Sermon Notes*

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”  (Acts 9:3–5)

God Is:

  • a God who is holy, who cannot just overlook sin and guilt (Exodus 6:7),
  • who is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29).
  • It is because he is so holy and just that it was necessary for Jesus Christ to take the curse we deserve so we could receive the blessing he deserves (Galatians 3:10–14).

In Christ:

  • In Romans 6:1–4, Paul says that we died and were “buried with him.”
  • In Ephesians 2:6 he says that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and was seated at the right hand of God, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” We are “justified by faith” (Romans 3:28)
  • and are seen as perfectly righteous in Christ though, in ourselves, we are flawed and sinful (Philippians 3:9).
  • God the Spirit himself comes into us, as he did when Paul was converted (Acts 9:17).
  • We become partakers in God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)

Self-Examination Questions

  • How real has God been to your heart this week? How clear and vivid is your assurance and certainty of God’s forgiveness and fatherly love?
  • Are you having any particular seasons of delight in God? Do you really sense his presence in your life, sense him giving you his love?
  • Have you been finding Scripture to be alive and active?
  • Are you finding certain biblical promises extremely precious and encouraging? Which ones?
  • Are you finding that God is challenging you or calling you to something through the Word? In what ways?
  • Have you been freed to see and admit more of the ways you sin against God and others? But with that increasing sense of your own sinfulness, is God’s grace also becoming more glorious, moving, and comforting?

*  Bullets from Tim Keller, Hope In Times of Fear
** William Williams, The Experience Meeting, 34–36, 39–41.

Communion Forms

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord— Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe a holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.