Wed. Jan 7, 2026 A Study of God

This new concept of a study of God and know that sounds very kind of esoteric, right? So go beginning and an end, you know, hopefully encourage us to really kind of think of who did that were worshipping who it is, that were trying to make a part of our lives and in really what it is that governs? How we do things? So it really, you know, when you think about so you God you look at God in the Bible and it's not like it starts with some Grande explanation of who he is and what it is. It just starts out in the, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth in Genesis 1:1 do for the Christian, the validity of our faith rests on the simple, but profound belief that he is remember. We can think back went when we were at the end. When Moses was interacting with God and he says, what did he say? Tell them who sent you my hand? Cuz he's ever pressed there isn't a before and after this is, so you think about that? So while various logical arguments are presented in the chapters that we're going to look at like the design in the universe or the concept of a perfect being. They can show that believe in God is reasonable. But the Bible suggest that me and already has an innate knowledge of him because we were created in His image. So this series is not about it storming, a stranger, what is about reviewing in? Greater detail, the god that were made to know. So you think of why why does it matter that we consider and look at who God is? So it really gets down to the entire basis of our life. Jesus taught that eternal life itself is based on knowing god, and that's John. 17. + 3. What's the? I should have slide said that otherwise you should have your Bibles. I'm not going to display every every scripture, every time so it's important have your Bibles with you, whether they be electronic or paper and if you want we have some here as well. But the idea is that we're going to look at things and we're going to examine then we're going to stop it. I'm going to be talking more tonight than I intend to in the rest of the class tomorrow. We're going to reconfigure the tables were going to have a discussion oriented class. We're going to do it in a way that we can share the things that we've studied before we pumped and we can really learn from each other. So they understand that God is really a basis of our life and we also are establishing this personal relationship, a personal connection with God. God is not a, a distant object of worship. But a being who relates to us through speaking feeling and reasoning, understanding this intellectual faculties. Do all the things that he can do and what makes him up, makes our relationship with him personal and extremely precious things that weight. Would we look at the harmony of his character that was saying his attributes. When you think about God, you think about How about if we only understood God's power for his Holiness without his love? He would be a source of Terror. Think of that. Did you take one of these attributes away? You change, who he is. But the idea is they're all molded together. There you talk about a a diamond has many facets. You know, all the angles a trip like that. Like capturing projected out think about that as God just check your sister has many facets and each one makes up the whole. So for example, of God's holiness Helga because we are Unholy, what is love and his Mercy, provide the greatest and most wonderful news. Turning combination installation. So we have to look at God is a whole we can't just pick and choose. Give you, you may talk to your neighbors. You may see people who look at God in a particular way and they wanted Zone in on one of his attributes and they want to stay all about love or they for they say God doesn't have an interesting and he's he's going to condemn me and send me the help because they're not looking at the fire aspect who he is. He's provided us a way to eternal life through him and by knowing him, that's how we get there. So and then it also changes how we live our lives. So there's a practical transformation in Who We Are. So, you are daily comfort. And conduct is based on how we know and how we understand. God knowing god is all present, that's at omnipresence for life. If we're going through something, we know that God is here with us and showing us that we're never alone. Similarly, understanding his Holiness and his Justice set the standard for how we should live not as the world lives. But as children were separated for his purposes, Journeys, 13 weeks that we're going to study together. You can kind of breakdown God's attributes into two distinct wings. It's think about it with me, bare with me for a second. So, if it's, if it's a non communicable way, that means God isn't telling us as we understand it from understanding him. So, his omnipresence. Doesn't say, I am a God and I have an omnipresent demonstrated through his word and we understand. So everywhere at once, has is omnipotent and is all-powerful abstruse. It belongs to God Alone such as those omni's which we're going to define a better understanding. Are really what the non-communicative attributes are in the ended. It has two dudes. It's what God communicates to man, to some degree. Such as love, Mercy, power and reason. So God shows those things, his grace is demonstrated to us his love and many, many ways, how it's applied to different circumstances, different relationships at different times. So, excited to think about what God is. Show me your folder. You have a glossary is on the left side, we all remember glossaries from when we were in school, I never liked class 302, and has me study. I encourage you, if you come across a big word term that isn't like commenting, that you identified, see when I think about, It's agnostic versus an atheist, across the word, that you're reading in the text. Write it down and kind of figure it out. And if there's a scripture reference that helps, you understand it, I'd encourage you to do that. So we're learning, we're learning this stuff together and like I said, this is the most, I've talked it off, I want to, I want to hear what you have to say, after you work through and study and looked at the scriptures. So, So we're just going to explore God as Creator his intellectual faculties to the mysterious and trying to look at a little bit further to Trinity of God, which we talked about the Triune nature of God. And in his specific nature, as a god of power, as it got a knowledge, Holiness Justice love, Mercy, Grace and concluding with his Perpetual Providence, we talked about the word Providence but we need to look at the scriptures that apply to that that we can better understand that and make that apart. so as we go through this, hopefully it will help us keep in our knowledge of who God is And if we aren't better, understand God will have a better relationship with him and with each other.

So if you have any questions before I move forward,

you all look really excited. Bird is leaning on her hand. Donna Watkins looking to me like I don't know. There must be a typo up there but I kind of thought it would be good to break the ice to kind of just thinking about a couple questions about the. Why does God expect us to know him and not just believe he exists? Okay, when do you want to have an active relationship with you? Like you had with your family and friends, okay? If you want some more

What else? Any other Concepts or thoughts?

The devil believe in a God, that God exists.

So we want to be better than that. I think we can all stand with that, right?

Any yo, I thought about this ahead of time so I'm coming up scriptures.

We know what he likes. Okay. So we can do better if you know a person and you know they likes and dislikes.

No, he likes with a further. You do more.

You know, Kim lights, a certain type of cake on her birthday and not hot at all. I don't have an excellent excellent point. If we know him, we can understand what he wants from us. Anything else?

They are my notification again. Then I go to what you said somewhere near when you mentioned dinner. You know, if you know God then you know it's just not one thing that he is. He would do you feel like that, you know, it's the one that going to punish you then you might know. It's not know that God that the one that don't let that that's what come to mine. That you just don't need to know where I was going to live about.

That would make you more comfortable. Amen. That's on welfare Regina.

Yeah, that's that's a bit. That's a great word, trust. He gone.

How late did you have something?

Father, and child.

You love your children.

But good for them and when you see them going the wrong way, you want to step in and change them. And I feel like God is that way from

Please.

They meant, I don't think that, you think go ahead and believe trust your parent that when they discipline you. Still know that they love you.

Even when it's hard.

Within our relationship with God. We have the discipline

The old life. Okay? Why you didn't say why you different name?

Show me we have trust and then we have at that God wants the best for us. And there's also you know, that trust comes confidence it. If if you know your We're going to struggle trying to understand who got it.

I don't think it's within our capability. Truly understand everything about that. Okay? But I can on Wednesday, I can give to understand our relationship. Like I'll be brought up like a father and a child, that's a relationship. I can understand and I can feel really confident and good about and and and we know God's much better than my father was he's amazing. He has all these attributes that

But because he's our heavenly father, he does have that, we do have that relationship 10. Ecclesiastical.

Hey man, very well set. I mean you guys are thinking so well and I'm so happy you're sharing and anything about it. He might have any other thoughts.

God is love. That's what it says in the Bible that God is love getting to know God, that it's love. You also helped us realize how we have to treat other people, you don't know if I'm supposed to love my family, my friends, my neighbor. If I know God's nature that he is loved all these patient kind and never gives up. Well, then those attributes I want to I want to be gladly to a man. We are we are what we are created in His image. So if God is love, that's that's what we're supposed to meet 2. We're supposed to show that respect that caring and that long suffering or steadfastness or patience. All those words are difficult for me to show. Patience to be, you know, really to embrace that in a way without like I'm stopped my feet. And I'm going to show patience. And I'm mad about it is not what God wanted for us. I need to show patience like a loving. Like someone who loves in all I want. All I want to do is to please Ali.

In any other thoughts on this?

Want. Want want?

We have a new rule here. Everybody's listening elevation. Apologize for speaking out in class. Now, you can go ahead.

Even when they totally messed up.

When did say anything and they disobey him? Yeah, this love is so gracious. Bible said he made clothes.

well said, do you have anything else?

I thought it there a couple scriptures that came to mind Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24. Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast of his wisdom. Let him not let not the Mighty Man boast in his might let not the rich man boast in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this that he understands and he knows me that, I am the Lord, who practices steadfast love Justice. And righteousness in the Earth for in these things, I Delight declares the Lord sets, Jeremiah 9, 23, and 24.

You know, God is real. And like LaShonda said, even the devil knows, God is real, but we need to move from just understand that God is real and move to a place. If we're not right there God is revealed and God is knowable we can do him, he's giving us all the resources to do that. So, one of the other ones I thought it was John 17 1 through 3. And when Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father the hour is come, glorify your son, that son may glorify you since you have given him authority over. All Flesh to give me eternal life to all whom you have given him, and this is eternal life that they know you. The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. So we can know him. And that equals, what? Eternal life by knowing him. but there's this planet, as We need to know and we need to keep his commandments so knowing isn't just enough. We have to do something about it. We have work to do. We have to go back. And this year, our theme is for all the lesson sense anymore in his Sermon on the Mount, we just really price blueprint for excellence. And that's what we're pulling out of each Sunday morning to kind of guy or our sermons in a cohesive fashion. So what we're doing here is the same thing. We're getting to know God more and more So, we can improve ourselves and work toward excellence. An excellent only comes with with Christ blood just to cover our sins. So, I'm not saying we're working our way to heaven. I don't mean to be saying that all, but we we have an obligation. We have a duty. Because we love the Lord, our God. Is to do what he wants us to do. If I love my wife, I'll do things that will make her happy and what will what will make God happy to? She was Commandments and get to know him. So I know the one that came to mind was Romans 1:18 through 20. So I backed up to 18 for the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness, an unrighteous of men who buy their in righteousness. Suppress the truth for what can be known about. God is playing to them because God has shown it to them for his invisible attributes. Namely, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse, nor others, your ability not to know, you have no excuse for not understanding these things because God given us rules to get their first 21 for. Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thinking. And their foolish Hearts were darkened. So we, we have no excuse not to know. And not to seek to understand God, and to make that part of our Lives each and every day.

And then just one more 1st, John 2, verses 3 and 4. And when and when you well that's not the right description.

1st. John 2, 3 and 4. If you turn in your Bibles there you have to work. Now we're not putting it up.

1st John Chapter 2 did your Bibles out?

Go ahead and read it for a salvo.

I have come to know him yet. Doesn't keep his name.

Amen. do we we need to

Know him. So we know what to do. If we don't know another question, I thought kind of kick us off into getting our head around thinking about learning about God is if our picture of God is blurry or wrong, what happens to our worship in our obedience?

It's blurry, it's wrong and wrong. Very simple, right? We got it all there and then I had John 4, 23, and 24, but the hour is coming and is now here when true? Worshippers will worship the father in spirit and Truth. For the father, is speaking such people to Worship in. God is spirit and those who worship Him must Worship in spirit and truth. I really like the end of verse 23. The part where the father is seeking such people to worship Him.

That's all he wants us to worship him because we need because we know him and we love him and it's change to. We are. We've been transformed because of that. In one of the chapters, we will talk for tickly about Paul's lesson on Mars Hill when he's in the earth and he's talking about the, he's talking about the idols and all that tax 17 tonight will look at this warrant in one of the chapters but the God who made the world and everything in it being the Lord of Heaven and Earth does not live in temples made by man nor has he served by humans hands as though he needed anything since he himself, gives all mankind, life, and breath and everything. Because of the power of that state.

Politics politics planing. That God is the creator. He is a very essence that he doesn't. He's not in need of anything from us. He's not an easy. God, he doesn't need this worship. He doesn't need me to. Tell him how great he is already there. It's all about me. What's inside me that needs to worship him. So all of corrected, the Athenians who treated God, like a media title, God is a Trader who is not served by human hands as though he needed anything. So when people reject God's truth, they drift into spiritual ruin. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge and that's in Hosea 4:6. Which I can't read up there, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me and it sent you a forgotten the law of your God. I will also forget your children. That's right. That's right.

So, I mean, knowing god is this kind of essential Bedrock of our faith. And then one last question before we move along a little bit, why does God's holy matter for everyday? Christian Living not just religious moments.

Well, how about this? Why does God Holiness matter to Everyday? Christian Living. Not just when I'm at church. When will we know that your God is Holy that we believe that he is, we could always rely on him. Okay, we have confidence, we have trust, we have all these, these wonderful adjectives. We we said lashawnda,

Okay.

We're worshiping God from the moment we get up in the morning to the Moon. We go to bed right now. It's not just when we walk in this building or any other building its all the time. So, how did you have something when I was a kid? Because everybody's being, watched it all that. We're not sixteen. We're not 21, we're not 30. We're not 40, we're not 60. Doesn't matter how old you are. Still got to be a good person. So I got to follow the. Ten commandments is the basic thing from they got happy. We're all we're all Sinners. We are also follow is, his Commandments has outlined in the New Covenant.

Yes, absolutely.

Looking at this one.

but, Everyday life in the year again. How is your behavior? Your behavior toward mankind children.

But I am looking Churches.

So Daniels, going to mention it in Otis the transmission. If so, is there a time with which God does not see what we're doing?

Step up there is there is no hiding. Can we think of someone who tried to hide from God? Who's that Adam and Eve live people tried and and what do we learn by knowing him? You can't. Okay?

So I thought of a 1st Peter 1 15 16, but as he who called you is, Holy you also be holding. All your conduct census written. You shall be holy for. I am Holy in that reflect back to Leviticus for I am the Lord, your God has great yourselves therefore and be holy for. I am Holy you shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground you talking about with clean and unclean so but it gets to the concept that God is Holy and worse, created in His image and were striving to do that. We're striving to do that each day.

Do Understanding God's holiness clarifies, why kind of repentance and Purity and distinct living or not? Really optional. They're all responses to who God is. we're doing these things because of who God is, and it's at you sometimes become becomes a problem to understand, and we just kind of give up I don't understand that I just give up and do what I want to do and that's the that's the last thing that we're trying to go for one last time as we think about looking at God and study of God, I thought this analogy might kind of help and work. So think of it like it's pouring a vast deep ocean. We can stand on the shore and see out at the surface, the basic assumption that needs it. So I can see the ocean it exists but their debts. So each attribute to really know the ocean need to die. Then when you send a diver in and take pictures and come back with all this information and test all the wonderful Creations that are living under their. So we must know the ocean beneath the waves. Each attribute me study, his love is Justice. His power is like a different current or coral reef for fish on the surface of the water. Might all look the same. But as we go deeper, we discover the immense complexity and life that sustains everything else above it without diving in. We only see the boundary by studying him, we've experienced the death and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to get a little deeper into our study of who God is and hopefully this will help us do that. And like I said this class is not going to lecture I've spoken more tonight and I intend to for the rest of the next 13 weeks. We're going to reconfigure the tables. We're going to sit down and going to talk. I'm not going to give you a lecture on what the chapter said. I really want you to read it ahead of time. The scriptures in, there will come up this author, the guy put the stuff together, does not. Just put all the pictures and quotes for you. You need to go out and seek them out, your Bible opened it up. Look at them. And then they're usually five or six discussion questions at the end of the chapter, do when your folder, you have the glue. Are you trying to talk about that? There is a syllabus which kind of lays out some of the parameters of what I'm thinking.

Hopefully not too many typos in all the stuff, but so what's the class is about the study will grow and understand who got is its nature character attributes and works that are Faith worship, and D live, and become stronger and more focused. Our goal is to let the scripture shape our view of God 73 are you sure you bring a Bible digital paper, whatever you like bring the book to textbook study of God the folder. If you have any materials in it the glossary hand out and then be sweet all to a sheet. That uses the questions that are in the book. But I give you space and answering right now. The ideas were going to talk about your, not going to talk about anyone in particular, but we're going to look into the chapter and then look at the contest. We're going to try to explore it together. I'm excited. Doing this. I hope you are too. And If you have any questions reach out and let me know those, those are my thoughts. I just kind of wanted to whet your appetite tonight with what we're doing our first chapter next week is, God is trying to talk to Genesis extensively to spend some time with it. Study meditate on it. And look at that particular, look at the strip. So any questions about what we're doing?

Frank's Cocoa Beach. Florida Herschel for God, is the whole book of Genesis no Pages free. 3 through 9.

The references, take a look at it and I think we can I think we can learn a lot about it. Being the author of this book and Meyer talk about this is just the beginning of the stuff and so if I look for us to add some depth to it and send you add things that one that comes you. As you're doing the stuff I want, I want to hear from you but things struck. You what things you saw new things you learned, and what things you thought about, the one answers to and maybe together, we can all work this out. I really appreciate each of you and I'm excited to do this. As far as announcements.