Crossroads Church of God, Lima OH

Part of the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

1 Peter 4:5-6 NIV

1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 20-26, 58 NIV

John 1:1-4, 14 NIV

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV

Christ: anointed one

His Son: eternal

Our Lord: final authority

Implications

       Kingdom of God is not in danger

       We adjust our lives to Jesus

John 3:16 NIV

1 John 4:8b-13 NIV

John 4:34 NIV

John 5:30 NIV

John 6:38 NIV

Genesis 1:1 NIV

Genesis 1:26-27 NIV

Quote by Brennan Manning “The Furious Longing of God”

“The foundation of the furious longing of God is the Father who is the originating Lover, the Son who is the full self-expression of that Love, and the Spirit who is the original and inexhaustible activity of that Love, drawing the created universe into itself.”

Quote by Brennan Manning “The Signature of Jesus”

“The Abba experience is the source and secret of Christ’s being, his message, and manner of life … In order to comprehend his relentless tenderness and passionate love for us, we must always return to his Abba experience. Jesus experienced God as tender and loving, courteous and kind, compassionate and forgiving.”.

Brennan Manning once again talks about this relationship in The Signature of Jesus when he writes.

... God, the Father who loved Jesus so well, stands ready and waiting to share that relationship with us. He longs to speak with us as we look to him for guidance during our happiest and darkest moments. Manning further states, “You and I not only are invited but actually called to enter into this warm and liberating experience of God as Abba … We are privileged to share in the intimacy of Jesus with his Father.”

The lyrics to the hymn Love of God really sum up the Love of the Father.

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care God gave His Son to win. His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin. Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky. O love of God, how rich and pure how measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song.

He created everything in heaven and earth was made for his glory.  In Psalm 19 it says the heavens declare the glory of God. All creation is doing its part to declare his glory. But our part is different. We, unlike the rest of creation, were created in the image of God.

Quote from John Piper: The point of an image is to image. Images are erected to display the original — to point to the original, glorify the original. God made humans in his image so that the world would be filled with reflectors of God — images of God, seven billion statues of God. So that nobody would miss the point of creation. Nobody (unless they were stone blind) could miss the point of humanity, namely, God — knowing, loving, showing God. The angels cry in Isaiah 6:3, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” It’s full of millions of human image bearers.

To sum up everything in a brief synopsis:

We believe in, trust, rely on, cling to, and give our hearts to God the Father who is the ultimate authority, priority, source and originating lover with the Trinity. God is love. This love that knows no bounds sent his son to die and to be raised again so that we could be invited into the amazing loving relationship of the Trinity that has been interacting in love throughout all eternity.. As Almighty he is limitless in power with complete control over everything. There is nothing that he cannot do. So we have full confidence in his love, power and control. And as the Creator of heaven and earth—of all things visible and invisible—He commands our perpetual wonder as all creation glorifies his name. And so we live our lives as his beloved children and image bearers to rightly reflect his image through how we live, thus giving him the glory that he so rightly deserves.

Points:

I BELIEVE: To trust, rely on, cling to, and give my heart to

GOD THE FATHER: The ultimate authority, priority, source and originating lover within the Trinity.

ALMIGHTY: Absolute power, complete control over everything in heaven and earth.

CREATOR: He created everything in heaven and earth for his glory.

I believe in God the Father Almighty --- creator of heaven and earth…

Genesis 1:1

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty…

Mark 16:19

From there He will come to judge the living and the dead…

2 Timothy 4:1a

Creed: a short, carefully worded statement about a core belief

Matthew 7:3-5 NIV

Matthew 18:15-17 NIV

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

Known by love: a reconciling people

Quotes:

Everyone needs someone to walk around in their soul. - Randy Reese

The myth of a solitary Christian making his/her own way alone to paradise flies in the face of everything the Bible teaches about the Church as the body of Christ. - David Benner

The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of you being a growing person in Christ. - Henri Nouwen

Scripture:

Proverbs 27:17 NIV

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

 James 1:19b NIV

Points:

Principles for Spiritual Companionship

 Practical Steps

We are for one another.

We give encouragement as often as possible.

We share advice once in a great while.

We bring correction only when absolutely necessary.

We condemn never.

John 1:14 NIV

Philippians 2:6-8 NIV

Luke 19:1-10 NIV

Colossians 1:15-17 NIV

God himself crosses boundary lines

Jesus sees people over positions

Jesus embraces discomfort

Jesus is prepared

Trust in the one who holds all things together

2 Corinthians 5:14-16 NIV

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NIV

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 NIV

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

Spiritual Conversations

The Practice of Invitation

John 13:35 NIV

We often sin alone, but we heal together. – John Ortberg

Acts 2:42-47 NIV

Practice of Christian Fellowship

Ways to begin being Known by Love

When God gives a gift, he often wraps it in a person. – Bill Lane

Transmit Hope: proclaiming and demonstrating the reality of Gods’ Kingdom

Acts 1:8 NRSV

Mark 10:42-45 NIV

John 13:1-5 NIV

 John 13:34-35 NIV

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton  

Not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things with great love… - Mother Theresa

Serving to demonstrate the Kingdom

   Kingdom serving is indiscriminate

    Kingdom serving is in the mundane

    Serving makes God visible

Becoming people of Kingdom service

      Look for a need

      Serve quietly

      Serve regularly

       Keep Jesus’ service in mind