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Article 1: Who God Is: Community and Compassion
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in a unity of love in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to establish a redeemed family from among all peoples and to make all things new for His own glory.

Family Devotional for the Week
2 Corinthians 13:14 (Read as a Family)

My dad has always been a terrible dancer. And when I say terrible, I mean terrible. He can't keep a beat to save his life. So imagine my surprise when on my wedding day, he comes to the dance floor for the Father/ Daughter dance with a big smile on his face. I had resigned myself to the fact that our "special dance" wouldn't be much of a dance at all; it would be more like an awkward hug with a little leg movement. But my dad gave me the biggest gift that day by learning how to dance! He had practiced; he had trained; he had learned the steps. And we moved as one on that dance floor.

• Pause together as a family. Put on your favorite dancing music. Frozen soundtrack? VBS songs? The newest song on the radio? Have a dance party!
• Or, if your kids are a little older, you can watch a dance on YouTube. One of my favorites is from the show, So You Think You Can Dance. Watch this dance together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxSuWjkdrE0.

Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons of God have been known for almost 2,000 years as the Holy Trinity. Three Persons, One God. Isn't that mysterious? Confusing? Hard to understand, but also mind-blowing? And the church has—from the earliest years—called this dynamic the Divine Dance. The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three separate persons who move so closely together, whose relationships are so vulnerable, it is as if they are one. And they are one. They are woven together in their love for one another. It's almost like the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are so close that "When one weeps, the other tastes salt" (said by C. Baxter Kruger). Can you imagine that? Being so close to your brother or your sister that you can actually taste their tears? That's really close. And that's how it is with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They move as one in the Divine Dance.

And the good news of the Gospel is that we are invited into this Divine Dance! We are invited to join in the mysterious love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a God who IS LOVE, and he has invited us into that eternal love story.

Response Time:

• Take some yarn or string and braid friendship bracelets. Take 3 different kinds of thread/string/yarn and weave them together. As you do this as a family, talk about how the three strands are becoming one. Remind your kids that this is a lot like how God is.
• For families with older kids: How can you be inviting others into this Divine Dance—showing others the grace of our LORD Jesus Chris, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit—as you go through your day today?

~Annie Neufeld

Monday
Psalm 8:1-4

Sirens pierced the countryside. My sisters and I stopped what we were doing and ran to see what it was. Growing up in the country the sound of sirens was not common. It was a rattling and upsetting sound that jolted all to attention. My grandma had a great way of handling this disturbing sound. She would encourage us to stop and pray. Therefore, causing a sound that began as a rattling fear to end as a connection with God, a plea through the blood of Jesus to protect the people involved in this tragedy.

Psalm 8:1-4 reminds us of God's greatness! God is the creator of all things. He is perfect, infinite, with limitless knowledge, strength and power. God is to be praised above all earth and heaven! With this knowledge and the faith of a child, something even as scary as a siren piercing the countryside is silenced. It is silenced because we know the end of the story. Our God conquers all foes and hears the prayers of His children! So when we hear a siren, which is a much more common call to prayer in the city, don't let fear take over, but instead run to the Father, the maker of Heaven and earth, and find peace in His strength and consideration of us.

"Lord oh Lord, how majestic is your name in all of the earth! You made your glory higher than heaven! From the mouths of nursing babies you have laid a strong foundation because of your foes, in order to stop vengeful enemies. When I look up at the skies, at what your fingers made – the moon and the stars that you set firmly in place – what are human beings that you pay attention to them?"

~Melinda Manus

Tuesday
Ephesians 3:1-14

There are some key moments in human history where the church has shone so brightly that onlookers had to stop and take notice. Down in what is now Little Tokyo, at 312 Azusa Street, by what is now a Pinkberry, the Azusa Street Revival began. To the news media's horror and consternation, African Americans and Whites were worshipping together. The LA Times reported, "Colored people and a sprinkling of whites compose the congregation, and night is made hideous in the neighborhood by the howlings of the worshippers..." Just a little while later, the Lake Avenue Church began because of what happened a few miles away in downtown LA.

Paul called this aspect of the gospel a "mystery"! Sometimes, when the church shines, its light confuses those who do not have eyes of faith to see what God requires and is bringing to fruition. The Apostle Paul was once opposed to God's plan. Having been graciously and miraculously "corrected" by an encounter with the resurrected Jesus, Paul counts it a privilege to give his whole life to this gospel that requires us to live reconciled to God and to one another. His task is now ours: to make known to all of creation that God's children are united because Jesus is our One Lord!

God's intent now calls for our intentionality. Think about who you see in the body of Christ at Lake. Now, think about people and groups of people in your neighborhood and in our city who are not yet in the body of Christ. Spend some time praying that God would raise up someone – perhaps even you – to cross over into their lives and that they would be reconciled to God and to his people.

~Jeff Liou

Wednesday
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

How we teach children? Do we model the best examples we can be? Do we speak truth to them about this life? Do constantly fill them up with knowledge by experience?

The things I remember most of my early Christian training were done by real leaders coming to experience the power of God together. I remember when my leaders would take me to lunch with them and show genuine kindness to others and genuine interest in me. They would impress upon me the way of living that brings glory to the Father. A life that is open to the Spirit. An appreciation for the Son and His sacrifice for us.

This passage is a powerful one, Moses is writing to his people telling to them never to forget where they have come from. Specifically to interact with your young people, let them hear the laws of our people and how the God we worship is the God of wonder, power, and is the one true Lord over all.

Today, think of how you have impressed the ways of our Father onto this next generation. How can we, as a church, make sure that those who our own children grow knowing that they belong to one true Lord?

~Blake Riboli

Thursday
Matthew 28:18-20

I don't know how many times I have prayed or wished that Jesus would just show up in person and help me through a difficult time. Have you ever hoped for that? Like one of the popular super hero movies where the hero arrives just in the nick of time to save the world or the person in distress. We know those movies are a fantasy, but somehow, we want Jesus to be there for us in a very real way.

Jesus knew we would want that, and he knew we would need that...but why do we have a hard time experiencing what he promised in Mathew 28? "I am with you always..." Perhaps we struggle in the same way as the early disciples. As finite human beings they had a hard time understanding how one God could be experienced through three distinct persons. Maybe this is why Jesus was so explicit in his instructions to baptize people in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe I keep looking for Jesus to show up and I am overlooking the fact that the Holy Spirit is with me always, just like he promised. He is not in my life to help me accomplish my plan. When I put my faith in Jesus it was not so that he could come follow me and be with me as I pursue my dreams. Jesus invites us to come and follow HIM. His promise of his presence is for those who belong to him by faith and who are living in obedience to everything Jesus commanded (v.29).

Are you in trouble? Are you crying out to Jesus for help? Stop and think about this... The One God, Creator of all things, with limitless knowledge and power; loves you and has promised to be with you always. Put on eyes of faith and follow him in obedience and hope. What do you think God wants you to see today through eyes of faith?

~John Secrest

Friday
Galatians 4:6

I love music and I've been to many concerts over the years. There's just something special about watching a live performance! However, one thing that I've never had the privilege to do is to go backstage. I've not been given the chance to meet some of my favorite musicians face-to-face.

But there is an access that I have been granted, access into the "backstage area" with God! In fact, anyone who has been granted the forgiveness of God thanks to the saving work of Christ is given this access. We've been transferred from being slaves to "the basic principles of the world" to becoming full children of God.

The Holy Spirit, based on the finished work of Jesus, is the one who places the lanyard around our necks that gets us into the backstage area. And what happens there? Well, we are given the opportunity not just to do a brief meet-and-greet with God, but instead we are granted full access to a relationship with him forever.

And the way the Paul talks about this relationship with God in this passage is like that between a loving father and a child.

As his children, we can fully trust God because he is fully loving toward us. We can, through the power of the Spirit, call out to God, saying "Abba, Father," which means something akin to "Daddy."

This intimate relationship is at the core of what it means to belong to God. This is everything!

~Matt Barnes

Saturday
2 Corinthians 13:14

My dad has always been a terrible dancer. And when I say terrible, I mean terrible. He can't keep a beat to save his life. So imagine my surprise when on my wedding day, he comes to the dance floor for the Father/ Daughter dance with a big smile on his face. I had resigned myself to the fact that our "special dance" wouldn't be much of a dance at all; it would be more like an awkward hug with a little leg movement. But my dad gave me the biggest gift that day by learning how to dance! He had practiced; he had trained; he had learned the steps. And we moved as one on that dance floor.

Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons of God have been known since the early years of the church as the Holy Trinity. Three Persons, One God. And the church has—from the earliest years—called this dynamic the Divine Dance. The persons of the Trinity are three separate persons who move so intimately together, whose relationship is so vulnerable, it is as if they are one. And they are one. They are woven together in their love for one another. J. Baxter Kruger has said that the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are so close that "When one weeps, the other tastes salt." They move as one in the Divine Dance.

And the good news of the gospel is that we are invited into this Divine Dance! We are invited to join in the mysterious love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a God who IS LOVE, and he has invited us into that eternal love story.

Take a moment to sit in silence, allowing the words of Scripture to rush over you: "God is love." Meditate on those words for a minute or two.

How can you be inviting others into this Divine Dance—showing others the grace of our LORD Jesus Chris, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit—as you go through your day today?

~Annie Neufeld