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 104:10-18
He causes the springs to gush into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside the springs;
they make their voices heard among the foliage.
13 He waters the mountains from his palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your labor.
14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
producing food from the earth,
15 wine that makes human hearts glad—
making his face shine with oil—
and bread that sustains human hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord flourish,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
storks make their homes in the pine trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes.
Read the Entire Psalm
God cares for his creation. Read this Psalm again aloud and try to imagine the many works of creation that the Psalmist describes. God creates, cares for, and keeps his creation. He is aware of every wild beast. He is aware of the birds. He cares for cattle and sheep. He provides crops. Praise him for his care and provision.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Galatians 1:10-12 – The Message
10-12 Do you think I speak this strongly in order to manipulate crowds? Or court favor with God? Or get popular applause? If my goal was popularity, I wouldn’t bother being Christ’s slave. Know this—I am most emphatic here, friends—this great Message I delivered to you is not mere human optimism. I didn’t receive it through the traditions, and I wasn’t taught it in some school. I got it straight from God, received the Message directly from Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 6:4 – The Message
4 Fathers, don’t frustrate your children with no-win scenarios. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.
James 1:5-8 – The Message
5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
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 today for Super Church and River Next Kids. Ask God to bring them to saving faith. Pray that those who are saved would not give into any years of major rebellion as they grow and mature in Christ.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Performing, passivity, pushing. Do you relate to any of these three negative approaches to your children, or to anyone in your life for that matter? Performing is living for the crowd rather than living in authentic community. We must care what others think in good and healthy ways, but we cannot live for the applause of others; this is never healthy. Passivity is the choice to not choose. Passivity is always a poor choice to make. It is not passivity to defer a choice when appropriate or to go slow when necessary. Passivity is the choice to not choose based on fear or self-protection or laziness. Passivity is an explosion with a long fuse. Things do blow up in the life of the passive person, it just might take a while. Pushing is the impulse to get behind people and try to manipulate them to act like you want them to act. You can have influence in the lives of others if you love and lead them, but you cannot have control over people by pushing them from behind. It is likely that we all struggle with one or more of these traits. Christ was free of all of them; we can train to be more like him. Recognize what wind blows in your life and learn to lean into it. Whatever part of you does not look like Jesus, you can change there. Do not lose heart or hope. Christ has begun this work in you, he will finish it.