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SERMON SERIES

More Than a Name

The Character of God

Weekly Lineup

WEEK 1

Elohim: The Strong Creator God

Bible Reading:
Genesis 1

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WEEK 2

Yahweh: The Relational God

Bible Reading:
Exodus 3: 1-6

Coming August 9

WEEK 3

Adonai: The God Who Rules

Bible Reading
Genesis 15:1-2; Exodus 4:10-13

Coming August 16

WEEK 4

Jehovah Shalom: The Lord Is Peace

Bible Reading:
Judges 6, Isaiah 9

Coming August 23

WEEK 5

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Provides

Bible Reading: Genesis 22; John 1

Coming August 30

More on The Names of God

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Elohim

Elohim

The Strong Creator God

Elohim is the first name for God in Scripture, appearing in Genesis 1:1. It’s a plural Hebrew word paired with a singular verb, a grammar clue pointing to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit, three in one from the very first verse of the Bible.

The word carries power and strength. Elohim doesn’t rearrange what exists, he creates out of nothing. He spoke, and light appeared where there was none.

That same power is available to you. Whatever feels broken or too far gone, Elohim specializes in creating something new out of it.

Genesis 1:1-7, 21-22 | Psalm 139:14 | 2 Corinthians 5:17

Yahweh

Yahweh

The Relational God

Yahweh is the name God gave himself at the burning bush, when Moses asked who was sending him back to Egypt. In most English Bibles, it shows up as “LORD” in small capitals, a shift from God’s power to his nearness.

While Elohim points to God as Creator, Yahweh is his personal, covenant name, used when relating to his people directly. It comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning “I am who I am,” the one who doesn’t change and doesn’t leave.

Long before he spoke that name aloud, Yahweh was already showing his character. In Genesis 2, he plants a garden for the man he made. He’s near before he’s ever named.

Genesis 2:8, 15-17 | Exodus 3:7 | Exodus 34:6

Adonai

Adonai

The God Who Rules

Adonai means Lord, or Master, someone with rightful ownership and authority. It’s used throughout the Old Testament, but first unpacked in Genesis 15, when God promises Abraham a son and a nation.

Abraham had already left everything to follow God. He’d waited years. When the promise still hadn’t happened, God reminded Abraham who was actually in charge of the outcome, taking him outside to count the stars: that’s how many descendants he would have.

Adonai isn’t about control for control’s sake. It’s about responsibility. God rules the outcome so you don’t have to carry it. Your job is faithfulness. His job is the results.

Genesis 15:1-6 | Romans 8:28 | Romans 10:9-10

JehovahShalom

Jehovah Shalom

The Lord is Peace

Gideon, hiding from his enemies in a winepress, gets a visit from the angel of the Lord. After wrestling with fear and doubt, he builds an altar and names it Yahweh Shalom, “The Lord is Peace” (Judges 6:24).

Shalom means far more than the absence of conflict. It means wholeness, everything the way it’s supposed to be. Gideon experienced it not because his circumstances improved, but in the middle of hiding and fear.

That’s the pattern this name points to. Peace was never meant to depend on your situation. It’s something you carry into the chaos, not something you wait for once the chaos is gone.

Judges 6:11-24 | Isaiah 57:20-21 | Romans 8:5-6

JehovahJireh

Jehovah Jireh

The Lord Provides

This name comes from Genesis 22, when God asks Abraham to offer his son Isaac. Abraham obeys, walking three days to the mountain without knowing how it ends. At the last moment, God stops him and provides a ram instead. Abraham names the place Yahweh Yireh, “The Lord will provide.”

The Hebrew word yireh means “to see.” Combined with God’s covenant name, it becomes “the Lord who sees, and provides.” The ram wasn’t a last-second rescue, it was already there, positioned before Abraham ever climbed the mountain.

This story points forward to something bigger. Centuries later, God sent his own Son up a different mountain, and this time there was no substitute, because Jesus was the substitute.

Genesis 22:1-14 | John 1:29 | Philippians 4:19

Discussion Guide

  1. Why was I created? (Read Psalm 139:13-16 and Ephesians 2:10)
  2. Why does God care about me? (Read Psalm 8:3-4 and 1 Peter 5:6)
  3. Can God make something beautiful with the mess I’ve become? (Read Isaiah 45:12-17)
  4. God didn’t just create the world and walk away — he spoke, and he still speaks through his word today. What’s been shaping you more this summer: God’s word, or something else?
  1. Why do I feel distant from God? (Read Genesis 3:1)
  2. Does God actually hear me? (Read Exodus 3:7)
  3. Does God want a relationship with me? (Read Ephesians 2:18)

  4. Pastor Miles said he had “knowledge without a relationship” — full of information about God but far from him. Is it possible to know a lot about God and still feel distant from him? What does the difference between knowing about God and actually knowing him look like in real life

  1. What’s an area of your life right now where you’re trying to control the outcome instead of just doing your job? (Read Romans 8:28)
  2. Abram obeyed God for ten years without seeing the promise fulfilled. Where is God asking you to keep trusting him even though you haven’t seen the outcome yet? (Read Genesis 15:5-6)
  3. A lot of our anxiety comes from tying our identity to results we were never responsible for. Where do you see that in your own life?
  4. What would it look like to actually surrender an outcome to God this week instead of carrying it yourself? (Read Romans 10:9-10)
  1. How do you find peace in the middle of a storm, not after it’s over? (Read Judges 6:11-14)
  2. Pastor Miles said, “You don’t fight FOR peace, you fight FROM peace.” What’s the difference, and which one do you tend to do?
  3. Where in your current circumstances do you need to experience Jehovah Shalom? (Read Romans 8:5-6)
  4. How can you reframe the chaos you’re in right now as an invitation into deeper relationship with God, instead of just something to survive?
  1. What’s your “Isaac” right now — the thing you’re holding onto so tightly that giving it to God feels like laying it on an altar? (Read Genesis 22:1-2)
  2. Abraham obeyed for three days before he ever saw provision. Where do you need to keep walking even though you can’t see the outcome yet? (Read Genesis 22:7-8)
  3. Pastor Miles said the loudest doubt often comes from people who love you, not your enemies. Who or what tests your obedience to God the most?
  4. “When God sees our obedience, we will see His provision.” Where in your life is God asking for obedience before you get to see how He’ll provide? (Read Philippians 4:19)

Music

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More on Psalms 32

David — reflecting on his own failure, confession, and the joy of God’s forgiveness (set in the Bathsheba/Uriah context; see 2 Sam 11–12). Our commentary notes Psalm 32 was likely written after Psalm 51, following reflection. 

Psalm 32 was likely written in the latter part of David’s reign, after his confrontation by Nathan (2 Samuel 12), following his confession in Psalm 51, and after a time of reflection. It stands as David’s testimony to the joy of forgiveness, written some time after the Bathsheba/Uriah incident (c. 1000–970 BC).

Used historically as one of the penitential psalms; early church tied it to baptismal instruction; Reformers emphasized it for justification by faith—picked up by Paul in Romans 4:6–9. 
Psalm 32 matters because it shows us the real cost of hiding sin and the deep joy of experiencing God’s forgiveness. Written by David after his darkest failure and eventual confession, the psalm reminds us that silence and secrecy drain the soul, while confession restores life. It shifts our view from God as an accuser to God as a refuge—our hiding place who surrounds us with songs of deliverance. Historically, the church has turned to this psalm as one of the great penitential prayers, teaching believers that forgiveness is not earned by works but received by grace, a truth Paul reinforces in Romans 4. For us today, Psalm 32 holds out a promise: we don’t have to stay buried in shame, because God offers full pardon, loving protection, and renewed joy to all who trust Him.
DEEP DIVE

More Resources

The Power of God’s Names (The Names of God Series)
By Tony Evans

Get the Book

God’s Names (Children Desiring God)
By Sally Michael

Get the Book

The Night Is Normal: A Guide through Spiritual Pain
By Dr. Alicia Britt Chole

Get the Book

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