Big Idea

We believe in a relational God who created a good world where we could live as his Kingdom community.

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1-3, Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 1:31, Genesis 2:2-3, 1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:12

Opening Questions

1. Do you save old greeting cards, or do you throw them all away? Why?
2. Throughout this series, we will be examining what we believe and practice as a faith community. Why do you think that’s important for us? Do you think it’s important for us to examine what we believe and practice as a faith community?

Bible & Theology Questions

3. Read Genesis 1:1-5, 26-31. What do you notice about the text?
4. Throughout Genesis 1, God says, “Let there be” whenever God creates something new. This language of “Let there be” in Hebrew grammar is not an imperative, which is the strongest command in the language. Instead, the grammar indicates a strong desire or wish. In all of God’s creative activity, God says, “Let there be.” What does this way of creating with a “strong wish or desire” say about the kind of relationship God has and wants with creation?
5. Later in the New Testament, a theology of the Trinity develops, in which we see God as triune: one God and three persons who make up the Godhead. The Greek Orthodox tradition used the word “perichoresis” to describe the Trinity. “Peri” means circle, and “choresis” means to dance. So, Father, Son, and Spirit have been and always will be engaged in a dance of oneness and love with one another, and we are invited to join in that dance. What does it mean for us that God created out of that oneness and love? What thoughts or emotions does this conjure up for you when you think about God in this way?

Life Application

6. A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” By this statement, he meant that our thoughts about God would impact all of our thoughts and emotions about God and others. In what way have you found this to be true in your life?
7. How would you describe your faith journey right now? Would you say you are seeking, growing, confident, or skeptical? Elaborate.
8. In what ways would you like to see your most important relationships grow? With God? With others? How could they resemble oneness or the Trinitarian dance?