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Week 2 Introduction
Welcome to Week 2 of our 21 Days of Prayer.
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This week, our theme is Gospel Growth in Us. The “Us” is the Riverwood family. It is a really good thing when each of us as individuals are growing in the Gospel. But it is an even greater thing when we are seeing the Gospel grow us as a church family.
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That is why this week’s devotionals have all been written by members of Riverwood’s Elder Team, Sunday Team, and the Riverwood family as a whole. May you enjoy growing with one another as part of the Riverwood family as we are guided by our fantastic team of leaders and Riverwood Partners.
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By the way, if you are fasting, hold strong! If you “slipped up” on your fast this past week - this is a new week, so begin again. As we saw on Day 2, fasting is simply engaging in an activity that reminds us of what is more valuable. So either continue or begin to put yourself in a place where you are regularly reminded of the importance, value, and priority of God and His gospel.
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Sunday, Jan 8
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DEVOTIONAL: “GROWING IN KNOWLEDGE"
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by Jake Epley, Worship Gathering Director
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"What is the gospel?" A good friend asked me this question when I was a teenager. "Well, it's the message of Jesus of Nazareth," I replied confidently. "Okay," he said, "so what is that?" I froze. “Huh… that's a GREAT question,” I thought to myself.
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It's really important for us to know what the gospel is. The word gospel literally means “good news.” The word occurs over 90 times in the New Testament. However, to understand why it's good news, we have to know what the bad news is. Paul defined it in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
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To sin means "to miss the mark, to wander from and violate God's law." According to Paul, we’ve all failed to obey and uphold God’s law. Even if we've done better job than most, we've done an imperfect job at that. We've missed the mark, disobeyed God, and fallen short of His glory. So despite any “goodness," our sin incurred the debt of death and separated us from God.
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However, the good news relates directly to God working to redeem those of us from sin who would believe in His Son, Jesus Christ who lived perfectly without sin. As Paul said in the very next verse in Romans 3 (verse 24): “…and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
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Jesus died on the cross in our place to pay our penalty, purchasing our redemption by taking upon Himself our unrighteousness, and placing upon us His righteousness as a free gift of grace. He was buried, yet rose from the dead 3 days later, declaring us righteous in the sight of God the Father. Now, THAT is good news!
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But I have even better news: the gospel doesn’t work only to save, but also to sanctify us: to make us more into the image of Jesus. For the rest of our lives, as we grow in relationship with God, we should grow in our knowledge of the gospel as He continues to transform our lives, perpetually renewing our minds (Romans 12:2) to recall His goodness and good work in us and through us.
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Father, I thank You for saving me. Would You remind me of what You have done for Your glory and my good every day? Would You remind me You have pursued me from the very start? I know You have and will always remain faithful to me - would You help me remember that truth despite my circumstances? Help me and all of the Riverwood family to dive deeper in our relationship with You. Amen.
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IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:
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- What are some practical ways you can know God more on a daily basis? (Bible reading, praying, listening to worship music, connecting with other Jesus-followers, etc.)
- Are there any rhythms in your life that draw your focus away from God? Identify and list a few distractions, then make a plan to read from Scripture or say a prayer in those moments.
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Feel free to open your Notes app to write down a thought or two from today's reading or write out your own prayer.
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