ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS PERFECT
God is completely flawless, lacks nothing and has no moral imperfection.
Psalm 18:30 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Deuteronomy 32:4 The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
PRAISE THE PERFECT GOD
Every action of God’s for all of time has been perfect. Every future action will be perfectly loving and just. Praise Him because He will never improve. He is always perfect.
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 Christian Challenge. Ask God to minister to students tonight through the worship, through the teaching, and through the fellowship time. Pray that students who don’t know Christ would turn to him. Pray that students would be strengthened in the faith.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Timothy 6 – The Message
1-2 Whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his master so that outsiders don’t blame God and our teaching for his behavior. Slaves with Christian masters all the more so—their masters are really their beloved brothers!
The Lust for Money
2-5 These are the things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.
6-8 A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.
9-10 But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.
Running Hard
11-12 But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.
13-16 I’m charging you before the life-giving God and before Christ, who took his stand before Pontius Pilate and didn’t give an inch: Keep this command to the letter, and don’t slack off. Our Master, Jesus Christ, is on his way. He’ll show up right on time, his arrival guaranteed by the Blessed and Undisputed Ruler, High King, High God. He’s the only one death can’t touch, his light so bright no one can get close. He’s never been seen by human eyes—human eyes can’t take him in! Honor to him, and eternal rule! Oh, yes.
17-19 Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.
20-21 And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith.
Overwhelming grace keep you!
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
It is not just the rich who are arrogant or who put their hope in wealth. There are plenty of rich people who are humble and live by faith. There are plenty of poor people who are arrogant and hope that they become rich so that it will fix all their problems. Paul is telling Timothy to be direct with the rich in his congregation in order to mentor them. He is not implying only the rich are tempted in these ways. Timothy, as their pastor, cannot succumb to being impressed or intimidated himself by these rich people. All people, we just learned, will die poor. “Rich” is a relative term. Just about anyone you know would be “rich” compared to these 1st century Christians. They had no access to an easy and steady food supply, no Dillons. They had no access to good medicine and medical care. They did not live in climate-controlled homes. Travel was difficult and time consuming. You may not consider yourself to be rich, but we all are tempted to put our hope in our “wealth.” Our wealth, Paul wrote, is just so uncertain. We are to put our hope in God who is always certain. This God does not want us miserable; he richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.