ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
God is Infinite
God is beyond measurement— we cannot define Him by size or amount. He has no beginning, no end, and no limits.
Romans 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
Speak Words of Praise to the God Who is Infinite.
Praise God because He cannot be confined. Praise God because He is everlasting. He has always been. He will always be. Praise God because He is limitless. He feels no exhaustion. He is without measure.
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 tonight at River. Ask God to grow the student’s faith and grow their community.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Hebrews 12:18-29 – The Message
An Unshakable Kingdom
18-21 Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—“If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead”—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.
22-24 No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
25-27 So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
28-29 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
A better word
We use words to speak. We can communicate with more than words, but speech is made up of words. In this passage the author uses the symbol of blood to communicate speech. Here “blood” equals “words.” Abel’s blood spoke to us of faith expressed in faithfulness. Jesus’ blood speaks a better word than his. Abel’s blood was mere example, Jesus’ blood is an actual “sin-cure.” We can learn from Abel, we can only be saved through Jesus. Jesus is, of course, an example, but he is not merely an example. Sometimes we can see Jesus as mostly example and try to model our lives after his. This is good to a point, but we do not merely ask “what would Jesus do?” We ask, “what is Jesus doing around me and how do I join him?” He is not a dead example to emulate, he is a risen Lord to follow. Give thanks that you have an ever-present Lord. Give thanks that your life has immediate and eternal purpose regardless of what is happening to you and around you. Give thanks that Jesus is at work around you, and he invites you to join him in what he is doing. Give thanks and then go hunt the good stuff of what Jesus is going to do in and through you today.