Good morning, everyone.
I said this last week, and I say it again this week.
It's a great honor to open up God's Word with you this morning, wherever you may be.
And I said this last week, and I'll say it again this week.
This is great.
We have technology.
I really wish we could be together this morning, and looking forward to seeing you folks whenever
we're able to meet again at the Ottawa Little Theater.
If you have attended Messiah for some time, more than just a couple weeks, you will notice
that we pray the Lord's Prayer every single week.
It's a part of our service.
Matt did it just a few moments ago, and it is a mainstay of Christian worship.
It's a part of it.
It also, for us that have been a part of Messiah for some time, it can get old hat.
We can go on autopilot when we have our prayers, when we go through the liturgy.
I don't want to say familiarity breeds contempt, but maybe familiarity breeds apathy.
The thing is, the Lord's Prayer isn't just something that we ought to rifle off.
It's very, very important.
In fact, it's actually the basis upon which we should model our prayer life.
In many ways, in our lives, we should model our lives after the Lord's Prayer.
The centuries-old way that Christians have instructed other Christians, other potential Christians
on the Christian faith have centered around three things.
The Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer.
And really, an easy way to think of it is what to believe, how to live, and how to pray.
These things are just the rocks, the foundational pieces of what it means to be a Christian.
Last week, we looked at the Ten Commandments as the means by which we are to live out the
gospel as God's people.
So this week, we're looking at the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter 6.
If you have a Bible, I would love it if you would follow along with me, although I'm sure
we'll have the words on the screen as well.
But if you have a Bible, pull it out.
The Lord's Prayer opens with an address to God.
Actually, before we get into this, I mean, like the Lord's Prayer, we could do a summer
series on this over seven, eight, nine weeks.
We have one week to do it.
So we're not necessarily going to go forensic in terms of an exposition on the Lord's Prayer.
But it's important that we get some handles on it before we jump in.
You'll see that the Lord's Prayer opens up with an address to God.
We look at it in verse 9.
It says,
And then it's followed by seven petitions, three of which have to do with God, four of
which have to do of a personal nature.
And then it wraps up with a doxology or a bit of praise to the Lord.
And like I mentioned before, this gives us a framework for prayer and really a framework
for our lives as Christians.
The Lord's Prayer also is deeply important because it helps us to do three things.
It helps us to do three things.
It helps us not to emphasize the personal over the transcendent.
I'll explain this, but that's the first point.
The second thing is to not, it helps us not to value the giver over the gifts.
And the third thing it does is it helps us not just pray to God, but to also praise God.
So I'll say those three things again.
The first is it helps us, the Lord's Prayer helps us not to emphasize the personal over the
transcendent.
The second is not to value the gifts over the giver.
And the last thing that it helps us to do is to not just pray to God, but also to praise God.
Okay, so that first one, it helps us to not emphasize the personal over the transcendent.
So it's important to know that Jesus wasn't the only rabbi that was walking around in the
Galilee and in ancient Israel with followers.
That's not to somehow diminish who Jesus is, but just historically, there were other people
that claimed authority, that claimed to be great, great rabbis, maybe even Messiah figures.
Jesus wasn't the only one at that time.
They would teach on God, their understanding of God.
By the way, just to be clear, I'm not equating the two, okay?
Just explaining this.
They would teach on God, their understanding of God.
They would interpret the Bible in certain ways.
But it's really interesting that out of all of the documents we have from that first century,
even if we go back through the Old Testament, before Jesus, there wasn't any teaching on how
to pray by addressing God as Father.
There was no, up until Jesus, nobody taught, hey, when you pray, you should address God as Father.
It starts with Jesus.
That's significant.
It's not a throwaway, it's not something to throw away as if, you know, that's a detail
that doesn't really matter.
It's just a part of the story.
It matters because if we look at what precedes the Lord's Prayer, Jesus defines what is legitimate
prayer from not legitimate prayer.
And this is what he says in verse 5.
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray
in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others.
Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.
Lord, jump down to verse 7.
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they
will be heard for their many words.
Jesus contrasts the Lord's Prayer that begins with our Father with two kinds of prayer.
I'll add a third one, and you'll understand why I'm going to add a third one.
But the first one is this ostentatious prayer, this almost obnoxious prayer, this prayer that
goes out and says, look at me, I'm a real religious person.
The type of prayer that is not so much for the connection between the person praying to
God, but for the connection of the person praying to everybody else that's watching them.
Jesus says that's not a good prayer.
In fact, that's not a prayer at all.
The second thing he talks about is this thoughtless religious prayer as if to strong arm God into
doing the things that you want him to do.
I have prayed, I have been religious, I have spent hours heaping up words, doing religious
things, praying nonstop.
You better hear me, you better do what I say.
It's almost as if you are forcing God into a corner to act.
Jesus here, he says that's no way to pray either.
The third category I would throw in would be for those that don't pray at all.
That is one of those categories that is a tough thing for us to admit to if we call ourselves
Christian, if we have put our faith and hope and trust in Jesus, that there are seasons
that we just don't pray at all.
And by implication of Jesus teaching us how to pray, he is encouraging us to be people
who pray, to not be people that don't pray.
So really there's these three kinds of prayers that Jesus, one of them being no prayer at all,
approaches the prayer that Jesus then contrasts with what?
He says, but when you pray, in verse six, but when you pray, go into your room and shut the door
and pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you.
Verse eight, do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him.
Pray then like this, our father in heaven.
It means that our prayers are deeply, deeply, deeply personal.
It means that we are praying to God as father in relational terms.
That's very significant.
I will just say this.
The evangelical church for decades, I should say for decades as if I'm some kind of historian
for all of my life, has preached, you need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,
which is very true.
But they've said it in such a way that it has become kind of cliche,
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a personal relationship with God,
as if to sap the very meaning behind it.
It's like a tagline.
It's maybe on a bumper sticker, a fridge magnet.
It's become kitschy to say, have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ or a personal relationship with God.
Yet, if we just kind of step away from the kitschy evangelicalism,
by the way, we're an evangelical church if you're visiting us for the first time,
if we just take a step away from that,
there is something so profound about praying to God in a personal way,
in a relational way.
I can attest to it that Orthodox Jewish people do not pray to God in a personal way.
I mean, they would relate to God in a personal way in terms of the nation of Israel would,
but in a personal, personal way?
Islam similarly does not pray to a personal God.
Nowhere do we see this call to a personal prayer life with God
apart from what we see in the scriptures.
It means that we pray from this relational place,
not praying in a performative way to reach some relational place.
That we have union with God,
and from that union with God,
we then pray.
We don't pray in order
to force God's hand
for union with him.
If you remember last week,
and if you haven't,
we have it on YouTube,
we looked at the Ten Commandments,
and the remarkable thing about the Ten Commandments
is that it opens up by saying
that I am the Lord your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery,
and then it goes on
with the rest of the Ten Commandments.
But it starts from a place of relationship,
a place of salvation.
So too does this,
when we say our Father.
If we say our Father of God,
we have to ask,
how then have we become children of God?
How are we able to call God Father?
So I'm trying to plant this church out in Kanata,
Messiah Kanata.
Please pray for us.
We have a Tuesday evening group
with some folks that have committed,
other folks that are just checking us out,
and we've been going through the Apostles' Creed.
It's been incredibly rich to go through it.
And last week,
we looked at the clause.
So we're going clause by clause
through the Apostles' Creed.
Last week,
we looked at the clause,
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son,
our Lord.
And the question came up,
how can Jesus be the only Son of God,
as it says, right?
We believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son.
And yet,
we are called children of God as well.
Are those two things contradictory?
They're not.
And here's why.
On the cross,
God,
the Son of God,
became fully incarnate,
fully man,
and fully God,
Jesus Christ.
And he died for the sins of the world
so that whoever believes in him
would not perish,
but have eternal life.
The Bible speaks of eternal life
as being adopted into God's family,
being called heirs of all of God's promises
and of the heavenly inheritance.
Simply put,
through the Son of God,
we have become adopted
sons and daughters of God.
So to pray our Father
is to be a person
who has put their faith
and hope and trust
in the risen Messiah,
Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
our Lord.
It is deeply personal
to pray our Father.
Why?
Because it came
at a deep personal cost
of God himself
in the person of Jesus.
Bearing our sins upon his shoulders,
paying the unjust penalty
for us
so that we might
be welcomed
into the family of God.
So it's a wonderful thing to pray.
It's a deeply humbling thing to pray.
It's so personal,
but look at
what it's followed up with.
So if you go down
to verse 9 again,
and it says,
Our Father,
what does it say
directly after that?
It says,
Our Father in heaven.
It's very,
very important
that we
don't pick
pieces
from the Bible
out of context.
So it says,
Our Father
who is in heaven,
or if you're used to
the King James,
who art in heaven.
To say that God
is in heaven
isn't to say
that he is in heaven
and not here
with us
right now.
We're not talking
about a Christian
Mount Olympus
where the gods
are up there
and sometimes
they come down
to visit.
Nor is it
if you're into comic books
like the Justice League's
Watchtower
where it's just kind of
hovering over earth
and then a superhero
beams down.
That's not what
it says,
it means when it says
Our Father
who is in heaven.
Rather,
it is this recognition
that God is sovereign
over all,
that he is creator
over all.
God,
one of his attributes
is his omnipresence
or his ubiquity,
that God cannot
be in one place
and not in the other.
He is everywhere.
Everything,
in fact,
is held together
by God.
So to say that
our Father
in heaven
isn't to say
to talk of a distant
God out there
but it's to talk
about a transcendent
God,
an almighty God
that we get
to call Father.
See,
God isn't some kind
of talisman,
not some kind
of
lucky rabbit's foot,
something that we
rub or hold
when we want
good things to happen.
God is deeply personal
but is infinitely
transcendent.
We submit to him
and his will,
not the other way around.
We come to him
on his terms,
not the other way around.
God.
And those things
have to be held
in tension.
They have to be.
In fact,
they don't just need
to be held in tension
but you have to
understand it
because one
without the other
negates
both.
If we say that
God is almighty
and he's not
personal,
then we are
creating
a God
that's a bit
tyrannical,
a God
that is not
the Christian
God in the Bible
but would look
more so
like a God
in the Greek myth
and the Greek myths.
If God is personal
and he is not
almighty,
then
on what basis
is he personal?
Has he dealt
with our sins?
Has he dealt
with our brokenness?
Can we put hope
in him
to right
all the wrongs?
You see,
saying our
Father in heaven
it is
one
and the same.
It is the
personal God.
It is the
transcendent God.
It is the
one true God.
So he is
personal
and
he is
transcendent.
And this is
important for us
as well.
It's good news
for us
because what
we do
a lot
as people
and I would
I would
say
this would
be
a cross
cultural
thing.
So if Canada
has many
different
cultures,
these subcultures,
then I think
this is something
that we could
maybe observe
throughout all
the different
cultures.
But what we do
is we put
our eternal
hope
into temporal
things
and we put
our
we look to
the eternal
to solve
our temporal
problems.
We invert
things.
We don't
we don't have
ordered proper
ordered lives.
And here
we have an
example
right off the
bat in the
Lord's Prayer
where God is
incredibly
personal
where he
helps us
in our
day to day.
It'll
we'll read
in a
in a brief
moment
about how
we can pray
for our
daily bread.
and yet
God is
incredibly
transcendent
so that
we can put
our eternal
hope in
him.
It helps us
to order
the way
we view
life.
Which also
leads really
nicely into
another thing
that the
Lord's Prayer
helps us
to do
to not
value
the giver
over the
gifts.
Years ago
before I was
married
before I
owned a
car
might have
even been
before I
owned a
bicycle.
I owned a
bus pass
though.
I would
ask a
friend
to borrow
her car
and
to do
errands,
to go to
town.
Good friend
at the
time.
And it
got to the
point that
I'd only
talk to
her if
I wanted
to use
her car.
car.
And she
called me
out on
it.
I've been
friends for
a long
time.
She called
me out
on it.
And I
remember
just I
knew she
was right
100%.
I felt
so much
shame.
I used
her.
I valued
her friendship
not for
her but
for what
she could
provide for
me.
That is
a car
to use.
In one
of, you
know, not
to brag or
anything like
that, but
one of the
better moments
of my
life, I
admitted
fault
immediately.
You're
right.
I knew
it.
And
anyways, it
was very
humbling.
It was
very humbling,
that's for
sure.
But how
often do
we treat
God like
this?
We value
not him,
we value
the things
he could
do for
us.
And how
does that
play out?
Well, we
pray when
things get
bad.
And I'm
not talking
necessarily,
you know,
you might
pray for
thank God
for the
food before
the meals
that you
eat.
You're
tucking the
kiddos in,
you know,
you say a
prayer with
them.
But we
only come
to God
in earnest
prayer when
we're on
the ropes,
when we
need
something.
And that's
a good thing
that we pray
to God when
we need
something.
But when
we only
really pray
to him,
when I
only pray
to him when
I need
something,
I,
I was
telling Matt
just before
we jumped
in on the
live stream
that this
has been
one of the
hardest times
of prep
for a
sermon for
me personally
because it
has exposed
how prayerless
of a man
I am.
And I'm
a minister
at church.
I'm supposed
to be praying
for you
guys on
the regular.
And it
just exposed
how prayerless
I am and
how I come
to the
Lord when
I want
something.
Maybe that's
the case for
you too.
And I will
just say
this.
I can
say this
to you
because I'm
including myself
in here.
That's
wrong.
It is
not good.
It is
not good
to ignore
the giver
of the
gift
and just
focus on
the gift.
All too
often this
is our
default,
but the
Lord's
prayer
counteracts
this
default.
It
counteracts
this
default.
How does
it do
that?
Well,
the
Lord's
prayer,
if you
look,
and I
mentioned
this,
it's
seven
petitions,
and it
starts
off with
hallowed
be thy
name.
Your
kingdom
come,
your
will be
done on
earth as
it is
in heaven.
So
there's
the three
that are
directed
to God.
But then
there's
four for
us.
Give
us this
day our
daily bread.
Forgive
us our
debts as
we forgive
those who,
sorry,
I'm just,
I'm reading
it in the
ESV,
but remembering
it in the
King James.
As we
also have
forgiven our
debtors,
lead us not
into temptation,
but deliver us
from evil.
Okay,
those are the
four for
us.
So what we
end up doing
with the
Lord's
prayer is
that we
are constantly
praying for
God's name to
be hallowed,
for God's
kingdom to
come,
God's will
to be done,
and then we
pray for our
own requests.
And it is
this back
and forth
prayer that
we pray
ultimately for
God to
be held at
the highest
of esteem,
that his
name be
hallowed,
which is
simply just
to say that
God is
glorified,
that he is
holy,
that he is
other than
us,
that all
praise is
due to
him,
that his
kingdom
come is
a simple
way to
say how
the gospel
has transformed
the world
through Jesus,
through his
church,
by the power
of the Holy
Spirit,
and continues
to do so,
that we pray
for that,
and God's
will to be
done,
and we see
the most
precious,
beautiful picture
of that with
Jesus in the
garden,
where he
prays that
the cup
will be
passed,
that he
won't have
the drink
of the cup,
but ultimately
he prays to
the Father,
your will,
not mine,
be done.
And in
light of
that,
we say,
God,
please meet
my needs,
please help
me to walk
in your
ways,
please help
me to
avoid evil,
to avoid
darkness,
to avoid
brokenness,
and instead
live into
the good,
and live
into the
light,
and live
into
fullness,
and it's a
back and
forth,
where we're
praying to
God for
his name
to be
lifted high,
and for
him to
meet our
needs,
which glorifies
him as
well,
and eventually,
because nothing
is overnight,
but eventually
we'll start to
value the
giver much
more than
the gift.
Our lives
will be
ordered
properly,
where we
don't love
the temporal
over the
eternal.
not an
overnight
thing,
especially
if it's
your default,
like it's
my default.
But the
Lord's Prayer,
it helps us
with that.
We have to
also remember
that throughout
all of
Scripture,
the true
gift that
God wishes
to give
his people
is himself.
In the
garden,
it is not
the tree
of life
that is
the crown
jewel.
It is
God
himself
dwelling
with man.
All
throughout
the Old
Testament,
there are
instances
and prophecies,
writings.
If we
read through
the Psalms,
it's like
this as
well,
especially
Psalm 16.
But the
true hope
for the
human soul
is God
himself.
At the
end of
the age
in the
book of
Revelation,
St.
John's
Revelation,
what is
the culmination
of all
of redemptive
history?
Is it
not that
God would
dwell with
his people?
God is
the true
gift.
He is
the true
gift.
We can
forget this
all too
often.
And the
Lord's Prayer,
if we pray
it, if we
see what it
truly is,
it helps
us to
renounce
entitlement.
When we
pray to
the Lord,
your kingdom
come, your
will be done
on earth as
it is in
heaven, and
then we
pray, give
us today our
daily bread,
how do we
then act
smugly that
everything comes
from our own
hand, the
sweat of our
own brow,
love, the
hard work
we've done,
the excellent
investing that
we've accomplished
over the
decades, over
the years.
We recognize
that all of
God's gifts
to us, all
of the good
things in our
lives are
gifts from
him.
And we
don't pray
with effervency,
so when it
says, give us
this day our
daily bread, it
seems like a
redundant prayer,
but this is
like a
desperate cry
for people,
especially the
people that
would be
hearing Jesus
in the
Galilee, they
live a
hand-to-mouth
subsistence
type of life.
We don't,
even the
most poor
among us
don't live
that type of
life, maybe
some, but
not like it's
not across
the board.
And yet,
if God
did not give
us breath
in our lungs,
how would we
go to our
jobs, how
do we do
the things
that we
ought to
do?
So we
must understand
then that
there is no
entitlement, it
is all a
gift from
God.
There is a
thanksgiving
that bubbles
up.
We value
the giver
over the
gift.
God's name
and his
kingdom and
his will,
these are all
things that we
need to think
about and dwell
on, talk to
our friends
about, to
not push
aside because
of the
potential
cost that
it will bring
to our
lives.
We might be
very comfortable
with where
we're at now
and we're not
willing necessarily
to pray,
God, your
will be done
in and through
me.
But that's what
this prayer is
calling us to.
God's name.
Because if we
value the
giver over
the gift,
then we want
to please the
giver.
We want to
please the
Lord.
That our
lives, everything
we have, it
is a blessing
from him.
So how
then can we
use it?
And if we
don't feel
the hunger
pains in
our stomach,
then why don't
we seek out
people that
might feel
that?
Why don't we
help them?
Because God
has given
us good
gifts.
And if you're
afraid that
God's will
for your life
will cost
too much,
Romans 12,
2, it says,
what is the
will of God?
It is good,
pleasing,
and perfect.
Good,
pleasing,
and perfect.
What's the
will for your
own life?
Is it good,
pleasing,
and perfect?
Not just to
you, to your
family, but to
those around,
to God
himself?
Again, guys,
I'm pointing
the finger at
me.
It was a
really hard
week.
It was,
putting this
sermon together,
reading through
this word,
and I think
what is scaring
me the most,
in some ways,
true fear,
true confession
about my true
fears, is that
I'm going to go
back home after
this, and I'm
just going to
get on with
my life.
Just status
quo, talk
about doing
God's will,
and then,
I don't know,
I forget
about it.
If God's
will for
all of this
world, including
your life, is
that it is
good, and
pleasing, and
perfect, I
mean, what do
we have to
lose?
To know the
giver, to
know that he
delights in what
we do, and
that we delight
in him.
the chief
end of man,
it says, is
to glorify
God and
enjoy him
forever.
And I have
a friend who
likes adapting
that a little
bit, and he
says the
chief end of
man is to
glorify God
by enjoying
him forever.
remember that
Jesus says,
take my
yoke upon
you, my
yoke is
easy and
my burden
is light.
Even if we
do hard
things, if
we are doing
it and we
know that
God is
pleased, then
it doesn't
become so
burdensome.
but it's
hard when
it's our
default, when
it's my
default.
We must
not value
the giver
over the
gifts.
I think I've
said that
like half a
dozen times,
but it's
good.
Hopefully it's
memorable for
me and for
you.
It also
here talks
about forgiveness.
Again, in
light of God
giving us
forgiveness
through his
son.
And this
is the
tough part.
It tells
us to
pray, to
forgive, to
ask for
forgiveness for
ourselves, but
also that we
need to forgive
others.
And you see
divine forgiveness
is intertwined
with human
forgiveness.
That's really,
really hard if
you've been
wronged.
To pray
this.
To pray
that God
forgive me
like I've
forgiven
other people,
but do you
know what
that person
has done?
Do you
know what
my mom
or my
father, my
dad, my
brother, my
sister, my
spouse, my
spouse has
done?
Do you know
what my
ex-spouse has
done?
It's hard.
I mean, pain
and unforgiveness,
it is, I do
not want to
downplay that at
all.
but if we
understand that
we have been
forgiven an
eternal debt
by God, that
we have sinned
in a huge way
against the
living God, that
we will start
to see that
debt against
us begin to
diminish.
When you are
filled with
thanksgiving, when
you are filled
with, I should
say not filled,
when the chains
are taken off,
there is a
lightness that
you see things
differently,
especially if
you see
yourself as a
sinner, as
somebody who
has really
offended the
living God,
then who are
you to hold
it above
someone else
if God
doesn't hold
it above you?
In the end,
we want to
do, we want
to pray that
God would
forgive our
sins, and
in light of
praying, your
kingdom come,
your will be
done, hallowed
be your name.
It's hard, it's
not easy, but
without God's
forgiveness, we
have no mechanism
to deal with the
past.
We just don't.
Our culture
right now, what
is our culture
doing right now
with the past?
It's going on a
witch hunt.
It is a witch
hunt.
It really is.
And conservatives
are doing it just
as much as
liberals.
It is endemic.
It's a big
problem right
now.
It really is.
We don't know
what forgiveness
is.
We want to
tie people to
the stake and
be the person
to light the
wood, to set
them ablaze.
We don't
understand.
We don't have a
mechanism for
forgiveness to
deal with the
past, and yet
here it is.
Forgive us our
sins as we
forgive those who
sinned against
us.
What does
Jesus say?
How many times
must we forgive
our brother that
wrongs us?
He says seven
times seventy,
which is a
wonderful way of
saying however
long it takes.
That doesn't
mean we just
ignore wrongs.
Justice still
needs to be
carried out for
some heinous
things.
forgiveness.
But forgiveness,
I mean that is
freedom.
And we can
forgive others.
We can.
It might take
time.
Might need to
have a chat
with George or
myself or
somebody else you
trust.
Maybe work
through some of
this stuff.
It's not easy.
But it is
liberating,
especially if you
know that you've
been liberated
yourself.
The last thing
that this does,
the Lord's Prayer,
what it helps us
to do, is to
not just pray to
God, but to
praise him.
We've talked
a lot about
God, about
hallowing his
name, his
kingdom come,
his will be
done, about
how he meets
our needs.
And friends,
if you are
honest with
yourself right
now, this can
seem as though
there's a
weight, a
heavy weight
that's put on
you by me.
I mean,
potentially.
But this is,
like I mentioned,
one of the most
freeing things we
can do.
Remember that
God's will is,
it is good,
perfect, and
pleasing.
And when we
encounter God
and as we
pray to him,
we'll realize
we are free
people.
And we pray,
like with the
Ten Commandments,
we live out the
Ten Commandments
from a place of
salvation.
We pray the
Lord's Prayer
from a place of
complete liberation.
And this will
elicit praise.
It just will.
when Jill read
the Lord's Prayer
in verse 13,
it ends by
saying,
but deliver us
from evil.
When we pray it
at Church of the
Messiah,
it says,
for yours is the
kingdom, the
power, and the
glory forever and
ever.
And it's just not,
I mean, if you
have a Bible,
there might be a
footnote there
that will say
something like
that in the
earliest manuscripts,
that section is
omitted.
and it's true,
the earliest and
most reliable
manuscripts we
have of Matthew's
Gospel does not
include that.
It's added later.
But it's still
worthwhile to pray.
It's incredibly
biblical to pray,
for yours is the
kingdom, the power,
and the glory forever
and ever.
Absolutely, it's
biblical.
But it is also
important that we
do that because we
pray to God and
it then, if we
truly grasp what
we're praying, we
will praise him.
We will.
The Lord's Prayer
opens up with an
address about God.
It has seven
petitions.
But then if we
say for yours, it
ends with doxology,
a worship of God.
We can't be moved
by God, truly moved
by him, and then
not praise him.
He redeems
mankind for the
sake of love.
He's a promise
keeping God.
He genuinely
desires to bless
us for our
good, that he
blesses us with
his very presence.
We get taste of it
in this life, but
the promise is for
the life to come.
It means that
Jesus himself is
the ultimate
gift that we
pray for in the
Lord's Prayer.
Jesus has made
a way.
In fact, Jesus is
the very embodiment
of the Lord's Prayer.
Consider this, that
if we go through
kind of line by
line of the
Lord's Prayer, he's
the embodiment of
it.
He called God
Father.
He is the only
begotten Son.
We are the
adopted sons.
He calls God
Father.
He brought honor
to his name.
He ushered in the
kingdom.
He submitted to
the will of the
Father.
So he says, I only
do what I see my
Father doing.
He gave himself as
the very bread of
life.
The very bread of
life.
He won forgiveness
for us on the
cross.
He suffered
temptation, but did
not give in.
And what does he
do?
He delivers us from
evil.
He is the very
embodiment of the
Lord's Prayer.
And when we pray
it, we can pray it
with Jesus in mind.
And this brings
praise to our
hearts if it moves
us.
If it moves us.
We have this
saying that seems
to have developed in
our small group for
the church plant
where we say
theology, proper
theology leads to
proper doxology.
theology, when you
understand, truly
understand what God
has done for us in
Christ Jesus, then
our hearts will be
moved to praise him
properly, to praise
him with our whole
hearts, to learn how
to praise him.
It is deeply, deeply
connected.
I really don't want to
burden people.
just kind of in
closing, I really
don't want to burden
people with, hey, you
need to pray more or
else, you know, you're
no good.
I don't want that at
all.
Life is full of
anxieties and we've
had just a tremendously
difficult, like what,
what are we on, like
month 15 or 16?
I don't know, a lot, a
lot of time has gone
by in this, in this
pandemic with
restrictions.
I don't want to guilt
anybody into any of
that.
But if prayer truly is
turning our heart
toward God to listen
and to speak with him,
as our catechism says,
it would seem to me that
prayer provides an
opportunity to give our
problems and our
concerns and our, and
and our anxieties to
God, knowing that he
and only he can
alleviate all of the
pain, all of the, the,
the, the trouble, all
of the things that we
try to mask with, with
either substance or
busyness or
entertainment, whatever it
may be, that never
truly fixes things.
Only he can deal with
it.
We can enjoy his grace
and his love and his
kindness.
We bring our desires to
the Lord and ultimately
we pray our father and
we're praying, God, give
me yourself, teach me
your ways, help me to
deny myself, to deny my
entitlements, help me to
live a life that says
your will be done through
me, your kingdom come
through me, through our
church, through my
family.
You're not going to get
it right every time, but
by God's grace, he's
going to start
transforming your heart.
We'll learn to enjoy
God and we might go
through seasons of
dryness and if you're in
one right now, it's okay,
but still say pray.
Pray.
If it feels like you're
going through the
motions, it won't feel
like you're going for
through the motions for
very long.
I haven't given you guys
any kind of practical
tools, but just a few
things.
You want to pray if at
all possible with other
people, but for sure by
yourself.
And if you can, try to
pray as early as you can.
Try to make it the first
thing you do.
And if you have
children, it's difficult.
If you're working shift
work, that's hard to.
God's not like, listen, if
you don't pray between six
and six thirty, like don't
bother.
He doesn't say that.
But try to make it one of
the first things.
And start with two minutes
or three minutes.
Start with an aid.
I tried my best to pray
with the Book of Common
Prayer, the morning prayer
service.
I like books, like physical
books, as opposed to using
my smartphone, just because I
can get lost.
An hour can go by on
YouTube on my smartphone.
But you could use morning
prayer, and it helps us then
to structure our prayer life.
You can also use, and I
think Claire will throw it
up, the Daily Prayer app.
And it is an adaptation of
the prayer book, but in
contemporary language and
really beautiful backgrounds
if you're into that kind of
stuff.
And I think it's about ten
minutes long.
They throw some scripture in
there, they throw some
prayers in there, and it's
really good.
It's called the Daily Prayer
app.
There's also the Book of
Common Prayer app.
It's called Daily Prayer, and
it's from the Church of
England.
You can check that out.
It's not as pretty, but it's
like a full version of this
on your phone.
Or if you have another way of
praying, you can pray through
the Psalms, whatever it may
be.
Try your best.
By God's strength, ask him to
help you to pray.
And then pray.
Ask somebody to hold you
accountable to it and pray.
And see how the Lord will
transform your life.
One last thing before we
close.
God really, really, really
loves you.
And that's not a kitschy thing
to say.
If it seems kitschy, that's
okay.
He really, really loves you.
He really, really, like
desperately wants to connect
with you.
So much so that he sent his
son, Jesus Christ, fully man,
fully God, to make a way for
you to enjoy his presence.
Isaiah 65 verse 24 says this.
This is God speaking.
Before they call, I will answer.
While they're yet speaking, I will
hear.
He is, like your sins are paid
for.
He's not waiting to punish you.
He's desperate for you to come.
Now, I shouldn't say desperate
as if God is some man who has
needs.
But he wants to meet with you.
In 12 weeks, because this is
Trinity Sunday, the collect for the
12th Sunday after Trinity says
this.
He is always more ready to hear
than we are to pray.
And isn't that the truth?
Friends, if you have put your faith
and hope and trust in Jesus, or if
you're thinking about it, today is
the perfect day to ask God to help
you to pray.
And then we can pray together.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and
forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against
us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power
and the glory forever and ever.
Amen.