I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with.

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit,

just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all

and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift

– Ephesians 4:1-7 (NRSV)

As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —

the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be

saved.”

– Romans 10:11-13 (NIV)

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were

baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If

you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the

promise.

-- Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV)

Inclusive of all people groups:

Male/Female

Jew/Greek

Slave/Free

All people…

“Don’t judge someone because they sin differently

than you”

Tolerant of others• Engage them• Share with them• Work with them• Love them• Even if they hate us

You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor and hate your

enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who

harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on

both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and

unrighteous.

If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if

you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing?

Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, just as your heavenly

Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be

complete. -- Matthew 5:43-48

(Common English Version)

We affirm the Oneness of God

God is uncompromisingly one. For Christians to affirm God’s triunity is not to

deny God’s unity. In the first Christian centuries, all the intense and intricate

debates about the Trinity were carried on precisely because the church fathers

refused to compromise on the unity of God. -- Miroslav Volf

Yale Divinity School

Shema Israel! YHWH Elohim, YHWH echad!

-- Deuteronomy 4:6

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one

God’s ‘Only-ness’• Not different gods for different

times and places. • Not different gods for different

needs and purposes• One God and only one God

Father,

Son,

and

Holy Spirit

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them

have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all

the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God

created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created

them.”

-- Genesis 1:26-27 (NRSV)

“I and the Father are one.” -- John 10:30 (NIV)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The

world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

-- John 14:16-18 (NIV)

Theophany

- is an explicit appearance of God to a person

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your

fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I

tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you...’”

-- Exodus 3:13-14 NIV

I will be

who I will be!

TheophaniesGenesis 32 – as a man who wrestled with Jacob.

Exodus 13 – as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to the Israelites in the wilderness

Exodus 34 – as a cloud on Mt. Sinai with Moses

Isaiah 6 – seated on a throne to the prophet Isaiah

Luke 3 – as a dove descending upon Jesus

Acts 9 – as a light that blinded Paul on the road to Damascus

First Century Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven

and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. Who was

conceived of the Holy Spirit. Born of the Virgin Mary.

Nicene Creed – AD325I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of

heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all

worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son;

who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.

G.K. Chesterton

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of

ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man

was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man

does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the

part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason

Godly humility• I am not the center; truth is the center and I

submit to the truth and go where it leads. • I am not LORD; God is LORD. • I don't tell God how many faiths are acceptable to

him; he tells me. • I don't define the foundation of the unity of the

Spirit; God does. • I don’t decide on the Oneness of our Creator – He

does. • He decides the way of salvation

Wesleyan Quadrilateral

•Reason•Tradition•Experience

•SCRIPTURE

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; the third day he rose from

the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father Almighty; from thence

he shall come again to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life

everlasting. Amen.

Gloria Patria

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning

Is now, and ever shall be

World without end

Amen

Amen