ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS OMNIPOTENT
God can do all things that are consistent with His character. God is all powerful.
Job 38:4-5
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?
Praise God for His Omnipotence
He created from nothing. He sustains the world with no help or effort. He does the impossible. He has saved you and by his hand rescued you from a life of bondage to sin. Speak words of thanks and praise to him for his mighty power.
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 your friends who do not know Jesus. Ask God to strengthen your friendships and to give you opportunities for gospel conversations.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Hebrews 6 – New Living Translation
So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2 You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.
4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— 6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
7 When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. 8 But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
9 Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. 10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. 11 Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. 12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
God’s Promises Bring Hope
13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
14 “I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
In Hebrews 6:4-8, the author gives the church a stern warning about turning away from Christ. This is one of the most difficult sections to interpret in all of the New Testament, but it helps if we have some basic Bible-reading principles:
1) The Bible was spoken by one, unchanging God who is truthful and logical. Therefore, the Bible will never actually contradict itself.
2) Since the Bible will never contradict itself, we can interpret unclear passages in light of other, clearer passages that speak to same issue.
Read some of the following verses: Romans 8:31-38, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30, Romans 11:29, and 1 John 2:19.
How do you think we should interpret Hebrews 6:4-8 in light of these Bible-reading principles and these passages of Scripture? What are the practical implications for individual Christians and for the church?