ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS OMNIPOTENT
God is all-powerful. He spoke all things into being, and all things— every cell, every breath, every thought—are sustained by Him. Nothing is too difficult for Him.
Jeremiah 32:17-18 & 26-27
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty,
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Praise the Omnipotent God
He created every living thing from nothing. He sustains everything by His power. He never grows tired. He has broken the curse of sin and death. He has the power to raise the dead.
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 strengthen and grow their ministry.
- Ask God to speak to you as you read the scriptures.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Thessalonians 2 & 3 English Standard Version
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm
13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Pray for Us
Chapter 3 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Warning Against Idleness
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.[h]
13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Benediction
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Our application of the Bible can become strange and detached from reality when we fail to connect the Scripture to the lives of real people who lived lives much like we do. Often our failure to accurately understand and apply the Scripture is a failure of imagination. Not imagination as “making things up that are not true” but rather as using our minds to put ourselves in their “shoes.” The Thessalonians were a diverse bunch, just like any church today. They had different backgrounds, perspectives, and life settings. They were, unlike our church, suffering a time of persecution. This fact alone would impact how they see things in and around them. This fact of persecution would in one sense make things much harder for them than they are for us. They would have struggled to not live in fear. They would be dealing with the pain of separation from loved ones. They would have to wonder if God were going to take care of them and if so, what would that look like. It was very difficult for them. But in another sense, it was easier for them to not be fooled into thinking this passing world had what they really needed. When things are easier for us, we tend to relax and revert to “coast” mode. When things become difficult, we are more likely to cry out to God, rely on God, and put our hopes in God. Even though our circumstances are different, consider… how are things the same for them as they are for us? Look at the struggles they would have had. They struggled to not live in fear, as do we. They struggled with the pain of loss, as do we. They struggled to fully believe that God cares for them, as do we. See, we are really not that different. God is the same Today, Yesterday, and Forever. People are the same Today, and Yesterday. Remember both of those realities as you read and apply the Scriptures.