Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 149:1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
Praise in the assembly. This psalm encourages us to praise alone and praise in the assembly. When you praise shoulder to shoulder in the assembly with your brothers and sisters their praise encourages you. Your praise of God encourages them. This is especially true when you are struggling and yet you still gather to praise. Praising God reorients us and God uses our praise to encourage others. Take a moment and praise Him now.
Scripture Reading
2 Peter 3:12-18 – English Standard Version
12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Give thanks to God for His gifts and His goodness.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for FCA. Ask God to use this ministry for His glory and to make Himself known to college and high school athletes in Wichita.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Deceased atheist Chris Hitchens postulated that “what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” Regardless of whether you believe this or not, consider what evidence you personally have for your faith in Christ. Let’s do another active exercise today. Write out all the evidence you can think of for your faith. Include mental, emotional, experiential, factual, and historical evidence. Don’t worry if you can’t think of technical terms. This is not an academic exercise; it is meant to get you considering the facts of your faith. Even certain “feelings” fall under the category of facts. God has, Ecclesiastes says, put eternity in our hearts. Evidence is evidence regardless of the category we put it in. Write down your own personal evidence. Remember, God doesn’t need you to defend him, and his existence is independent of any proposed evidence for or against him. It’s valid to simply say, “My evidence is that my heart knows God, because God is alive and he has made himself known to me.” If you would be helped by thinking through more facts of your faith, do that right now.