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 148:1-4
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
Read the entire Psalm
Praise the Lord. It is a command and not a suggestion for us. He is worthy of praise. Everything – heavens, seas, stars, angels, everything was made for him. You were created for him. Praising him reminds us that he is supreme. Take a moment and praise him for all that he has made.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Exodus 34:5-8 – New Living Translation
5 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,
“Yahweh! The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.”
8 Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.
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 is patient or longsuffering. In Hebrew, “slow to anger,” is actually a Hebrew idiom meaning God is “long of nose,” or “long in nostrils.” It’s okay––it’s kind of funny. We think of nostrils flaring when someone is angry. The idea of the phrase is that it takes a long time for God to blow out anger through his nose. In other words, he has a long fuse. He is not a hot head. God is patient and slow to anger. God’s patience is designed to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God wants to see us turn from our sin and turn toward him and trust him. Thank God he is so patient with us! In what ways have you experienced his patience this week? Remember, his patience is designed so that we repent and turn from our sin. When we realize we’ve gotten off track, we are to repent quickly and get back on track. Mess up, fess up, and move on. Perhaps you need to be reconciled with someone. Repent and seek to be faithful to make things right.