Leader packs · Believe Rightly · The lesson itself

Teach: I believe in God, the Father almighty

The Creed opens by naming who God is before it says anything about us. Take the first line apart, word by word, with the Scripture under each word.

Teaching outline

1. 1Say the lineHave the group say the first line together, slowly. Ask which word in it they have thought about least.2 min
2. 2Four titlesTake the four titles in order, reading Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 6:9 and Psalm 103:19 aloud at their points. Keep each title to one clear idea.4 min
3. 3Creator, first and lastRead Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 4:11. Show the line ending where the Bible begins: worship belongs to the Creator because he made all things.3 min
4. 4Close: drill the lineRun the doctrine drill in pairs, or set it as this week's practice. Mastery per line is the goal across the course.1 min

Discussion questions

1. Why does the Creed start with God, and not with us, our sin, or the church?
2. Which of the four titles in this line do you think about least? What changes when you dwell on it?
3. Read Deuteronomy 6:4 slowly. Why would Israel say this every day?
4. Where do you need God to be almighty this week, and where do you need him to be Father?

Pushback you will meet

“Why do we need a creed at all? Isn't the Bible enough?”

A creed adds nothing; it gathers what Scripture says into a shape a memory can hold and a church can say together. The Creed itself bows to the Bible, which is why every line in this course is tied to its texts.

“I struggle with the word Father because of my own father.”

Begin with the sentence Jesus taught: "Our Father in heaven." God's fatherhood is the original; ours is the copy. A hard history with a human father is a reason to learn his, not a reason to rename him.

Before the session

Bibles open at Deuteronomy 6. The drill for this lesson works well as a closer, in pairs.

Downloads

The full set of downloads (Kahoot .xlsx, CSV, printable quiz) is generated from the lesson page; the printable quiz is here.