Read Romans 3:23-24
As you stand at a Carnival Side Show Alley, with the gun in your hand, the attendant yells out that if you hit the target you get a prize. The implication is obvious - if you miss the target you don’t get a prize. You carefully aim and pull the trigger. Your heart beats hard. You watch the target for any signs of a hit. But alas, you miss the target. It wouldn’t matter if you missed the target by 5mm or 5 kms. A miss is still a miss.
When Paul says, ‘For all have sinned…’ he is saying that each and every person, you and I included, has missed the target. Some may have missed by a
To make matters worse, when Paul says, ‘and fall short of the glory of God’ he uses a present tense verb which effectively means that we continue to miss the target. What Paul is saying is that even if we had a life time of shots at the target we would continue to miss it. We are bluntly told that we cannot, in and of ourselves, hit the target.
But here’s the amazing bit. As we turn and walk sadly away from Side Show Alley knowing that we’ve failed to hit the target, God calls us back and freely and graciously offers us the prize. But the attendant doesn’t just give us the prize. He takes aim with the gun and hits the bullseye. The prize he wins is given to us freely as a gift. Jesus lived a perfect life and hit the target required by God. He’s the only one to have ever hit the target. Having won the prize, He graciously and freely offers it to us. The choice is ours - do we want the prize of eternal life or do we want to miss out?
Prayer:
Given today’s reading jot down your own prayer points:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks
Supplication:
¥ Pray for our cell leaders that God would make them men and women who live out their faith and love Him with their heart, soul, mind and strength. Pray that this would be contagious. Pray too that more people would be in a cell group throughout the week.
¥ Pray that God would bless our children and grow them in their faith. Ask God to deepen their love for Jesus and their willingness and ability to live a life that glorifies Him.
Walk Moment:
A life lived to God’s glory can never be achieved by trying harder. Trying harder results in harder failure. The key is to realise that we fall short of the glory of God and to let Him work in our hearts and to let that work flow outwards.
1. Why does Paul tell us that all of us have sinned?
2. Why does Paul tell us that we continue to fall short of the glory of God?
3. What effect should this have in the life of a Christian?
4. Many Christians focus/dwell on their sins and are riddled with guilt. What is the solution?
Discipleship Moment For Girls
Intro: Do you believe that the planet Pluto exists? Do you understand how and why it orbits the sun the way it does? Do you believe that you have a brain? Do you understand the way your brain works? It can be much the same with God. We don’t’ understand everything about God but that should not stop us from believing in Him.
Share: some of the things you don’t understand about God.
Read: Deuteronomy 29:29
If we don’t understand something about God, what can we do?
How can we grow in knowledge of God?
Pray: that you will grow in your understating of God’s love towards you and your family.
Intro: Do you believe that the planet Pluto exists? Do you understand how and why it orbits the sun the way it does? Do you believe that you have a brain? Do you understand the way your brain works? It can be much the same with God. We don’t’ understand everything about God but that should not stop us from believing in Him.
Share: some of the things you don’t understand about God.
Read: Deuteronomy 29:29
If we don’t understand something about God, what can we do?
How can we grow in knowledge of God?
Pray: that you will grow in your understating of God’s love towards you and your family.
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