ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS OMNISCIENT
God is all-knowing. God’s knowledge encompasses every possible thing that exists, has ever existed, or will ever exist. Nothing is a mystery to Him.
Psalm 139:1-6
Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
PRAISE THE OMNISCIENT GOD
Praise is for you. It is directed to God but it is for you, to remind you of who God is. Praise Him because He is all-knowing. Take comfort in the reality that God knows every detail of your life. He knows without trying. He knows because He is omniscient.
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. Ask God to strengthen student’s faith as they gather and help them grow in community.
SCRIPTURE READING:
James 5:1-11
The Message
5 1-3 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.
4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.
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7-8 Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.
9 Friends, don’t complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.
10-11 Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Moral clarity requires believing that there are things that are absolutely right and wrong. This requires believing that there is a God from whom and for whom all things exist. If God is not there, then “whatever is, is right.” Since God is there and humans have been given choice, then “whatever is, may not be right.” Moral clarity requires believing in absolute right and wrong as God sees them. Moral courage is taking appropriate action in line with what you believe to be right or wrong. A person can see truth with clarity but be unwilling, for many reasons, to act on that truth. When you combine moral clarity with moral courage, you almost have the full definition of faithfulness. What is missing? Humility. Moral clarity plus moral courage plus humility equals faithfulness. A heart that is filled with a sense of moral superiority may in fact do the right thing but yet fail to be pleasing to God. God does not want or need junior partners; he wants sons and daughters. We know the right things to do because God has revealed them to us. We act with courage to do what is right because God is worthy of our allegiance. We do all this with humility because he is God and we are simply his servants. Servants whom he also has made into his sons and daughters.