passage
Apply: practical questions
Explore more: go deeper
Getting Personal: personal reflection
Pray: prayer

There’s a leader’s guide in the second half of the book to facilitate group discussions. There’s also a pitch for why to study these letters.

This is a clear and concise study guide. It offers very little commentary or context, but can be used as a companion to the commentary “1,2, & 3 John For You”. I do appreciate the separation of these as I can tend to focus more easily on the commentary than the actual verses when they are together. This study allows me to wrestle with Scripture on my own before immediately turning to a commentary. I think this approach helps me to actually learn better than reading the verses with the commentary before approaching the questions.

I enjoy the simplicity to the study guide with how each session is laid out. It can easily be done on its own for individual study, but is also set up to be great for groups. The leader’s guide in the back equips even the most inexperienced leader to do well. These are targeted for adults, but I am even thinking about using them in our homeschooling in our preteen/teen years with the kids.

“Great Study Guide”

The Good Book Company has been publishing some amazing series and this is one of them. Their Good Book Guides are bible studies for individual or group use. They can be used as a companion to their God's Word For You series, which is also an amazing series.

Allberry structures the book with seven sessions that can completed on a weekly or monthly basis. Each session includes a specific format:

- The Story So far

- Talkabout

- Investigate

- Getting Personal

- Explore More

- Apply

- Investigate

- Getting Personal

- Apply

- Pray

The Getting Personal and Export More sections are noted as optional. I do not like this. I think it will be easy for readers to skip these sections assuming they don't provide much else to the study. That would be an horrible assumption. These sections bring so much depth to the study. Yes, it will require more time, effort, brain capacity, and energy. But the results are well worth the work!

There is a leader's guide included in the back of the study. For each session, the leader's guide provides the following:

- The Big Idea

- Summary

- Questions to utilize in the Explore More section

This study was a great resource to dive deeper into the Scriptures without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.