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Sermon Notes
Essential Christianity: A Study of the Apostles’ Creed
Week 2: “I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth”
Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14
I. God: He Is, and He Is One (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5)
- The one true God, self-existent; “I AM.” Not the many gods of our own making. Undivided worship; rest in him.
II. Father: And This One God Is Personal (John 17:24; Galatians 4:4–7)
- Father of the Son from eternity; by adoption, our Father. You are not an orphan.
III. Almighty: And This Father Is Able (Revelation 19:6)
- Able (Almighty) and willing (Father). You can rest; you do not have to be God.
IV. Creator: And Everything Comes From His Hand (Genesis 1:27, 31)
- Creation is good; every person bears God’s image. Treat one another like it.
Reflection & Application Questions
- Which God? When you hear the word “God,” what picture instinctively comes to mind, the God who reveals himself in Scripture as “I AM,” or a version you’ve quietly assembled to your own liking? Where do the two differ?
- One God, or many? Calvin said the human heart is “a perpetual factory of idols.” Honestly, which gods compete for your devotion right now: money, approval, comfort, status, the opinion of others? What would it look like this week to serve the one true God instead of shuttling between them?
- Orphan or child? God is eternally Father of the Son, and by adoption He has made you His child. Do you tend to relate to God more like an orphan (anxious, performing, earning) or like a beloved child (secure, resting)? What would change if you believed you are loved with the same love the Father has for His Son?
- Able and willing. Where in your life are you gripping too tightly trying to be God over an outcome you cannot control? What would it look like to trust that the One who is both able (Almighty) and willing (Father) is holding it?
- No ordinary people. Every person bears God’s image including the people you find hardest to love. Who is one person you’ve been tempted to look down on or write off? How does “image-bearer of the living God” change the way you’ll treat them this week?
- Become what you believe. We become what we believe and most of us believe far less than we confess. Which of the four words: God, Father, Almighty, Creator, do you most need to truly believe right now, and what is one concrete way your life would look different if you did?
Time of Response
Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE
What does this reveal about God?
What does this reveal about you in relation to God?
What do you need to do about it?
The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)
I am no longer my own,
but Yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine,
and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
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How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?
One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:
The S.O.A.P.S. Method
S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.
O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.
A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?
P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.
S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.
- Inductive Bible Study:
- Observation (what does the passage say?)
- What is happening in the passage?
- Who is involved in the passage?
- What happened before and after the passage.
- Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
- Interpretation (what does it mean?)
- What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
- What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
- Application (how does it apply to my life?)
- What does the passage say about God?
- What does the passage say about me and to me?
- What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?
How do I talk with God?
WAYS TO PRAY
One Way to talk with God is to:
Pause.
Rejoice.
Ask.
Yield.
ANOTHER OPTION
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication: Requests
