ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
SELF-SUFFICIENT – All things are God’s to give, and all that is given is given by Him. He can receive nothing that He has not already given us. He does not need creation.
Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Praise the Self-Sufficient God
Praise God that he needs no sleep. Praise God that He created from joy and delight and not from need. Praise the Self-Sufficient One who gives freely from His hand.
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:
1 Thessalonians 1 – Christian Standard Bible
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace to you and peace.
Thanksgiving
2 We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers. 3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you for your benefit, 6 and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. 7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
As we near the end of the first week of this new year let’s consider those who are in our lives but do not yet live in the grace and forgiveness of the gospel. They carry, whether you see it or not, guilt and regret. They lack the spiritual insight to understand why God has made them. They are not positioned to be spiritually resilient when hard times come, and they will come, if they have not already. They do not have peace with God. Is there a way you could build a better “trust bridge” into their lives? Pray for that now. Can you find ways to engage them in natural gospel conversations? Pray for that now. Can you think of ways to invite other believers into their lives? Pray for that now. Ask God to allow you the privilege this year of being a part of someone you care about (and that he cares about) finding new life in Christ.