“Naming Names" (Amazing Grace), May 31st, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Worship Amid Hesitation on a Galilean Hill

The resurrected Jesus stood on a windswept hilltop as disciples wrestled with wonder and doubt. Some fell to their knees in worship while others held back, torn between Jewish devotion to one God and the undeniable presence of their rabbi made new. Their hesitation mirrors our own struggles to reconcile God’s unchanging nature with Christ’s shocking claim to divine authority. Yet Jesus meets their uncertainty not with condemnation, but with a commission that assumes their participation in his triune life. [22:26]

When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:16-18, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel tension between your understanding of God and the radical claims of Christ? How might doubt become a doorway to deeper worship?

Day 2: Three Names, One Breath of Holy Wind

Baptismal waters carry the weight of a four-letter Hebrew name whispered through centuries—the unpronounceable YHWH now spoken freely as Father, Son, and Spirit. Like Moses at the burning bush, we’re initiated into a story where God’s identity defies containment. The same breath that formed Adam, parted seas, and filled Pentecostal flames now marks believers with triune belonging. [26:20]

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14, NRSV)

Reflection: How does the Trinity reshape your relationship with God from distant reverence to intimate participation?

Day 3: Commissioned by the God Who Hesitated First

The Great Commission begins not with marching orders but with divine self-giving—a Savior who endured doubt’s shadow in Gethsemane now entrusts his mission to hesitant followers. Making disciples seems impossible until we remember the triune God who knelt in dust to form Adam still breathes life into cracked clay. Our fumbling obedience becomes holy ground. [31:13]

Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: What unfinished edges of your faith might God use to draw others into triune love?

Day 4: The Name That Burns Without Consuming

A bush blazed unconsumed as Moses hid his face, yet the same holy fire now dwells uncontained in human hearts. The I AM who terrified prophets with unapproachable light comes tenderly in bread, wine, and baptismal water. Trinity Sunday reveals God’s name not as a theological puzzle but as a love letter signed in threefold ink. [25:30]

Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:13-14, NRSV)

Reflection: When has God’s presence both awed and comforted you like fire that warms without destroying?

Day 5: Discipleship’s Threefold Echo: “Do You Love Me?”

Peter stood knee-deep in Galilee’s familiar waters, asked three times the question that matters most. No theological exams, no purity tests—just love’s persistent refrain. The triune God who shaped cosmos with a word now whispers through fish breakfasts and charcoal fires: Our qualification for kingdom work begins and ends in being loved. [32:54]

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15, NRSV)

Reflection: How might embracing God’s persistent love free you to serve others without self-judgment?

Sermon Summary

Trinity Sunday stands still after rocket launches and fireworks. Matthew’s Gospel ends not with ascension or Pentecost but with a hill in Galilee and a word. The risen Jesus meets the Eleven. Worship breaks out, but hesitation hangs in the air. Good Jews know the First Commandment. To worship a man risks breaking it. Then Jesus speaks and raises the stakes: all authority in heaven and on earth is his. That claim belongs to Israel’s God. Either idolatry happens on that hill or Israel’s God is present in Jesus.

Matthew’s scene answers with a Name. Jesus sends his people out to disciple the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Not names. Name. The Name matters. The Name reaches back to the bush that burned and was not consumed, where Moses asked, Who should I say sent me, and God gave his personal Name, holy enough to hush the mouth. That same Name now rests on Father, Son, and Spirit. The God who named himself to Moses names himself again through Jesus, and the water bears that Name onto real bodies.

Jesus stands, then, not as a rival to Israel’s God but as his perfect imprint, his icon in flesh. The Word who was with God because he was God steps into Galilee and is worshiped without breaking the law. So the old line rings true: God is like Jesus. God has always been like Jesus. People have not always known this, but now they do, and it changes everything.

The Commission sounds massive and simple all at once. Make disciples and teach everything Jesus commanded sounds impossible when measured by human strength. Only God can do that kind of new creation. Yet discipleship keeps starting in easier places than imagined. The Spirit has a way of turning people into followers before they realize it. Jesus’ ordination exam for Peter does not ask for strategy, only affection: Do you love me? Then feed my sheep. The big news is that the Maker of heaven and earth is like Jesus, Jesus is that God, and his Spirit is given. So the question lands with mercy: Do you love him? The assurance lands first: He loves. Always has. Always will.

Key Takeaways

1. The Great Commission names God The command to baptize into the name reveals a single divine Name shared by Father, Son, and Spirit. The unity of the Name secures the unity of God while honoring real personal distinction. Baptism, then, is entry into communion with the living God who speaks his Name over his people. The water carries the Triune life onto real lives. [24:45]
2. Worship without idolatry finds Jesus Hesitation on the hill is the fear of breaking the First Commandment, and it is a faithful fear. Jesus’ claim to all authority forces a verdict: either idolatry or the presence of Israel’s God in him. Worship becomes obedience when the crucified and risen one is recognized as the Lord of the Shema. The law is not broken; it is fulfilled. [22:51]
3. Discipleship is God’s creative act The order to make disciples sounds like too much because it is too much for human power. New hearts, new obedience, and enduring hope are God’s work before they are anyone’s program. People often discover they were being drawn long before they could name it. The Spirit makes disciples and then lets churches keep up. [31:51]
4. Love for Jesus authorizes ministry Peter’s threefold exam does not measure skill, production, or polish. It tests affection that leads to care: Do you love me? Then feed my sheep. Love for Jesus becomes the doorway into tending his people, because love keeps service from becoming self. The flock is safest in hands warmed by devotion. [32:54]
5. God has always been like Jesus The revelation is not a swap but a unveiling: the Father’s heart looks like the Son’s face. This steadies prayer, calms doubt, and reframes Scripture as a witness to the same grace and truth. If God is like Jesus, then judgment and mercy meet at the cross and resurrection, not at odds but in union. That changes how a life risks trust. [28:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[12:58] - Come, Holy Spirit; the sign and the Name
[20:27] - Three feasts; Trinity Sunday explained
[21:34] - Matthew ends with the Commission
[22:26] - Worship and doubt of good Jews
[23:41] - All authority given to Jesus
[24:45] - Baptizing into the Name
[25:03] - Moses and the unspoken Name
[26:34] - The same Name now Triune
[27:31] - Jesus as the icon of God
[28:06] - God is like Jesus
[31:13] - The hard and easy task of discipling
[31:51] - Only God makes disciples
[32:54] - Do you love me
[33:51] - He loves you; thanks be to God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Observation Questions

In Matthew 28:17, some disciples worshiped Jesus while others “doubted” or “hesitated.” What specific reason is given in the sermon for their hesitation? [22:51]
What Old Testament story does the sermon connect to Jesus’ command to baptize “in the name” of the Father, Son, and Spirit? [25:03]
How does the sermon describe the relationship between Jesus’ authority and the First Commandment (“You shall have no other gods before me”)? [23:41]
What simple question did Jesus ask Peter three times to qualify him for ministry? [32:54]

Interpretation Questions

Why does the sermon emphasize that the word “name” in Matthew 28:19 is singular (“the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit”) rather than plural? What does this reveal about God’s nature?
The sermon claims that worshiping Jesus either breaks the First Commandment or fulfills it. How does Jesus’ identity resolve this tension? [22:51]
The Great Commission seems impossible for humans to fulfill (“only God can do that kind of new creation”). Why would Jesus give this command if humans can’t accomplish it alone? [31:51]
How does the statement “God is like Jesus” reframe our understanding of God’s character in the Old Testament? [28:06]

Application Questions

The Trinity is described as a single “Name” shared by Father, Son, and Spirit. How might remembering this unity change the way you pray or worship this week?
The sermon suggests people often become disciples “before they realize it.” When have you recognized God’s Spirit quietly drawing you or someone else closer to Him? How did that change your perspective?
Jesus’ question to Peter—“Do you love me?”—was the gateway to serving others. What practical act of care (feeding, tending, etc.) could flow from your love for Him this week?
If “God has always been like Jesus,” how might this truth reshape how you read a difficult Old Testament story or face a situation that feels like God is distant or harsh?
Baptism “carries the Triune life onto real bodies.” How does your own baptism (or the baptism of someone you know) remind you that God’s promise is for you, not just an abstract idea?

Sermon Clips

There has never been a time when I could truly walk away from him. There's just something about that name, says the old hymn. I've always found him beautiful, fascinating. Really, I think I have always known that there is something about Jesus that we, that I cannot live without. As it turns out, I was right. And in some sense, I guess that means I have always been one of his disciples, even when I wanted nothing to do with the church. This is what his spirit has done to me. [00:30:26] (47 seconds)

Nevertheless, it is God's name. The shocking revelation tucked so subtly into this story of the great commission that I had to have it pointed out to me by a mentor just last week is that this is where the same name given to Moses is spoken by Jesus as the name of the father of the son of the holy spirit. It is that name, that holy, personal, particular name in which you were baptized. That is the name of your God and mine. [00:26:24] (52 seconds)

Then Jesus only complicates things further when he announces, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. All that authority belongs to God. How could it be yours, Jesus? This is the question which after some significant yada yada yada ing eventually yields the orthodox Christian doctrine of the trinity. But Jesus seems to be living that triune life already, even now in this moment. Go therefore, he says, go and make disciples of the gentiles of all nations, discipling them in my name, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. [00:23:37] (46 seconds)

I think they hesitated to worship him because they're actually good Jews. For Jews, there is inherently a major risk to worshiping Jesus because to worship him is to regard him as God. And Jews already have a God. In fact, their God has rules against doing just this. Their God commanded them in the first commandment no less that they shall worship no other gods but me. To worship Jesus if he's not is to break the law, divine law. So no wonder they hesitated. [00:22:57] (41 seconds)

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

What is the significance of baptizing in one name?

How does Jesus connect to Moses' divine name?

What is the role of love in discipleship?

“Naming Names" (Amazing Grace), May 31st, 2026 - 9 AM Contemporary Service