"Celebrating the 1700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed" (October 19, 2025 Sunday School)

Send us Fan MailPresenter: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. FearingWhat if the best way to understand God isn’t a triangle or a formula, but a dance? We open with gratitude and laughter, then step straight into the Nicene Creed’s richest lines—“begotten, not made” and “of one substance with the Father”—to explore why the early church pushed back against Arius and protected the claim that Jesus is fully God, not a created helper. That single conviction changes everything about prayer, worship, and the kind of community the church is called to be.We trace how Scripture, hymnody, and history converge: John’s “In the beginning was the Word,” the carol’s “Word of the Father,” and the council’s homoousios each insist that to see Christ is to see God’s heart without dilution. Along the way we name the common pitfalls—subordinationism that divides the Trinity, modalism that flattens relationship—and then offer a more life-giving vision borrowed from the Christian East: perichoresis, the divine dance. Picture a circle of mutual indwelling where Father, Son, and Spirit move in love, no one hoarding the top spot, each giving and receiving. That image doesn’t just rescue doctrine; it reshapes practice—shared leadership, patient discernment, and a church that welcomes rather than hardens.We also center the Creed’s action words: for us and for our salvation he came down, was incarnate, crucified, buried, rose, and ascended. These past-tense events ground a present reality: his kingdom shall have no end. Not a pause between acts, but a living reign that stretches from eternity past to a future without sunset. If your prayers skew to one Person of the Trinity, if your view of church tilts toward hierarchy, or if theology has felt like math instead of mercy, this conversation will give you fresh language and a new lens.Enjoy the episode, share it with someone who loves big questions, and leave a review to help others find the show. Subscribe for the next class as we turn to the Spirit and keep learning how to live inside the divine dance.Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurchFollow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpcFollow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurchWebsite:  www.guilfordpark.org