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Some questions adapted from Experiencing God’s Attributes: Pursuing God with Your Whole Heart, Mind, and Soul. (Warren and

Ruth Myers, NavPress, 2003)

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GODWho is he? What is he like?

Companion Small Group Guide to use with our Sermon Series

“The Bible never gives us glimpses of God’s nature merely for intellectual discussion. It opens the name and glory of God to our understanding in order to help us revere God and love him and

trust him and obey him.” (John Piper)

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G O D I S G R E A T A N D M A J E S T I C

“1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.” (Psalm 145:1–5 ESV)

God’s greatness and majesty includes many attributes of God that he does not share with us: God is infinite, eternal, beyond comprehension, unchangeable, self-existent, and present always. We can know God truly, but as finite creatures we cannot know an infinite God fully. Praise God that he has chosen to reveal himself to us!

Scripture1 Chronicles 29:11-13Job 11:7-9Psalm 147:5 Isaiah 40:12-26 Romans 11:33-35 Ephesians 1:20-23 1 Timothy 6:15-16

1. What does the Psalmist mean when he says that God’s greatness is unsearchable (Ps. 145:3)?

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2. What was one truth (or more) about God you learned from the sermon on God’s greatness and majesty?

3. Read through these passages above as a group. What do you observe in these passages concerning God’s greatness?

4. “Because many people do not realize how great and majestic God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is great, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is great and majestic in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s greatness and majesty?

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G O D I S P O W E R F U L

“They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.” (Psalm 145:6 ESV)

God is all-powerful, he is omnipotent. “God can do all things consistent with his holy nature and will; nothing can frustrate accomplishment of his sovereign purpose.”

ScriptureGenesis 18:142 Chronicles 20:6Psalm 33:6-9 Daniel 4:34-35Jer. 32:17, 27 Mark 10:27 Romans 1:20 Ephesians 1:18-21

1. What are some of the awesome deeds of God that you can recall from God’s Word?

2. What was one truth (or more) about God’s power that you learned from the sermon?

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3. Read through these passages above as a group. What do you observe in these passages concerning God’s power? What have you observed from your own life about God’s power?

4. “Because many people do not realize how powerful God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is powerful, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is all-powerful in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s power?

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G O D I S G O O D

“7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness… 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” (Psalm 145:7, 9 ESV)

Stephen Charnock defines God’s goodness as “his inclination to deal well and bountifully with his creatures.” Since he is good in Himself, the highest good, the best good, he is also good for his creatures, the fountain of goodness.

ScripturePsalm 23:6Psalm 31:19Psalm 36:7-9Psalm 84:11-12Romans 8:28-29, 32Jeremiah 29:11 Malachi 3:10

1. Where do you see God’s goodness shown in the Bible?

2. What was one truth (or more) about God’s goodness that you learned from the sermon?

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3. Read through the passages on God’s goodness as a group. What do you observe in these passages concerning God’s goodness? What have you observed from your own life about God’s goodness?

4. “Because many people do not realize how good God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is good, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is good in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s goodness?

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GOD IS COMPASSIONATE AND FULL OF GRACE

“8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.” (Psalm 145:8–12 ESV)

God’s compassion and grace are aspects of his goodness. One person defines God’s grace as “the unmerited goodness or love of God to those who have forfeited it, and are by nature under a sentence of condemnation.” God shows his compassion and grace to his people, specifically through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Scripture Gen. 6:5-8Exodus 34:6-7 Numbers 6:24-26Titus 2:11; 3:4-7Romans 3:23-24 Ephesians 2:7-9John 1:14-16

1. God’s compassion and grace are aspects of his goodness and part of his name. Read Exodus 34:6-7. What is the significance to you that these attributes are part of God’s name?

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2. What did you learn about God’s compassion and grace from the sermon?

3. Read through the passages on God’s grace as a group. What do you observe in these passages about God’s grace? What have you observed from your own life about God’s grace?

4. “Because many people do not realize how compassionate and gracious God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is gracious, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is gracious in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s grace and compassion?

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G O D I S F A I T H F U L

“13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] 14 The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:13–16 ESV)

God is the most dependable and reliable of all! God’s faithfulness is an aspect of his love for us. Christians can count on his goodness, his love, and his faithfulness as sure as we can depend on summer and winter, springtime and harvest. Great is God’s faithfulness!

ScriptureExodus 34:6Numbers 23:19Deuteronomy 7:9Psalm 89:1-2Lamentations 3:21-26Hebrews 6:17-19

1. Where do you see God’s faithfulness demonstrated in the Bible?

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2. What was one truth (or more) about God’s faithfulness that you learned from the sermon?

3. Read through the passages on God’s faithfulness as a group. What do you observe in these passages? What have you observed from your own life about God’s faithfulness?

4. “Because many people do not realize how faithful God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is faithful, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is faithful in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s faithfulness?

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H E I S R I G H T E O U S A N D L O V I N G

“The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17 ESV)

God always acts in a way that is consistent with his own character, which is to do what is right and just. “…when Scripture affirms that God is righteous it assures us that God always conforms to himself – he faithfully adheres to his own perfections. He acts only and always according to the very highest principle of justice: himself.” (Fred Zaspel) God’s righteousness is expressed in his judgment of sin and in the sacrifice of Jesus as a payment for sin.

Scripture Genesis 18:25Exodus 34:6-7Zephaniah 3:5 2 Timothy 4:8 Romans 1:18-21Romans 3:23-261 John 1:9

1. As you consider the perfect righteousness of God, think of a time when you experienced injustice.

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2. What was one truth (or more) about God’s righteousness that you learned from the sermon?

3. Read through the passages on God’s righteousness as a group. What do you observe in these passages? What have you observed from your own life about God’s righteousness?

4. “Because many people do not realize how righteous/just God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is just, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is righteous in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s righteousness/justice?

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H E I S N E A R A N D H E C A R E S

“18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. 20 The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” (Psalm 145:18–20 ESV)

God is near to his children because he is always present (God’s omnipresence). Since Jesus was a man, human like us, he can sympathize and empathize with our weaknesses. Finally, he is near to us in prayer, always hearing the cries of his children.

Scripture Isaiah 55:6 Psalm 25:14 Psalm 34:18Hebrews 2:17-18Hebrews 4:15-16

1. Where do you see God’s nearness and care shown in the Bible?

2. What was one truth (or more) about God’s nearness that you learned from the sermon?

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3. Read through the passages on God’s nearness as a group. What do you observe in these passages? What have you observed from your own life about God’s nearness and care?

4. “Because many people do not realize how near and caring God is, what unrealistic ideas do they have about God, about life itself, or about themselves?”

5. You might agree that God is near and caring, but does your outward life demonstrate that he is? What specific attitudes or actions might make people doubt that God is near in your mind?

6. In what area of your life do you need to remember and apply what you have learned about God’s nearness and care?

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