ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
God is a Trinity
God exists as three persons, yet he is one being. Each person of the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has a separate identity while yet possessing the full nature of God.
Genesis 1:26 Let US make man in OUR own image.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (In this passage each person of the Trinity is given equal authority. Even though the word trinity is never used in the bible, it is implied here.)
Praise the Triune God
Praise the God who is love. He could not be loving if the trinity were false. Praise the God who is perfect and complete. Praise the God who enjoys endless fellowship. Praise the Son who took on the human flesh to be our substitute on the cross. Praise the Holy Spirit for his work to convict of sin and reveal the truth.
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. Pray for students far from God. Pray that they would turn to Him.
SCRIPTURE READING:
James 1:1-8 – The Message
1 I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello!
Faith Under Pressure
2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
What is wisdom? Is it being smart? Is it having information stored in your brain? Who comes to mind when you hear the word “wise?” Your grandfather? A teacher? Yoda? Wisdom includes what we would call smart and it involves gaining factual knowledge. However, Biblical wisdom is more about character than mere content. It is “being” a certain kind of person. Specifically, wisdom is about being a person whose whole heart, mind, life is given over to God’s purposes. Wisdom is living with a “What matters most at the end, matters most now” mentality. So, when James says that if we lack wisdom we should ask God who will give it generously to us, we must first consider what this promised wisdom actually is. Our first thoughts likely go to “information” of some kind. “God I need wisdom, please tell me what to do here…should I take this job or not.” “God I need wisdom, please tell me why this is happening.” Those are valid questions to ask of God, and he may give you an answer or he may not. There is another kind of request for wisdom that I believe God has obligated himself to answer in this verse in James. By obligated, I mean promised, and of course he keeps his promises. The kind of wisdom request that he answers is the one that wants to know how to remain faithful in the face of trials. The wisdom he provides may be easy to miss because it won’t be what we normally expect. It won’t necessarily make us feel better, especially in the short term. It won’t be an easy answer that immediately puts us at ease. Wisdom in Proverbs is about a path. That path is often long and difficult to walk. That path leads to a thriving life in God. The request for wisdom is a request for a path, the good path, and the endurance to stay on that path for the duration. Ask God for that kind of wisdom; he will give it to you.