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 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
     Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.


Wise for Salvation
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. Choose one of the three assignments below that are designed to help us revel in our salvation.

(1) Paul says that he became like a Jew to win the Jews, like one under the law to win those under the law, like those not having the law to win those not having the law. What would it look like today to be like an American to win Americans?

(2) Take some time and meditate on the words of the hymn, O Breath of Life, Come Sweeping Through Us (Bessie Head, 1914)

O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
revive your church with life and power;
O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us,
and fit your church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
till humbly we confess our need;
then in your tenderness remake us,
revive, restore, for this we plead.

O Breath of love, come breathe within us,
renewing thought and will and heart;
come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us,
revive your church in every part.

O Heart of Christ, once broken for us,
‘tis there we find our strength and rest;
our broken, contrite hearts now solace,
and let your waiting church be blest.

Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating
while harvest fields are vast and white?
Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting;
equip your church to spread the light.

(3) Francis Schaeffer in his book, Art and the Bible, outlines a Christian perspective on art. He writes: “The first [principle] is the most important: a work of art has value in itself. For some this principle may seem too obvious to mention, but for many Christians it is unthinkable. And yet if we miss this point, we miss the very essence of art. Art is not something we merely analyze or value for its intellectual content. It is something to be enjoyed. . . . As a Christian, we know why a work of art had value. Why? First, because a work of art is a work of creativity, and creativity had value because God is the Creator. . . . Being in the image of the Creator, we are called upon to have creativity.”

• What do you think about this?
• How are you being an artist in your life?
• How are worship and art linked together?

A Thought To Ponder
"The gospel is not a set of techniques for making people Christians. Nor is it a set of systematic theological reflections, however important. The gospel is the announcement that Jesus is Lord--Lord of the world, Lord of the cosmos, Lord of the earth, of the ozone layer, of whales and waterfalls, and of trees and tortoises. And as soon as we get this right, we destroy in a stroke the disastrous dichotomy that has existed in people's minds [between the sacred and the secular]."  (N.T. Wright)


One Thing
Wright’s quote above sets out a very important truth. There is no secular/sacred dichotomy. All of life is sacred for the Christ follower. Everything we do is worship. Our work is an offering to God. Our recreational pursuits are holy. Our enjoyment of the arts is a form of praise. All of life is to be lived to the Lord as a means of worship. Everything is holy to those who consider it so. Today as you go through your day, remember this truth. And to make it more “real,” as you go throughout your day, pray this short prayer as a means of surrendering whatever you are doing to God: “I give this to you Lord as token of my worship and praise.”


Closing Prayer
Abba Father, pour out your love upon us so that we may love you and love our neighbor as ourselves. Give us wisdom that we may engage our world with your truth. Give us compassion that we may speak with tenderness. Give us courage that we may always be faithful and give us hearts of faith that we may seek your glory in everything we do. Today, we give ourselves to you, body, soul and spirit and ask that you advance your kingdom in us and through us. 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.