Series: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (March 7th - April 4th)

Week 1 Worship | Matthew 6:5-9 (3/7/17)

When you’re putting together a piece of furniture, your child’s toy bike, or even a Lego set, the first step is always the most important. The first step determines how the rest of the project will look. If you get the first step wrong, the finished project will be distorted. In that same way, the “first step” of prayer is extremely crucial. It determines how the rest of your prayer will look. When we worship God (“hallowed be your name”), it changes what we ask for and what we feel like we need to confess. Pastor Timothy Keller once remarked, “What you think about in your private time is what you worship.” Jesus calls for us to make time to pray in private. If we are only committed to praying at church, have we really made God our God? We worship God by praying even when we don’t get recognition from others (vs. 6). During this series on prayer, set up a daily prayer text message group that sends out prayers of worship to God.

Week 2 God’s Sovereignty, Praying for Others | Matthew 6:10 (3/14/17)
When you pray, ask God to change our world so that it better reflects the perfect love and security of heaven. Often, when we look at the world, we can become so discouraged by what we see that we believe nothing good can be done—we are left only to sit back and wait for the consummation. While God will ultimately redeem and renew the world at the end of the age, he wants to start now—through us. This part of the Lord’s Prayer acknowledges this. As N.T. Wright says, “Jesus is coming—Plant a tree.” Have you given up hope on the world? Or, do you acknowledge God’s sovereignty to make a change?

Week 3 Praying for Our Needs | Matthew 6:11 (3/21/17)
We shouldn’t be ashamed of asking God to provide for our needs. After worshipping God, acknowledging His sovereignty, and prayer for others, we then get to the part of the prayer where we pray for ourselves. Asking God for things isn’t wrong, but does that comprise the majority of our prayers? Is it the first thing we think about? If we’re not careful, we can become consumed by our selfish desires. Notice that Jesus says “daily” bread. This emphasizes constant, daily reliance on him—not excess.

Week 4 Forgiveness | Matthew 6:12-15 (4/4/17)
God’s forgiveness should so consume our hearts that we are willing to forgive others.
Notice the conjunction that begins this verse. It connects the “physical” (daily bread) to the “spiritual”—“almost as if to say that life sustained by food is not enough. We also need forgiveness of sin and deliverance from temptation. If we have truly accepted God’s forgiveness as a gift, then we will naturally be led to forgive others. When we lose track of God’s grace, temptation and evil creep it (vs. 13).