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Sermon Notes
ESSENTIAL CHRISTIANITY: A Series on the Apostles' Creed
Week One: "I Believe" The One Word the Whole Creed Hangs On
Texts: Genesis 15:6; John 16:29–32; 20:28–31; James 2:14–19; 1 John 5:1–5
- A Faith Worth Confessing The Apostles' Creed
- the faith handed down to us (Jude 3; Matthew 28:19–20).
- One Word Holds Everything Everything begins with "I believe" (credo).
- We become what we believe.
- The Old Word: To Believe Is to Lean
- Hebrew 'aman; the root of "Amen.": To rest your full weight on God (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1–3).
- The New Word: A Verb, Never a Noun Greek
- pisteuō: belief is something you do and keep doing (John 20:31).
- Watching Belief Grow
- The disciples' belief grows and gets tested (John 2:11; 6:68–69; 16:29–31).
- "Do You Now Believe?"
- They said, "We believe" and then they scattered (John 16:32).
- The Belief That Changed Them After the resurrection, their words became a life (John 20:28–29).
- So Do You Really Believe?
- Even the demons believe (James 2:19).
- Saying is not believing (Matthew 7:21).
- Real belief is a new birth that overcomes the world (1 John 5:1–4).
- "I Believe; Help My Unbelief"
- Honest, struggling belief is still real belief (Mark 9:24).
REFLECTION & APPLICATION
- Where is the widest gap between what you say you believe about God and how you actually live?
- Is there a promise of God you are standing near but have never "put your full weight" on?
- What would leaning your full weight on it look like this week?
- The demons believe and shudder.
- Name one truth you hold correctly in your head that has not yet reached your hands and feet.
- When has your belief "scattered" under pressure, like the disciples?
- What did that expose and how has Christ rebuilt it?
- If someone watched your life for a week with the sound off, what would they conclude you really believe?
- Name one specific thought or action that would change starting now if you truly believed the creed is true.
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.
I HAVE A QUESTION
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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
