ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
God is Beautiful God is the sum of all desirable qualities. All of our good and righteous desires, all of the desires that really ought to be in us or in any other creature, find their ultimate fulfillment in God.
The beauty of our lives is so important to Christ that his purpose now is to sanctify the entire church “that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). Thus, we individually and corporately reflect God’s beauty in every way in which we exhibit his character.
Praise God that He is Beautiful
Praise God for the beauty in creation, in humanity, and in relationships. Look outside at the beauty of creation, or consider the beauty of a sunrise. Thank God for that beauty. Think about a close relationship with a friend or family member. Praise God for the beauty and joy you experience in relationships. He is the source of beauty.
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 Youth Horizons. Ask God to use their mentoring program to introduce children to Christ.
- Ask God to speak to you as you read the scriptures.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Ephesians 4 English Standard Version
Unity in the Body of Christ
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Our culture has attempted to force unity in diversity in a heavy handed, “outside-in” fashion. This has consistently failed. One reason is that people do not respond well to forced change. “A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.” Another reason is that it simply doesn’t work. Change is from the inside out. We can see certain qualities modeled for us and learn to want those qualities. But in the end, real change begins on the inside. God’s way of unity in diversity is through “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father.” Our only hope for true unity (heart to hands) and true diversity (remaining unique in every way) is through the work of God in our lives. All forced attempts at unity in diversity will sacrifice one or both of those things. As you consider the world around you in all its manifold diversity, give thanks to God because he has done this. This diversity reveals his wisdom and creativity. As you consider the world around you in all of its terrible disunity, ask God to save people. Pray that His Kingdom would come, His will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven.