ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
God is TRANSCENDENT
God is not simply the highest in an order of beings (this would be to grant Him eminence). He is transcendent—existing beyond and above the created universe.
Psalm 113:4-5
The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,
Praise the Transcendent God
Praise Him because He is beyond understanding. Praise Him because he created our universe, but he transcends time and space. He exists beyond our world, but he still enters into our world.
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 Challenge meeting tonight.
- Ask God to challenge students to walk with him and to bring unbelieving students to saving faith.
- Ask God to speak as you read and meditate.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
God has not locked you into a prison. The prison of an unhappy marriage or unhappy singleness. The prison of an unhappy job or health problem. The prison of a financial situation or lack of a sense of purpose. It is true that God has set the boundaries of our lives. It is also true that there is much mystery in how God orders our lives but even still we have tremendous opportunity to choose within God’s parameters for us. One of the greatest choices God has gifted us with is the choice to move farther and farther into contentment. Contentment is a by-product of the pursuit of faithfulness. As we trust God with what we cannot control and determine to be faithful with what he has given us to do then contentment will grow in us like fruit grows on a tree.