Scott's Thoughts 3/20/24

Scott's Thoughts - March 20, 2024

We are almost to Easter week!

I love that we will be spending so much time together over the Easter week. Just a reminder of the schedule for the week:

- Wednesday, March 27th (next week, not this): no midweek activities

Thursday, March 28th, 6 PM - Maundy Thursday/communion service

Friday, March 29th, 7:30 PM - Good Friday service

Sunday, March 31st (HE IS RISEN!) - Sunrise service at 7 AM, then breakfast to follow.

Sunday, March 31st, 10:30 AM - Easter Sunday service!

Easter is a time when people are generally more sensitive, and more open to conversations about the things of God. Would you pray about who you may need to invite with you to hear and learn more of the work of Christ? Good Friday is a particularly good time for the unbeliever to come and hear of the work of Christ. Who will you talk to this week?

Last Week's Text: Exodus 8

It takes a work of the Spirit to make us courageous in prayer. Often, we prefer to give lip service to the power of prayer, but we are afraid to pray as though we believe prayer to be powerful. And yet, prayer is somehow a key part of God's providential governance of the world! Through prayer, God demonstrated His power in God's Word. Through prayer, God demonstrates His power in our lives even now. It was a sobering moment to pray with you all Sunday morning, as we asked God together to do incredible things. It was a joy to pray for each of us, asking for God to act on behalf of His glory and for the good of His people. May we be a people who can both humbly and boldly ask God. May we have spiritual eyes to see when He is working to answer those prayers too! Whatever you asked God for on Sunday, don't stop asking. Keep talking to the Father. He hears you. No prayer is unheard. He will act, and He will always act in a way that brings glory to His name and brings about good for His people. Our work is to humbly trust Him, and to both watch and obey as He works.

This week's text: Exodus 9:1-10:20

This is a long, rich passage. God's power is on display in this passage as we examine the next four plagues together. Here is what I'm thinking about as I write this week:

1. Read Romans 9:15-24. In this passage, Paul quotes from Exodus 9:16. How does what Paul says help us understand more about the meaning of the plagues, of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, and of how salvation works?

2. Look at Exodus 10:1-2. What are we as believers supposed to see when we see these passages?

3. How does a right view of God's power cultivate humility in His people?

Songs this week:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

My Worth is Not In What I Own

Sovereign Over Us.

See you tonight!