ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS PERSONAL
God is a self-conscious Being capable of thought, will, and interaction with His creation. We can see that God is personal, especially as we read the Psalms. In the Psalms, David refers to God as “my shepherd” or “my portion” or “my light.” God is not just a portion or a Shepherd, but God is a personal shepherd to David.
Psalm 16:5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want.
Praise the Personal God
Praise God because He can relate with you personally. He is infinite and all-powerful, but He can also relate with you. Praise God because He can personally lead you and shepherd you.
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 as they meet through the summer. Ask God to strengthen friendships and draw students into deeper relationship with him.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Hebrews 1:1-3 3 – The Message
1-3 Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!
The Son Is Higher than Angels
3-6 After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you” or “I’m his Father, he’s my Son”? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, “All angels must worship him.”
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
When the priests entered the temple they stood at the altar and offered sacrifices for the sins of the people. Jesus was nailed to the cross, his wooden altar. He offered his life as a sacrifice for our sins. Now, he is seated at the right hand of God. He is seated because his sacrifice is final and it is finished. He said so on the cross, “it is finished.” Now he is seated in eternal glory at the right hand of his Father. Now these words are symbols of reality. God the Father is Spirit; Jesus exists in a resurrected state. These are things too big for our mind to fully conceive. But just like the word “chair” or “hamburger” are symbols of real things, things you can actually sit down in or eat for dinner, so these words about Jesus are verbal symbols of real things. Jesus exists in eternal glory and the price he paid for your sins is a reality that has awesome implications for your life. You are forgiven if you have trusted Christ. You are free from your sin debt. He is seated. It is finished. You are free.