Passage – Psalm 145

Memory Verse:

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV)

The Psalmist shows us how to:

1. Proclaim God’s _________________ (Psalm 145:1-7)

• God’s greatness demands our praise.
• Jesus is God’s greatness fully revealed.
• Is praise for God part of your daily routine?

Then we are encouraged to:

2. Praise God’s ________________ (Psalm 145:8-13a)

• God’s character invites us to be a part of His kingdom!
• Our faith in Jesus gives us access to God’s kingdom to encounter His grace.
• Are you encountering God’s kingdom and grace by praising Him in every area of your life?

Then the psalmist calls us to:

3. Profess God’s ______________ (Psalm 145:13b-21)

• God faithfully cares for the righteous.
• Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection shows us that we can depend on His faithfulness in our struggles.
• Do the words and deeds of your life profess God’s faithfulness?

Conclusion:

We call our Sunday morning service our Celebration Service because authentic worship begins with celebrating God’s greatness and goodness! But worship goes beyond the songs we sing and the activities on a Sunday morning. Through worshipping the One True God every day with our words and deeds, we find purpose, joy, and peace in life!

So many people struggle with mental and emotional health today, primarily among young people. We have ignored the command of our Creator to worship Him and Him only, and it has led to the majority, if not all, of the personal struggles people face today.

Do you struggle with depression and negative thoughts? I challenge you to turn every day into a day of worship to your Creator and see how those feelings change.

Begin by surrendering your life to Him and make Him your Savior and Lord! He can’t be one without the other!

We serve a mighty God who is not limited in any way when it comes to meeting our needs! We must repent and turn our backs on the temporary and shallow offerings of this world and return to worship the Lord Jesus Christ! It’s in Christ that we find wholeness, joy, and peace!

Then, make every day a day of worship of the One true God!

Will you commit to making worship with word and deed your daily habit?

What step do you need to take today? I’d love to hear from you.

Would you like to pray with someone today?

Share your prayer need on a Next Step card or click the prayer button during our livestream.

NEXT WEEK: Part 4, The Power of Quiet Time.

Answer Key:

Greatness

Kingdom

Faithfulness

You can share what God is saying to you today by telling Pastor Blake about it on your Next Step form. Click this link to share your spiritual step with Pastor Blake.

Watch our Livestream each week HERE

Passage – Matthew 6:1-4

Memory Verse:

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV)

Jesus begins chapter 6 by saying that His followers need to:

1. Guard Against _________________ (Matthew 6:1)

• He warns them about serving for self-glory.
• He warns them to check their motivation for their service.
• What are your motivations for what you do for God’s kingdom?

Then Jesus gives an example of how we should:

2. Avoid the ________________ (Matthew 6:2)

• He calls those who give with wrong motives hypocrites!
• He says that hypocrites only receive the reward they seek.
• Are you a hypocrite or are you serving with integrity and humility through your financial giving and volunteering?

God is looking for:

3. Secret ______________ Service (Matthew 6:3-4)

• He says we should not advertise our giving.
• Giving and serving is to be rooted in our heartfelt love for God.
• Are you finding joy in humbly and sacrificially serving one another and God’s kingdom?

Conclusion:

What motivates you to give and serve? Are you giving financially out of obligation, or are you hoping to get something in return? Or are you giving simply because you are grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to rescue you from sin and enjoy the gift of salvation?

Are you serving others out of obligation, or to help Jesus with your salvation, or hoping it will win you some favor with the people around you?

Let’s examine why we do what we do. Is it for recognition or to receive some reward from people? Or is it truly to please our heavenly Father as we look forward to whatever reward He has in store?

This is challenging, no matter how long a person has walked with Jesus. We all struggle with our selfish motivations. It’s certainly not wrong to be recognized or celebrated, but we must be careful that it doesn’t become our motive for doing what we do for God’s kingdom.

What step do you need to take today? I’d love to hear from you.

Would you like to pray with someone today?

Share your prayer need on a Next Step card or click the prayer button during our livestream.

NEXT WEEK: Part 3, The Blessing of Worship.

Answer Key:

Glory

Applause

Sacrificial

You can share what God is saying to you today by telling Pastor Blake about it on your Next Step form. Click this link to share your spiritual step with Pastor Blake.

Watch our Livestream each week HERE

Passage – Matthew 6:5-13

Memory Verse:

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV)

Jesus teaches us that we must:

1. ________________ Personal Prayer (Matthew 6:5-6)

• Prayer is not a performance.
• Prayer is for expressing a heartfelt love for God.
• What are your prayers like?

We must also:

2. _____________ Meaningful Prayer (Matthew 6:7-8)

• Prayer is not expressing meaningless repetitions to bend God to our will and desires!
• Prayer is about growing a loving relationship with God.
• Are you practicing meaningful conversations of sincerity and trust in God?

To help us experience answered prayer, Jesus teaches that we must learn to:

3. ______________ the Master’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

• The Lord’s Prayer begins by reminding us of who we are speaking to!
• He gives 3 clauses to teach us to align ourselves with His will and purpose: He is holy, submit to His reign, and do His will.
• He gives 3 petitions as the starting point of our prayers for physical provision, forgiveness of our past, and protection of our future.

Conclusion:

Prayer is critical to our well-being. Our prayer life really reflects where we are in our spiritual journey.

We need to make personal prayer a priority in our daily lives and learn to practice meaningful prayer by following the model of the Lord’s prayer.

Wright says, “What you are in private is what you really are” (N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–15 [London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004], 56).

How is your prayer life? Do you need to begin again?

I want to invite you to make time this week to be part of our annual Week of Prayer.

FOLLOW THIS LINK to watch the videos to help you know how to pray this week.

Start shaping up your relationship with your heavenly Father with the habit of prayer, and begin by spending this week in prayer with us.

Will you commit to making personal prayer a priority this year? By practicing meaningful prayer and modeling the Master’s prayer?

What step do you need to take today? I’d love to hear from you.

Would you like to pray with someone today?

Share your prayer need on a Next Step card or click the prayer button during our livestream.

NEXT WEEK: Part 2, The Heart of Service.

Answer Key:

Prioritize

Practice

Model

You can share what God is saying to you today by telling Pastor Blake about it on your Next Step form. Click this link to share your spiritual step with Pastor Blake.

Watch our Livestream each week HERE