August 31, 2025 | The Trinity | Sunday Morning

We are so excited for Small Group Sunday. It's

a couple weeks from now, September 14th. And

I actually had the privilege, I was the person

that got to sit down and do these interviews

that you've seen the last couple weeks and will

continue to see for a couple weeks. And it's

incredible to see and to hear what God, all the

different ways that God is working in our church,

but specifically the way he's working through

our small groups. I hope that... In a couple

weeks, when we have all the small groups and

Sunday schools kind of out and about, and you

can ask about them and sign up and see what they're

about, I'd encourage you to participate in that.

For those of you that don't know me, my name's

Tom Barton, and I get the privilege of being

the student pastor here. So I work with the 6th

through 12th graders. And before we get rolling

in the message, I just want to say a quick thank

you to you guys as our congregation. There's

envelopes on these chairs in front of you that

have Fusion's logo on it or something about students

on trips. And those envelopes, the money that's

put into it, allows students to go on trips,

either for free or for much cheaper than it would

cost us to send them. And you guys donate so

generously and it allows so many students to

go on trips. And just this summer, we saw seven

baptisms across three different camps. We saw

multiple students that committed their lives

to full -time ministry. And so I just wanted

to say thank you for your guys' generosity for

following that call and allowing students. Something

a spiritual mentor told me before and is so true

about students going to camp is that when they

get to experience a change of pace, and a change

of place, it allows them to have a change in

perspective. And that is so true. They see God

in such a new way on these trips. And so I just

wanted to say thank you for that. But with that,

let's go ahead and pray. God, we're so thankful

that we get to come to worship you today, that

we get to come and hear a little bit about you.

And God, I just pray over this message that it

would be edifying to this congregation, that

it would glorify you, and that we would honor

you in our words. I just pray over all these

folks that this week they would be a light for

you, that they would share the good news in both

their words and their deeds. We're so thankful

for all that you have done, all that you are

doing, and all that we know you will continue

to do. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. So a

couple weeks ago, I was assigned the wonderful,

I guess we'll use the word privilege, of getting

to do a message covering the Trinity. And for

those of you who may not know what the Trinity

is, the Trinity is the Christian belief that

God is one God, but is also three persons. God

the Father, that's kind of who we think of when

we think of like the old man with the beard,

like that's who we kind of think of. God the

Father, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy

Spirit. They're all three individual persons

of God. They're all themselves, but they're also

all one God. We only have one God. And this is

one of those truths that is too much for us.

It's too majestic. We can't understand it fully.

Our language, our metaphors, our visuals, our

brains, we are simply not capable of understanding

the Trinity to its fullest extent. And so I'm

sure I'm going to accidentally commit a few heresies

today up here as I try to explain the Trinity,

but I'm just going to go ahead and ask for forgiveness

up front. It's impossible to describe the Trinity

and not accidentally describe it wrong. And so

as I was preparing, I read this book pretty much

cover to cover to prepare. It's incredible. It's

called Delighting in the Trinity by this guy,

Michael Reeves. And it basically walks through

like, these are all the different things we believe

as Christians. These are how we act. This is

how we act as Christians. This is how we're to

engage with one another as Christ followers.

And this book goes through all these different

things and it breaks down why does it matter

that God is triune, why the Trinity matters and

all of these different aspects. So I'd encourage

you to read it. I'm a bit of a nerd, so I would

say it was a really fun read. Your mileage may

vary on that, but I would encourage you to check

it out. So Tony asked me to talk about the Trinity.

And so I sat down and I was thinking, how? Do

I share about the Trinity in a way that is the

good news, the gospel, and maybe more than just

a Sunday school classroom lecture? And as I was

saying, I'm a student pastor, and so because

of that, I'm, of course, incredibly creative.

The creative juices just are flowing and oozing

from me. I can't express enough how creative

I am. And so to discuss this triune nature of

God, I can't express how creative this is. I

decided I'm going to do it by sharing three truths

that come from the very fact our God is three

and one. Hold for applause. These truths, they're

actually going to coincide with these three words

that we tell our Fusion students every week.

So for those of you out there that are students,

this will hopefully be some familiar territory

for you. So as we jump right into it, we're going

to start with God the Father, the first person

of the Trinity revealed in Scripture. This is

the person of the Trinity we're probably the

most familiar with. He's the one we're probably

thinking of when we say God. This is the one

the Old Testament Hebrews would have been most

familiar with. And to do this, we're actually

going to start not at creation, but we're going

to go back and start before creation. So to do

that, we're going to jump into John 17, verse

John 17:24

24, and we're going to hear Jesus' words. Jesus

says, Father, I want these who you have given

me to be with, me where I am. Then they can see

all the glory you gave me because you loved me

even before the world began. Even before the

world began. The first word that we tell our

Fusion students every week, and the first word

I'm going to tell you today, is that they and

you are loved. And this is a truth that we can

begin to see from that last little line, the

last piece of that scripture. Even before the

world began. You see, God is not just our creator,

he's the creator. In fact, in Genesis 1 -1, the

very first verse of the Bible, it begins by saying

this. In the beginning, God created the heavens

and the earth. And yet we know, if you were here

last week, you heard Tony's message about Jesus

being God. He's the way, the truth, the life.

And he can only be that if he is God. So Jesus

exists eternally before creation with no start.

He can't be God if he came into existence at

some point. If God created him, then he's not

God. So God the Father, God the Son, and God

the Spirit are existing before creation. So hang

with me for just a second. If creation starts

here, if creation is something that at one point

didn't exist, then before creation, God being

creator can't be part of his eternal identity.

God being ruler over his creation can't be part

of his eternal identity. Because before creation,

those wouldn't have been true about him. How

can he be the creator if there's nothing created?

How can he be the ruler of creation if there's

nothing to rule? And that's true about God the

Father, who's in relationship with God the Son.

So God's eternal identity, one that exists before

creation, after creation, during creation, God's

eternal identity is relational, as father and

son. There never has been, there never will be,

a time when loving father is not part of God's

identity. So why does that matter? You see, God

being fatherly is not something he does part

-time. Being father is who God is. So all that

he does, create, rule, everything he does is

as a father. And if you have or had a not -so

-great dad, or even if you have a great dad,

they can only be a shadow, an imitation of the

goodness of God as Father. So please don't bring

that to the table. But if that is who God is,

at his core, as Father, then creation is not

an act God did to end loneliness. It's not an

act God did to create servants or slaves. No.

Creation is an overflow of love. We read about

that in 1 John 4, where it says this. Dear friends,

let us continue to love one another, for love

comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of

God and knows God. But anyone who does not love

God does not know God, for God is love. So you

see, if we take this in one hand, that God is

triune, the Father, Son, and Spirit, and if we

see right here in this verse that God is love,

if we take those together, it takes on a different

meaning. Eternally, no start, no end, God the

Father is loving the Son through the Spirit.

You see, if God wasn't triune, he couldn't be

love, because at some point before creation,

he wouldn't have anything to love. But because

God is triune, because he's in relationship eternally,

is loving eternally, love is not something that

God happened upon once he created us. He didn't

create us and find out, you know what, I do love

these people. You see, if that were the case,

if God's love could start, then at some point

it could end. But if God is love and is love

eternal, loving us is not some new thing. So

when I tell our students that they're loved,

and when I tell you that God loves you, there's

genuinely nothing you can do to change that.

Because God doesn't choose to love. He doesn't

love as a reaction to our existence. God's very

identity as an eternal father means that he is

loved eternally. So hear me today when I tell

you, you are loved. The second word we tell our

students, going out of order on the shirt, it

was a little too expensive to get it rush shipped

for this weekend. The second word we're going

to talk about today is that you are worthy. And

this one's actually a bit of a trick, because

we're humans, so we're sinful. And so technically,

we're not worthy of being in relationship with

God. He is perfect, he is holy, he's set apart

from sin. And yet, the Son being God and not

just a perfect creation, that's the foundation,

that's the bedrock for the idea that you are

made worthy. So a couple minutes ago, we read

1 John chapter 4, verses 7 through 8. And that

1 John 4:7–8

last verse read, whoever does not love does not

know God, for God is love. And if we keep reading

in verses 9 through 10, John says this. God showed

how much he loved us by sending his one and only

son, God the Son, into the world so that we might

have eternal life through him. This is real love.

Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and

sent his son as a sacrifice. to take away our

sins. So when I say that your life has worth,

it's because the relationship of the father and

the son, the relationship and the fact that God

loves you so much because he is love eternal,

the relationship to say that you are worth so

much to him that he would send his son, his eternally

loved son, as a sacrifice for our sins so that

we can be eternally in relationship with him.

So God says, despite our unworthiness, that he

chooses to give your life worth. He says, you

are worthy because you are mine. Ephesians chapter

one, it says it this way. Even before he made

the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ

to be holy. and without fault in his eyes. God

decided in advance to adopt us into his own family

by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.

This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him

great pleasure. God is love. God as father, God

as son, we've been talking about this. And that

overflows, that love, that relationship, that

overflows into wanting us to be part of God's

family. You are God's sons. You are God's daughters.

If you've accepted the gospel, the mercy of Jesus

Christ, that is true about you. That changes

you from being unworthy to being worthy, to being

loved. to be holy, and to be without fault in

his eyes. You see, you are royalty. You're a

prince or a princess to the king of the universe,

to the creator, the emperor of all that there

is. So hear me when I tell you that you are worthy.

And that brings us to our last word, valued.

And what does value mean? It kind of boils down

to this idea, this question, how useful is something?

If something or someone brings a lot of value,

that means they contribute to a goal, a project,

whatever it may be. So when it comes to you adding

value to God's creation, adding value to God's

design, what in the world does that have to do

with a triune God? So we've covered pretty in

depth the person of God the Father and God the

Son. And I'd say for most, if not all of us,

those are the two that we would be most comfortable

with, that we would know the most about. Maybe

we're most aware of God the Father and God the

Son. And yet, the Holy Spirit, God the Spirit,

is that third member of the Trinity revealed

to us, but not third most important. In fact,

Jesus, as he's going away from his disciples

who have walked side by side everywhere with

him for years, this is what Jesus says about

the Holy Spirit. The advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father, God the Father will send in

my name, God the Son, will teach you all things

and will remind you of everything I have said

to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give

you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not

be afraid. The Holy Spirit sent by the Father

in Jesus' name. You see, the Holy Spirit, the

Holy Spirit that lives inside of us, we are a

temple that houses the Holy Spirit of God. That

Holy Spirit lives inside of us so we can enjoy

and relate and commune with God the Father and

God the Son in a way that just doesn't really

make sense, that's not fair to us, but is a merciful

gift. So if you've been baptized, you have received

the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy

Spirit lives inside of you if you've been baptized.

You've been born again. Worship team, if you

guys wanna make your... Way on up here, that'd

be fantastic. And Jesus says a little bit about

being born again in John chapter three. He's

talking to Nicodemus and he says this, I assure

you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without

being born of water and the spirit. Humans cannot

reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit

gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised

when I say you must. Be born again. And in the

Bible, born again is another way of saying created

anew. In Ephesians chapter two, it talks about

being created anew. Here's what it says. For

we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew

in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things

he planned for us long ago. So you have purpose.

Your purpose is to bring value to the world around

you as a new creation. And the primary agent

of this value working through you is the Holy

Spirit, who lives inside you as that new creation.

And the Holy Spirit, he leads us to new fruit.

Galatians talks about the fruit before the Holy

Spirit, and he says that we follow our sinful

desires, sexual immorality, impurity, Lustful

pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling,

jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition,

dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild

parties, and other sins like these. That is the

old you. And if you're a Christ follower, the

fruit of our lives is no longer these things.

The fruit of our lives is the fruit of the Holy

Spirit working through us, adding value to the

world in order to glorify God. The fruits of

the Spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self

-control. There is no law against these things.

You see, this is the life that God... not only

calls us to, but equips us to. You see, the life

that God the Father, God the Son, and God the

Spirit call and equip us to. So usually, I love

to finish a message with some kind of preacher

action step to do. Go do this this week so that

you can come closer to Christ, so that you can

experience this transformation in your life.

But today, I don't really have that. If you have

not accepted the free gift of salvation through

Jesus Christ, if you've not been baptized and

received that Holy Spirit, I encourage you not

to wait. In a few minutes, we're gonna be doing

a worship song and I would encourage you to find

myself or find somebody and just let's talk,

let's figure out what does it mean to give your

life to Christ, to being baptized, to being died

for so that you can live eternally in God's family.

And quite honestly, for those of you that are

already Christ followers, you've already been

baptized, you already follow Jesus, I don't have

an action for you to take. So maybe today can

just be a reminder, something to remember, a

reminder next time either the enemy Satan or

the enemy yourself is working in your head, giving

you thoughts, giving you beliefs about yourself,

telling you that you aren't loved. That something

you've done in your past or are doing now means

that God couldn't love you. Maybe you're thinking

to yourself, I don't know if my life has any

worth. I don't know if it's even worth continuing

on. Or if you're questioning, do I bring value

to this world? Do I add anything to God's creation?

I want to remind you very clearly that God the

Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit couldn't

disagree with those thoughts anymore. I want

to remind you that God is eternally love, and

he loves you from before creation began because

God is love, that God and Father, Son, and Spirit

love you no matter what. You couldn't change

it if you tried. And I want to remind you that

God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit died for

you because he wanted you to be part of his family,

to be adopted into sons and daughters of the

emperor of all of creation. Maybe this is just

a reminder, something to remember, that God doesn't

just call you to bring value to those around

you, but through the fruit of the Spirit, that

very same God lives directly inside you, producing

those very fruits. So if you hear nothing else

today, I would just ask that you remember that

you are loved, you are worthy, and you are valued.