The Holy Trinity: Bible Verses, Quotations, and Prayers

The Holy Trinity: Bible Verses, Quotations, and Prayers

5 Key Bible Verses on the Trinity

Matthew 3:16-17: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Matthew 28:18-20: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

John 14:16-17, 23, 26: [Jesus said to his disciples:] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. … Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Acts 2:38-39: Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Romans 8:9-11: You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Many others could be listed. A few: 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 * 2 Corinthians 13:14 * Galatians 4:6 * 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 * Titus 3:4-6 * Hebrews 2:3-4 * 1 Peter 1:2 * 1 John 3:21-24 * Jude 20, 21 * Revelation 2:26-29 * Revelation 22:16-18

Prayers to the Trinity

O my God, Trinity whom I adore; help me to forget myself entirely that I may be established in You as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your mystery. … —Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, early 20th century; entire prayer at https://ocarm.org/en/item/3270

You, O eternal Trinity, are a deep Sea, into which the deeper I enter the more I find, and the more I find the more I seek. —Catherine of Siena, 14th century

Quotations on the Trinity

God the Father is fully God. God the Son is fully God. God the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Bible presents this as fact. It does not explain it. —Billy Graham 

It is commonly said that the Trinity is a mystery. … It is not a mystery that keeps us in the dark, but a mystery in which we are taken by the hand and gradually led into the light. —Eugene Peterson 

Where Jesus appears, the Blessed Trinity is understood. —Lady Julian of Norwich

If Christianity were something we were making up, of course we would make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete in simplicity with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with fact. Of course anyone can be simple if he doesn't have any facts to bother about. —C. S. Lewis 

What does it profit you to enter into deep discussions concerning the Holy Trinity, if you lack humility, and are thus displeasing to the Trinity? —Thomas à Kempis

The Trinity is the life of God. It is in and through Christ that we enter into that divine life.    —Eirik Olsen                                                                 

To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. —Thomas Merton

Confirmation

Confirmation

By Savior Youth

Leif:

I and five other youth went through confirmation class this past winter. The classes focused on the central message of the Bible, liturgy, church history, sacraments, ethics, personal calling, and prayer. Having been raised in the Church, I knew a lot of the information imparted, but I still feel like I got something important from the class.  I think that I, like many of my fellow youth, went into our group listening prayer session (the last class) with somewhat low expectations. The past autumn, our youth group had focused on listening prayer, but many of us were skeptical, thinking that confirmation bias (heh) and the desire to seem spiritually gifted would cause younger youth to latch onto meaningless mental images. When we had our group listening prayer session, though, we were surprised by how profound each other’s insights were, and how connected we felt with each other and God.  We’re now meeting once per month to pray. I decided to go into confirmation class to  have some concrete event to point to where my faith became what I believed because I believed it rather than because of my upbringing. I deconstructed my faith, and came pretty close to losing it. I had made up my mind to not get confirmed because (quoting from my journal) “I hesitate[d] to call myself Christian due to that hesitance itself, but that being said, Christian practices are enormously helpful to me.” There was no real religious or ideological label that I felt comfortable applying to myself, but I was more Deist than Christian. I never rejected the faith, and I always believed in a God and always knew that Christianity helped me in my life, but I was more drawn to secular philosophy and political theory than I was to theology. It wasn’t until I stopped viewing philosophy and faith as opposed to each other and started incorporating philosophy into my faith that both the philosophy and my faith started to click much more. Now that I’ve delved (and am delving) deeper into that overlap between faith and philosophy, I really feel like my faith has deepened and I have more of a sense of purpose. To paraphrase author John Green, it’s much easier for me to believe around God than in him- to see creation, scripture, and humanity as reflective of God’s love than as everything you need to know about Him. Another line that’s stuck with me is from “Harmony Parking Lot Song” by folk punk band Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains: “Here’s to our lives being meaningless / and how beautiful it is / because freedom doesn’t have a purpose”. Or, if you prefer Paul the Apostle to Pat the Bunny, Galatians 5:1. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery.” Ultimately that’s the crux of my personal theology. Even when it’s hard for me to have faith in Christ, my faith in love, and my belief in the necessity of liberation never falter. God is love, and it’s when I am most loving, and most loved, that my faith in Christ is strongest. I don’t see a specific moment where my faith went from my surroundings to my own, but I think that’s a good thing.  Faith is an ongoing journey that I’ve always been and always will be on- but it’s only now that I feel like I’m far enough on that journey to justify marking my progress through getting confirmed. 

Amanda:

If I’m being honest, I didn’t want to take the confirmation class but now looking back, it was one of the best things I could have done for my faith. When I first heard that there were confirmation classes available, I was hesitant. Unsure of who would sign up, I was concerned about the level of depth the time would offer. And quite frankly I was straying away from Christianity at the time, not being in a stable place spiritually and afraid of not getting much from the classes, I was against going. My parents finally convinced me to go (in return I wouldn’t have to go to the youth group for the rest of the year) and I started the classes. After the first class, I was hooked. With such a small group who I knew well, I felt comfortable and when learning more, I found others had the same questions as me. The teachings were interesting and informative, and they allowed me to grow spiritually in ways I didn’t know I needed. I slowly remembered how important faith was to me and why it was important not just in me but in others as well. While the teachings were great, what really impacted me was the last day when we tried listening prayer for the first time in the group. Listening prayer always seemed like a superpower, something only people with great faith and a strong connection with God could accomplish. It also seemed like a super easy way to spread confusion and misinformation due to your own subconscious. But when we tried listening prayer, everyone was surprised at the revelations. Not only did we have meaningful thoughts that were profound in their very nature, but they also almost always related to something deeply personal or monumental in the person's life. We all seemed to leave the church that day with a sense of awe at the power of the Holy Spirit. I certainly was deeply moved by this, and it inspired me to invest more time and interest into spiritual matters and to work to deepen my faith. Because of that experience, I feel that my faith is strengthened, and I feel more comfortable when praying for others. Looking back, taking this class has greatly helped me to grow spiritually into someone who is proud of my faith, and it has helped me learn how to connect with God in new ways. 

Elijah:

From Ellen: Elijah tried attending the regular confirmation class but quickly realized that wasn’t a good fit for him. After consulting with Mary, we decided on a more individual approach for Elijah. Mary and Father Kevin helped us find a beautifully illustrated book written at a level Elijah can understand called, “The Illustrated Westminster Shorter Catechism.” Each evening before dinner Elijah read a simple Psalm, a section of the catechism book, and the weekly collect. Then he would ask us a question about something that stood out to him and we'd briefly discuss that concept. Mary has also been meeting with Elijah and they've gone over what to expect during the service and rehearsed a bit in the hopes that he will feel more comfortable during the service. We're grateful for the ways the church has been willing to accept Elijah as he is and to adapt the confirmation process to be meaningful for him. 

Ash:

Hello. My name is Asher McNiel and I am one of the people getting confirmed. Confirmation is really important to me because I love the Anglican church and the liturgy. My family normally goes to Wheaton Bible Church, but I was baptized at the Church of the Great Shepherd as a child. I had my first real experience with the Anglican church when my friend Leif brought me to youth group. I have learned so much during this time of confirmation, and have met so many amazing people. I am really looking forward to growing in my faith as well as in this church community.

Meiying:

Above are some sets of colors that were provided by both Amanda and myself. As we went through the process of listening prayer, some of the things we saw for each other were colors. All of these were ways we connected to God and to each other, to help ourselves grow in our faith.

Zach:

In Confirmation, I got a better understanding of myself in listening prayer, and of how and why the philosophy of what I believe is based on. This stabilized my philosophical wanderings, and I came to understand myself and my relations to others and the world better.

What Is Savior’s “Outward Journey”?

What Is Savior’s “Outward Journey”? 

By Fr. Kevin 

 At Church of Savior, we talk about the “Inward Journey” and the “Outward Journey.” These names were coined by Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, a church that inspired our own name. 

The Inward Journey stands for the life of prayer and worship, and from Savior’s beginning, we have done a lot of work here: forming our weekly worship as a place of meeting God, not performance; practicing Sabbath; resisting hurry and busyness; offering retreats; and more. Where our leaders are now giving us greater clarity is our Outward Journey--how we love and serve people outside of Savior. Of the many good ways churches serve people, here are three we feel drawn to, in order: 

1.Local Compassion  

People at Savior love to give to our neighbors in need, both in our monthly budget and through the yearly Good Friday Gift. This pleases God. As he says through Isaiah: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” 

So Savior has shared food with the hungry by giving to Peoples Resource Center, and provided the poor wanderer with shelter, by giving to PADS. Through our longtime ministry partners—Outreach and World Relief Chicagoland—we help teen moms and immigrants. 

Our growth edge here is to add to our giving, serving. So we not only give gifts to the Outreach Christmas Store, but this past Christmas, served there. 

2.Justice 

Isaiah points us to this: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” So we especially want to love those who have been unjustly treated. We have given to help fund church planters of color, provide water for people in the Navajo Nation, and much more.  By temperament, Savior is more likely to hug than to picket, but we want to educate ourselves and to advocate for others. We have done some educating and/or advocating for refugees and immigrants, and for persons with disabilities.  

Our approach is not so much focusing on Big Causes but on serving real people with names. As one member put it, “Church of the Savior has gifts in looking out for people who are in spiritual pain or physical pain or relational pain. We offer them our vulnerability and listening. It seems part of our DNA to slow down, listen, involve, learn from.” 

3.Church Planting 

It has been our joy to help launch Christ Our Peace Anglican Church in Oak Park, led by Mtr. Sandy Richter. We expect to release the church into full independence this year. So right now, we are resting and saving toward a future church plant, but here’s why church planting is part of Savior's 

Outward Journey:​

1. There is a great need for more life-giving, healthy churches.​

2. The way the apostles in Acts spread the Gospel was primarily by starting churches. ​

3. New churches have been shown to be the most effective form of evangelism because they tend to be easier for people to connect with.​

4. Our bishop, Todd Hunter, built our diocese, C4SO, to do church planting, so we have examples and encouragement and a culture that gives permission to risk and keeps red tape minimal.​

5. We have a steady source of funds for church planting. Many dioceses ask their churches to donate 10% of their operating budget to support the diocese. But Bishop Todd says, “I’ll run the diocese on 5%; put the other 5% into church plants.”​

6. Church planting fits a passion of Mtr. Karen's and mine to develop leaders.​

7. Church planting meshes with our desire to create relationship-sized churches rather than grow into a medium-size or large-size church.​

8. Savior can make a contribution that is still too rare: We plant by sending men or women, when many church-planting agencies exclude female church planters from receiving funds. 

I love this clearer Outward Journey. It feels like Savior. It expresses what God’s put in us, a natural extension, not something bolted on. And it gives us direction: we can take steps on this Outward Journey, year after year. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, please contact Pastor Sarah. 

Good Friday Gift: A Word from Rachel Wassink

Rachel Wassink is the Annual Giving Manager at World Relief Chicagoland. She shares with us the impact of our Good Friday Gift Donation, and who this donation will help.

• What NEED IS the Good Friday Gift helping?

One of our top needs at World Relief is securing affordable housing for our refugee and immigrant neighbors. Amidst the shifting sands of the economy, the continued effects COVID has had on our communities, and the rising cost of housing, there has been a significant need for additional funding that supports the costs of transitional housing and bridges the gap as our neighbors work towards self-sufficiency to pay for their housing. This Good Friday gift will directly contribute to this need, which will allow the refugees and immigrants we are welcoming into our community to feel at home.

• HOW DOES THIS HIT PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECENTLY COME TO THE U.S.?

  Many refugee and immigrants arrive with very little saved financially because of the right to work being taken from them in their refugee camp. When they arrive in the US, they partner with World Relief to begin working and committing to a budget that is sustainable for them. This empowers them to earn, save, and support their family. A crucial piece in this empowerment is the assistance World Relief is able to provide for the first three months of their arrival as they adjust to a very new culture and prepare to begin work. Additionally, there are many Ukrainians coming right now in need of permanent housing who do not have access to federal grant funding that supports housing.

• HOW will the money be used?

  The money will be used in Chicagoland to pay for two primary areas:

  1. Transitional housing expenses such as hotels and temporary rental homes.
  2. The gap cost of permanent housing for refugees and immigrants as they begin working and saving to pay for their own housing costs.

• What DOES STABLE HOUSING DO FOR NEWER ARRIVALS?

  When refugees and immigrants have the stability of a home, this leads to significantly greater flourishing. They are able to have a gathering place to feel safe and secure. They are able to adjust to new styles of living, cooking, and learning. When children have a home to come to, they are more likely to grow in school. When adults are able to afford a living space, they feel the dignity and empowerment of caring for their family. Home matters more than we often realize, and for refugees and immigrants, their sense of home has been incredibly uprooted and lost for a long period. A welcoming home here in the United States reminds them that they are wanted and welcomed here.

Good Friday Gift: A Word from a World Relief Employee

Catherine Norquist is a longtime Savior Member and employee of World Relief. Even though the Good Friday Gift is going to housing benefits for refugees, Catherine is working hard in a different department at World Relief. I believe it is helpful and encouraging to see Catherine’s work as well as understanding the vast services that World Relief provides to our refugee and immigrant neighbors. Please connect with Catherine’s words below and how her department is serving those in need.

• What's the need your department addresses? 

  My department is the Immigration Legal Services Department and we function like a non-profit law firm/Legal Aid. We provide mainly family-based immigration legal services, helping immigrants and refugees navigate the complicated Immigration system here in the United States. Many immigrants can't afford a private attorney but our team consists of both Department of Justice Accredited Representatives and Immigration Attorneys who are providing high quality legal services at either low or no cost. We help people find out if they have a path to legal status in the United States, family reunification processes, immigration assistance for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes to name a few things we do. This Fall we launched an Asylum Legal Clinic, which means we are helping people apply for asylum here in the United states and representing them at their asylum interviews with Immigration. 

• What are some examples of someone in this situation?

  I'll answer this with a quote from one of our attorneys: 

  I have had a lot of consular processing (family reunification) interviews all over the world recently: Burma, Liberia, India, Mexico, Yugoslavia, and Ethiopia. Many of these families were separated due to civil war or ethnic conflict and are trying to reunite with children under 21, spouses, and parents. Most of these cases were delayed due to US government backlogs and then extra delayed due to the pandemic, and then further held up after the embassy interview by additional document requests. Even though these cases can seem like we overcome one obstacle just to run into another, this work is such a privilege to walk alongside our clients as an advocate; to reassure them that there WILL eventually be an end to the frustration and to celebrate with them when their loved one finally arrives in the USA.
  

• Can you give a few examples of someone being helped?

  Our first asylum case we took was for an Afghan woman who was a reporter in Afghanistan who was highlighting the abuses of the Taliban. She had received multiple death threats and had been harrassed by the Taliban multiple times. After she was evacuated to the United states in 2021, one of our attorneys decided to file her asylum case. The interview was this summer and we are hoping to hear any day now whether she has been approved for asylum. This would give her a path to legal permanent residency (a green card) and eventually US citizenship. We have also helped multiple Afghan men apply for asylum due to their assistance with the US Military and Special Forces in Afghanistan. We are still awaiting results from Immigration post their interviews.