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Scripture
Gen. 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Luke 3:21-22
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
Summary and Purpose
Summary: The doctrine of the Trinity is a fundamental Christian truth. There is only one true God but He is made up of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To worship one is to worship all three because the three make up the one true God. They are all equally divine.
The Trinity provides us the perfect example to emulate. The three persons of the Trinity completely love each other and form the perfect family. The heartbeat of God is family. Like the Trinity, we should seek to completely love each other and form a perfect family. Unlike the Trinity, we won’t achieve total success but, with God’s help, we can come closer and closer to becoming the perfect family. After all, the heartbeat of God is family.
The first person of the Trinity is God the Father. We first meet Him in Genesis 1:1. Jesus instructs us to refer to Him when we pray (Matthew 6:9). Why would Jesus tell us to refer to God as Father? Why would we call one of the persons of the Trinity ‘Father’? Referring to God as Father indicates three characteristics about God. They are: 1) God is in charge and in control. 2) God is personal. He has feelings and can be hurt. and 3) God wants a personal relationship with us. God is the perfect parent. Do you want to serve a perfect parent? If so, repent and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Purpose: To help the congregation understand God as a loving God by introducing them to God the Father.
The Sermon
I. Introduction: Blessed by a wonderful family
1. I’ve been blessed by a wonderful family
- I’m youngest of 5 children
- Parents remained married and highly supportive of us children
- We siblings are very close. Whenever we have a family problem, we get together, eat and eat, discuss the problem and reach a consensus…very little fighting
- As a former Juvenile Probation Officer and pastor, I witnessed many highly dysfunctional families and realize how blessed I’ve been.
2. My family, however, is not perfect
- I could spend hours describing how we are not perfect
- No human family is perfect. After all, we are all sinners.
- Every human family is dysfunctional to some degree.
3. The Bible clearly demonstrates that every human family is dysfunctional to some
degree. After all, we are all sinful.
- Adam & Eve’s family: Cain murders Abel
- Jacob’s family: Siblings fight and sale the next to youngest son into slavery
- Even Jesus’ family was dysfunctional: Although Jesus was perfect, his parents and brother’s were not. Jesus’ brothers didn’t always support Jesus.
- There is, however, one family in the Bible that is perfect. That family is the Trinity.
II. The Trinity as the perfect family
1. The doctrine of the Trinity is a fundamental Christian truth
- There is only one true God. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
- The one true God is made up of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- To worship one is to worship all three because the three make up the one true God.
- They are all equally divine.
2. The Trinity provides us with a perfect example to emulate
- The three persons of the Trinity completely love each other and form the perfect family.
- The heartbeat of God is family.
- Like the Trinity, we should seek to completely love each other and form a perfect family.
- Unlike the Trinity, we won’t achieve total success but, with God’s help, we can come closer and closer to becoming the perfect family. After all, the heartbeat of God is family.
III. There are numerous passages of Scripture that clearly demonstrate the Trinity
1. In all four gospels, the Trinity is shown when Jesus is baptized
- Matthew 3:16-17
- Mark 1:9-11
- Luke 3:21-22
- John 1:32-34 (John the Baptist testifies that he saw the Spirit descend on the Son. It was the Father who told him that he would see the Spirit descend on the Son.)
2. Throughout Scripture we see both Jesus and the Holy Spirit referred to as God.
We’ll demonstrate this in the next two Sunday sermons.
3. Jesus himself identifies the Trinity in Matthew 28:19-20
- “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
- In this passage, Jesus makes it clear that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are equally deserving of worship.
- If the above is true and there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) then the three must make up the one true God.
IV. The first person of the Trinity: The Father
1. We first meet ‘God the Father’ in Genesis 1:1.
2. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus tells us to address ‘The Father’ when we pray. “Pray then
like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
3. Why would Jesus tell us to refer to God as Father? Why would we call one of the
persons of the Trinity ‘Father’?
V. Referring to God as Father indicates three characteristics about God.
1. God is in charge and in control.
- Scripture was written in a Patriarchal society where the husband/father ruled.
- In the same way, God is the ruler of everything. God is sovereign. He is the creator.
- By referring to God as ‘Father’ we are reminded that God is the all-powerful ruler of the universe and this should evoke extreme awe and respect from us.
2. God is personal. He has feelings and can be hurt.
- A good human father feels pain when his children hurt.
- I remember when my son first started pre-school. At first he had a hard time socializing with the other kids. My wife and I felt nervous and sad for Joshua until we saw that he made friends and started to enjoy school.
- In a much, much deeper level, God feels our pains and joys. When we hurt, God nurts. When we’re happy, God is happy.
- In Genesis 6:6 we are told that God was grieved over humanity’s sinfulness.
3. God wants a personal relationship with us, with Him as our perfect dad.
- This may be hard for many people because of the abuse or neglect of their earthly fathers. If this is true for you, remember that God is not imperfect like an earthly father. He’s the perfect father. Don’t equate God with your earthly father.
- God wants to be our dad. When we rep[ent and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, God becomes our dad
- Romans 8:15-16 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
VI. Conclusion
1. Song by Dunn Holly, “Daddy’s Hands”
- Secular song about the loving hands of a human father
- Chorus of song: “Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.”
- Listen to the song but imagine it’s about God’s hands – especially when it says, “..I’ve come to understand there was always love in Daddy’s hands’
- God wants to be your Daddy and there is always love in His hands
2. Do you want to serve God who wants to be your perfectly loving Father? If so…
- Repent. Decide you no longer want to live a sinful life but a righteous life characterized by love.
- Trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Trust that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins.
- Receive God’s free offer of forgiveness & begin a love relationship with God as your perfect father.
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