If your own congregation isn't able to have a special worship service to celebrate that, be sure to join

Photo: Jon Tyson via Unsplash CONTEXT: After the flood, God reaffirmed His covenant with Noah, promising Genesis 11:1-9 (NIV) 11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2  As people moved

Genesis 16:1–16 (NIV) 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2   so she said to Abram, “The L ORD has kept me from having Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 26 Q. there, in the middle of nowhere in the barren, inhospitable wasteland between Canaan and Egypt that she joins

1 Corinthians 12:1–6 (NIV) 1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led John Calvin put it well; he said that our minds are 'idol factories' that never cease production.

Job 1:1–12 (NIV) 1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1 Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. Summary Job 1 introduces a man who is blameless and upright, yet his world is about to be completely ; HC Q&A 26).

The way you worship matters, says Jesus. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 80 Q. How does the Lord’s Supper differ from the Roman Catholic Mass? A. The Lord’s Supper declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ which he himself finished on the cross once for all. It also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ, who with his very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father where he wants us to worship him. But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have their sins forgiven through the suffering of Christ unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests. It also teaches that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine where Christ is therefore to be worshiped. Thus the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and a condemnable idolatry. Summary One of the most painful consequences of sin is that the one thing that ought to unite all people - worshipping the God who made us - is arguably the thing that creates the most division and angst. Not only do massive divisions exist between the three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Islam & Christianity), but the Christian Church itself is rent asunder with all sorts of different ideas and practices on how God ought to be worshipped. Division occurs when different expressions in how people worship begin to affect what they worship. The resulting battles shatter communities and even families, causing pain and bitterness that last generations. Our society's current live and let live attitude wants Jesus to come down and declare that all forms of worship, as long as its sincere and heartfelt, are acceptable to God and therefore all criticisms of divergent worship practices ought to cease. That's exactly what the woman at the well was hoping to hear Jesus say. But Jesus doesn't take her bait. One of the Bible's primary themes is that there are right ways and wrong ways to worship. Jesus doesn't pull His punches, telling the Samaritan woman that her countrymen have been worshipping incorrectly and even ignorantly. Certainly Jesus has lots of criticism for Jewish worship practices elsewhere in the gospels, but at least on the question of where true worship must take place, the Jews were getting it right. What a picture of God's grace, that out of all the people Jesus could have discussed true and proper worship with, it wasn't a learned scholar or a popular prophet, but rather it was this sinful, broken woman, and so she becomes one of the first people to truly worship God as He has ordained: in Spirit and truth. Dig Deeper The question of where to worship would soon become moot when Jesus would send His Church out to the nations before triumphantly ascending back to the right hand of the Father. But notice that the primary requirement for acceptable worship remains constant throughout the entire Bible: to properly know God (v22). The Lord's Supper is one of the primary ways you gain this knowledge that's so critical to fulfilling the purpose you were created for: to worship God. The Lord's Supper declares to you that you've been completely forgiven through Christ's one sacrifice on the cross and that you've been grafted into Him so that you can worship Him in Spirit and truth even while He is in heaven and you are on earth. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God our Father is spirit; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will continue to know God more and more, and thank Him for what He teaches you as you come to His table; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 19

Psalm 78:1–8 (NASB95) 1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and

Gospels: Week 2 - Jesus' Preparation & Beginning of Ministry We're visiting a different book each day BiblePortal.com Luke 4:1–13 (NASB95) 1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil.

1 Timothy 4:7–10 (NIV) 7  Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity Point 4 - Irresistible Grace Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints Article 2: The Believer’s Reaction Today: 1 Peter

BibleHub.com Genesis 3:1–7 (NIV) 3   Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the 2  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,  3  but God did say Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity longer able to do anything good unless it's given to us from heaven ( Belgic Confession, Art. 14 , John Today: Philippians 2