River's Edge Community Church

Thursday is a day where we focus on the salvation we have in Christ Jesus.

My prayer goal for this week is _________________________________________.
My prayer goal for last week was _______________________________________.


Let’s pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Read the following passage from Philippians 3:12-21
     Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
     All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
     Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Wise for Salvation
Today, as we wrap up this series, we want to focus on our goal to grow in our faith.

The Bible is a lens through which we can see reality, life as God sees it, life as it really is. It opens our eyes to our own sin and need. It frees us to see God at work in our lives and in our world. It allows us to see how big our God is and how loving and gracious and wise. And it enables us to realize that we have been made children of God, sons and daughters of the Most High God. This is the reality the Bible allows us to see and experience.

Today, we want to celebrate God’s love poured out in abundance upon us so that we can be transformed. Choose one of the three assignments below that are designed to help us revel in our salvation.

(1) Paul urges us to live up to what we have already attained. What things have your attained (or know or believe) that you are not quite living up to? Where is your knowledge outrunning your behavior?

(2) Take some time and meditate on the words of the hymn, Soldiers of Christ, Arise (Charles Wesley)

Soldiers of Christ, arise,
And put your armor on,
Strong in the strength
Which God supplies
Through his eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of Hosts,
And in his mighty pow’r,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
Is more than conqueror.

Stand then in his great might,
With all his strength endued;
But take, to arm you for the fight,
The panoply of God.
Leave no unguarded place,
No weakness of the soul;
Take ev’ry virtue, ev’ry grace,
And fortify the whole.

To keep your armor bright,
Attend with constant care;
Still walking in your Captain’s sight,
And watching unto prayer.
From strength to strength go on;
Wrestle and fight and pray;
Tread all the pow’rs of darkness down,
And win the well-fought day.

(3) Paul encourages the Philippians to follow his example, his way of living. How would you want others to follow you (what virtues do you see in yourself that you would want others to emulate?)? In what ways would you not want people to follow your example?

Thoughts To Ponder
"The right manner of growth is to grow less in one’s own eyes."  (Thomas Watson)

"In the spiritual life only one thing produces genuine joy and that is obedience."  (Richard Foster)

"Christianity does not consist in any partial amendment of our lives, any particular moral virtues, but in an entire change of our natural temper, a life wholly devoted to God."  (William Law)

One Thing
We believe that we are called to grow in our faith. So often we reduce this to adding a new truth or discovering a new principle, but Paul makes it clear that to grow means to step out in faith and live out what you believe. Below are three things we believe but sometimes struggle to put into action. Choose one and practice it today.

1) Prayer – pray through the day, reciting the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner").

2) Controlling the Tongue – Throughout the day, do not say anything negative about anyone or make any excuses for yourself. Speak only what is helpful in building others up.

3) Putting Others First – Throughout the day, passionately pursue serving others. Put the needs of everyone else above your own and seek their best in every situation.


Closing Prayer
Abba Father, pour out your love upon us so that we may love you and love our neighbor as ourselves. Our hearts are also small. Enlarge them with your glory so they are fit for you. Open our eyes to your love so that we will always walk in your ways. Fill us with your Spirit that we may be your people. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.