Thursday, October 15

Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22 (NLT)
Pastor: Rev. Leo Lozano

Sunday Sermon Series: The Character of God

Who is God, and what is He really like? While we all have ideas about God, Scripture gives us a clear picture of His character. In Exodus 34:6-7, God reveals who He is and the qualities that define His heart toward His people. Throughout this six-week series, we’ll explore His compassion and grace, patience, abundant love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and justice. As we come to know God more fully, we’ll discover how His character deepens our faith, strengthens our trust in Him, and shapes the way we live and love others.

Sunday, October 18
The Character of God: Who Is God & What Is He Like?
Exodus 34:6-7

Who is God and what is He like?  All of us have ideas about this but God Himself gives a beautiful answer in Exodus 34:6-7.  In this short passage, God not only reveals His divine name but also specific qualities that describe what He is like.  Most are wonderfully reassuring but one can make us squirm.  In this series, we’ll explore those defining attributes of God so that we can know Him more fully.  Only then, can we grow to love, trust, and follow Him in every aspect of our lives.

Sunday, October 25
The Character of God: God is Compassionate & Gracious
Matthew 14:13-21

The first words God uses to describe Himself are compassionate and gracious.  Jesus, God the Son, demonstrated this aspect of God’s character when, amid His own sadness and grief, he saw a huge crowd of people had come to Him with overwhelming needs.  God sees us in our weakness and responds with compassion and grace.  In this message, we’ll explore what God’s compassion tells us about His heart for His people and how it should shape the way we relate to Him and others in return.

Sunday, November 1
The Character of God: God is Slow to Anger
James 1:19-22

Fortunately, it takes a long time for God to get angry with us.  We mess up every day, but God gives us plenty of chances to turn away from our wrongs and get back on track with Him.  God is patient with us and would rather show us mercy over swift punishment.  We are to be the same way towards others.  We’ll look closely at how the Hebrew writers describe God’s patience and how that patience invites us to trust God and reflect that same quality in our own lives.

Sunday, November 8
The Character of God: God is Abounding in Love
John 3:16-17

The Bible consistently describes God’s love as much more than an emotion or feeling.  Each of the qualities of God’s character emanate from a divine love that is limitless and eternal.  Because God is abounding in love for us, God is compassionate, merciful, patient, forgiving, and faithful to us.  God designed us to extend this same kind of love toward others, drawing them into the same abundant, saving love of Jesus we have received.  We’ll plumb the depths of God’s love in this message and what it means to live with confidence in a love that never runs out.

Sunday, November 15
The Character of God: God is Faithful
1 Corinthians 1:4-9

The Scriptures repeatedly declare God’s faithfulness toward His people, signifying to us that God is entirely reliable, unchanging in character, and true to His promises.  Simply said, God is trustworthy.  In this message, we’ll consider this attribute of God’s character and the confidence we can have in God who is true to His word and join with Jude in his doxology: “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God, our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25)

Sunday, November 22    Christ the King
The Character of God: God is Forgiving & Just
Micah 6:8

We will close the series in the same way God ended His revelation of His character: God is forgiving and just.  When we acknowledge our disobedience, confess our sins, and turn away from those wrongdoings, God promises to forgive and wipe them away from the record of our lives.  But Jesus says God’s forgiveness is contingent on our forgiving others for their wrongs against us.  We can also count on God being perfectly just on our “last day.”  He will be right, fair and impartial in His judgement of us—the same qualities we expect from others in their dealings with us in this world.