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 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us;
may he make his face shine upon usSelah
2 so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy,
for you judge the peoples with fairness
and lead the nations on earth.Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, God,
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has produced its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
May God be gracious and bless us. God owes us nothing but he is pleased to be gracious and bless us. We owe everything to our gracious and generous God. Praise him for his generosity. Pray that God would bless us so that he might be known and praised.
SCRIPTURE READING:
John 1:1-4 – New Living Translation
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving to God.
- 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 those who do not know God. Ask God to help you see the lost people around you and have compassion for them. Ask God for opportunities to build trust. Ask God to give you opportunities to have gospel conversations.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit…three persons, one being. How do you get your mind around that? You don’t, and you don’t need to. If you could get your mind all the way around God, then you would either have to be God yourself, or you have simply made up a god in your own mind. You are not God and he is not a figment of your own imagination. From eternity past, the Triune God has existed in loving relationship within the godhead. Before the cosmos came into being, God existed. From God, the cosmos came into existence. Jesus, maker of the cosmos, is fully God and fully man at the same time. How could this be? It’s not a math problem to be solved, it is a reality to be believed. If your heart becomes troubled because your head is puzzled, you need to correct your thinking. You should not be surprised that your mind can’t contain the full truth of God. You also shouldn’t be surprised that the God who is there has been careful to reveal himself to us so that we can know him. He has also designed us such that we have the “equipment” to know him as he empowers us to do so. No, you can’t get your mind around him. Yes, you can know him and be transformed by him. Instead of letting your heart be troubled by what you cannot understand, tell your heart to be grateful for what God has made known to you.