You Have No Equal, You Have No Rival

In one paragraph

Brian walked the congregation through the idea that God, Yahweh, has no equal and no rival, not because we say so, but because when you actually hold him up against everything else that has ever claimed divine status, the contrast becomes almost impossible to overstate. He used two passages read aloud by members of the congregation, one from Exodus and one from Psalms, to anchor the conversation,...

Read together

1. Exodus 15:11 congregation member read aloud to open the sermon, asking who is like God among the gods
2. Psalm 89:6-8 congregation member read aloud, describing God as incomparable among heavenly beings in the divine council

Talk about it

1. Brian described growing up thinking of God and Satan as two equal and opposite forces, like a yin and yang. Did you ever hold a similar picture of how the spiritual universe works, and what shaped that view for you?
2. Brian said that as Christians we sometimes know truths about God the way a fish knows water, so familiar with it that we stop really seeing it. Where in your own faith life have you noticed that kind of familiarity dulling something that should feel significant?
3. The sermon pointed to passages like Psalm 89 and the story of Daniel and the Prince of Persia to suggest the Bible describes a larger cast of spiritual beings than most people think about. What questions does that raise for you, and does it change anything about how you read those passages?
4. Brian talked about the little G gods that were given delegated authority over nations and failed by letting human worship be directed at themselves rather than Yahweh. Where do you see that same pattern playing out in your own life, things or people that quietly pull your attention and trust away from God?
5. At the end of the sermon Brian contrasted the impossible access you would have to someone like Messi with the open invitation Yahweh extends to anyone. What, honestly, tends to keep you from taking him up on that invitation on an ordinary day?