ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS HOLY God himself is the Most Holy One. Holy means that God is perfect in His moral character. He is also unique and set apart. He is “completely other.” We share some of God’s attributes. We are like him. He is not like us. God is so holy that in the bible if a person was in an unholy state and came near to God, that person would die. His holiness is wonderful and terrifying.
He’s called the “Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 71:22, 78:41, 89:18; Isaiah 1:4, 5:19, 24). The seraphim around God’s throne cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). “The Lord our God is holy!” exclaims the psalmist (Psalm 99:9).
Praise God that He is Holy
Praise God that he is completely unique there is nothing and no one like him. Praise him that he is perfect in his moral character. His holiness is bright and powerful like the sun. Consider the awesomeness of his holiness. Praise God that he has come near to us and made us holy.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for small group leaders at River.
- Ask God to strengthen and grow our church.
- Ask God to give you opportunity today to share the gospel.
- Ask God to speak to you as you read 1 Corinthians 5
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Corinthians 5 New Living Translation
Paul Condemns Spiritual Pride
I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. 2 You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.
3 Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. 5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
6 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.
9 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.
12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
What did Jesus mean when he said “Do not judge”? (Matthew 7). Before you answer that, ask yourself what did he “not” mean? Clearly, he did not mean we can never say any behavior is wrong or sinful. Clearly, he did not mean we cannot discern whether others have good or bad intentions. What he meant was that we are not to be “judgmental and arrogant” in regards to others. We must continually make wise judgements about people and behaviors but we must never become “judgmental” people. The difference is not semantics it is wisdom versus folly.