ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS LOVE
God’s love is so great that He gave His only Son to bring us
into fellowship with Him. His love encompasses the world, and embraces each of us personally and intimately.
1 John 4:7-10 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Praise the God of Love
Praise Jesus because He demonstrated His love by going to the cross. Praise Jesus that He is an example of love. Praise God because He loved us even though we do not deserve love.
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:
James 1:12-18 – New Living Translation
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Cor. 10:13
The Biblical truth that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear is often confused with the conventional “wisdom” that God will not give you more than you can carry. The truth is that, very often, life will bring much more than we can carry. It is likely that you have labored under a load that is beyond your own strength. God’s desire in these trials is that we experience his strength and learn to abandon our own. During these heavy trials where our only hope is in God, we will be in the domain of great temptation. The temptation will be to blame God, to accuse him of being “bad” or “uncaring.” We will be tempted to believe that he is unable or unwilling to help us. Perhaps we will be tempted to believe that he is not there at all. Stand firm in your faith! Though you may be given more than you can carry on your own, God has promised to give you a way out of the temptation. Look for that way out and take it. One more thing: do not think that the way out of temptation is going to be a way out of trials. He has not promised that.