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 131 Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child.
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
Put Your Hope in the Lord – Ask for a calm and quiet soul. Work for a calm and quiet soul by giving your cares to God. There are things that you are concerned about that are above your pay grade, they are too great or wondrous for you. This does not mean you should ignore these things but instead bring them to God. He is Great. He is Wondrous.
SCRIPTURE READING:
John 13:18-38 – Christian Standard Bible
18 “I’m not speaking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: The one who eats my bread has raised his heel against me. 19 I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am he. 20 Truly I tell you, whoever receives anyone I send receives me, and the one who receives me receives him who sent me.”
21 When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in his spirit and testified, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 The disciples started looking at one another—uncertain which one he was speaking about. 23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who it was he was talking about. 25 So he leaned back against Jesus and asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus replied, “He’s the one I give the piece of bread to after I have dipped it.” When he had dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. 27 After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him. So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”
28 None of those reclining at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Since Judas kept the money-bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 After receiving the piece of bread, he immediately left. And it was night.
31 When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so now I tell you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to him, “where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.”
37 “Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly I tell you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.
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.
- Pray for those recovering from Hurricane Helene. Pray for the disaster relief efforts by the Southern Baptist Agency, Send Relief. To give and for specific prayer prompts go here
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
How do you measure your training in godliness? Do you tend to measure based on “points in time” or in an overall trajectory?
Consider that image. If you were to try and measure how you are doing in your walk with God based on individual points in time, you would fail to see the overall movement of God in your life. Those points in time are important; they are moments that become movements. However, they are not accurate ways of measuring training progress. Depending on how you are wired, you might pick the low points and perpetually feel bad about how you are doing, or you may pick the high points and feel unrealistically good about how you are doing. Points in time are opportunities to either rejoice or repent. A long trajectory, a life of consistent direction (not points of perfection), is how we must measure our lives if we are to realistically train for godliness. Right now, in this point in time, how are you? Are you doing well? Rejoice! Are you not doing well? If that is because of sin, then repent. If it’s not because of sin but because of circumstances, then you can rejoice. God is using all things to form you into his image. Step back now and look at the trajectory of God in your life. See the movement of God in the moments of your life.