Dig Deeper - Sunday 30th June 2025
Sermon Reflection Questions - We Believe: Exploring the Nicene Creed - For Us and Our Salvation.
1 Corinthians 15-3-8
Dig Deeper notes from Sunday 30th June service:
On Sunday, we’ve been exploring the Creed, focusing on the part that says “for us and our salvation”—how Jesus died for our sins so we can have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Here’s a summary of the sermon in case you forgot:
Who is your superhero?
I bet you've needed a saviour in your life at some point. As I shared in the sermon, two doctors saved my life when I had heart problems at just three months old. We all face moments when we’re in desperate need.
We all need a saviour
We all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). None of us is perfect, and we've all done things that separate us from God. This is called sin. Without a saviour, we remain separated from God forever.
Jesus bridged the gap between us and our Heavenly Father
So that we wouldn’t be separated from God by our sin, Jesus chose to die in our place, taking on the punishment we deserved, so we could be in relationship with Him.
Jesus’s superpower is… LOVE!
Jesus didn’t choose to fly, have super strength, or shoot lasers at the Pharisees (although I bet He was tempted!). Instead, He chose love as His superpower. He refused to save himself so that we could be saved. That’s love with a capital L—so powerful that even death couldn’t stop it!
God came for everyone (John 3:16–17)
Jesus loves everyone so much that He died so that everyone might have eternal life. There’s not a person on earth Jesus doesn’t love and long to be in relationship with. That can be hard to grasp—especially when someone has wronged us—but God’s love is deeper than our understanding. He chose you. He chose me. Because He loves us all.
That’s the sermon summary—but what now?
Maybe you’re thinking, “I already know this.” I remember sitting in a church in Coventry during my first year at uni, listening to a sermon on Jesus dying for our salvation. I thought I already understood it—but then God gently challenged me: Do I really know what it means that Jesus died for me? So, I asked Him to show me more and reveal things about the cross I might have missed.
Here are five things Jesus has since revealed to me about His death, and what it’s taught me about His love:
1. Jesus’s death was more than physical
We often talk about the brutality of the crucifixion, but sometimes we miss the most painful part: His separation from the Father. In Matthew 27:46, we read, “About three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” For the first time in eternity, Jesus was separated from the Father as He bore the weight of sin. That spiritual pain must have been unbearable. And He endured it—just so we could be restored to a relationship with God.
2. He might not take away our suffering, but He took on suffering for us
One of the hardest questions to answer as a Christian is: “If God loves me, why does He allow suffering?” Jesus never promised a trouble-free life—He even warned that we’d face hardship. But what He did promise was Himself. He stepped down from Heaven, lived as one of us, and suffered—even death on a cross—so we’d never face suffering alone. He knows what it feels like.
3. Jesus paid the price before we chose to follow Him
I don’t know about you, but I want to pay for a service after it’s been done. I remember my Dad having builders around and paying them first, and they left the job half done and never came back. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, not in exchange for our loyalty, but in the hope that one day we might be with him. He died before we said repentant. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
4. Jesus shared communion with those who would abandon Him
We take communion to remember Jesus’s sacrifice, but consider this: Jesus chose to share the Last Supper with friends He knew would betray, deny, and abandon Him within hours. His forgiveness wasn’t reactive, It was unconditional. He went to the cross knowing He’d be alone, and He did it anyway, so we could be saved.
5. Jesus forgave the man on the cross next to Him
One of the most powerful moments on the cross is when Jesus tells the man next to Him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” That man didn’t pray a fancy prayer or live a good life—he simply recognised who Jesus was. Salvation isn’t about ticking boxes; it’s about receiving grace, just like that criminal on the cross. Nobody is too far gone for Jesus’s love and mercy.
So, what now?
Take some time to reflect on what Jesus has already done. It’s easy to focus on prayers unanswered or yet to be fulfilled, but let’s dwell on the truth: Jesus saved us, bridged the gap between us and the Father, and chose to suffer so we might have life in Him. We can never reflect on that enough.
It’s also a great reminder of why we need to share this good news with our friends and neighbours. Jesus came for everyone, no matter their past or background. This is news worth sharing.
Discussion Questions to reflect on:
Take a few moments to consider these questions:
● How can you look at the cross from a new perspective that deepens your understanding of what Jesus has done for you?
● Where can you carve out time this week to thank Jesus for His sacrifice?
● How can you show the love of Christ to those around you?
● Who in your life needs Jesus, and how can you share His love and gift of salvation with them?
● How can you support someone who is suffering and be a light of hope in their life?
Closing Prayer:
You may have already given your life to Jesus—or maybe not. Either way, this prayer helps us refocus on Him. Not because His forgiveness has a time limit, but because it re-centres our hearts.
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy,
forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly,
love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God.
Amen.
Have a blessed day, and I pray that you walk side by side with Jesus—resting in the knowledge of His overwhelming love for you.
