ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS JEALOUS People sometimes have trouble thinking that jealousy is a desirable attribute in God. This is because for us, jealousy is almost always wrong. But jealousy can be a positive thing, too. Paul says to the Corinthians, “I feel a divine jealousy for you” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Here the sense is “earnestly protective or watchful.” This is the jealousy we attribute to God. He protects his honor. God deserves all honor and glory from his creation, and it is right for him to seek this honor.
Exodus 34:14
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Praise God that He is Jealous
He is Jealous because he is the supreme being in all the universe. Praise God because he is the most glorious one. Praise him that he has revealed himself.
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 unchurched friends. Ask God to give you opportunities to have gospel conversations with those who do not know Him.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Ephesians 2 Christian Standard Bible
From Death to Life
2 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Unity in Christ
11 So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. 12 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh, 15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death. 17 He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
The local church is the primary way God is bringing the beauty of the gospel into the world. His will is that through the church his wisdom and glory will be revealed. The word “Church” is used in Scripture to describe all believers of all time and place as well as local churches. The “Universal” Church is not primarily how God is making his wisdom and glory known, it is through local churches. It is there in specific times and places among specific people that God is showing his transformational power. It is there, local level, that real people are loving other real people in tangible and sacrificial ways. It is there, local level, that real people are forgiving each other’s sins and encouraging each other in the faith. It is there that kids are being loved and trained. It is there that the sick are cared for and the dying have tangible evidence of Christ surrounding them. The local church was God’s idea. He hasn’t changed his mind. He likes it, even if you don’t. He believes in it, even if culture thinks it’s a relic, an unnecessary appendage. It is there, on specific streets, in individual towns…where regular humans gather to do the imperfect stuff that they do that God’s manifold wisdom is being made known. He sees it. Do you?