Matthew 6:7-8 Jesus said, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
You are there in the midst of my prattle
and my hiding
Thank you for your patient presence
Thank you for calling me again to what is deeper and true
Forgive me for defaulting to well-worn words
Empty language borrowed from ritual or even scripture
Help me come to you honest and real
nothing veiled, nothing hidden
Help me come to you present and fresh
new every morning
Matthew 6:9-10 Jesus said, “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Glory to You, Heavenly One
Abba, Maker, Creator
I long for your kingdom, the fullness of your grace and victory
The longing is a sign of you in me
Abide more and more, so I not only long but look and see
Abide forever, so I not only long but pray and speak and act
Full-filling your words
now mine
The Lord’s Prayer informs, forms, and transforms us and the world. – Lisa Degrenia.
The Evil One in Scripture
1. A Cosmic struggle organized against God
Ephesians 6:10-12
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
2. The Evil One devours and destroys
1 Peter 5:6-8
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
3. The Evil One is a deceiver and liar
2 Corinthians 11:14
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
4. The Evil One twists situations into temptations
Satan tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden – Genesis 3
Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness – Luke 4:1-13; Matthew 4:1-11
Worship Resources for this Message
Renewal of Baptismal Vows
I renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of my sins.
I accept the freedom and power God gives me to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.
I confess Jesus Christ as my Savior, put my whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as my Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races.
According to the grace given to me, I will remain a faithful member of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representative in the world.
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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Leon and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
The Lord’s Prayer informs, forms, and transforms us and the world. – Lisa Degrenia.
Colossians 2:13-14
And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.
Psalm 103:12
as far as the east is from the west so far he removes our transgressions from us
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
If I’m not willing to forgive others then I’m not asking God to forgive me, no matter what words I use. I am asking God to excuse me, but not asking God to forgive me. – Darrell Johnson
God forgives the penitent and one of the chief evidences of true penitence is a forgiving spirit. – John Stott
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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Leon and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
The Lord’s Prayer informs, forms, and transforms us and the world. – Lisa Degrenia.
Give us this day, our daily BREAD
GIVE us this day, our daily bread
Give us THIS DAY, our DAILY bread
Give US this day, OUR daily bread
Our response to realizing God’s generous, great grace and our daily dependence upon God and others (interdependence)
trust
humility
gratitude
solidarity
justice
James 1:17 NRSV
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Proverbs 30:7-9 NRSV
Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die.
Remove far from me falsehood and lying.
Give me neither poverty nor riches.
Feed me with the food that I need,
or I shall be full, and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.
We live in a society that abhors dependence upon God or anyone else. Yet every time we ask God for bread, we are acknowledging not only our dependence upon a beneficent God but also our dependence on other people. No bread comes to our table without the work, the sacrifice and the gifts of strangers whom we do not know and cannot thank. – Will Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us
The bread that is spoiling in your house belongs to the hungry.
The shoes that are mildewing under your bed belong to those who have none.
The clothes stored in your trunk belong to those who are naked.
The money that depreciates in your treasury belongs to the poor. ~St. Basil the Great
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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Leon and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
The Lord’s Prayer informs, forms, and transforms us and the world. – Lisa Degrenia
We have no idea of how to live until we first know who God is.
So when we say that God’s name is holy, that tells us how we ought to live.
Knowing the Creator tells us where the creation is meant to move. – Will Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us- The Lord’s Prayer and the Christian Life
Hallow has two meanings
1) To holy-fy and honor
2) To make known, reveal
If you claim to be a child of God, a follower of the Risen Christ, live like it and pray like it. – Lisa Degrenia
Matthew 25:37-40
37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Matthew 5:16
Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Leon and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
1. Say the Lord’s Prayer first thing when you wake in the morning and/or as the last thing before you go to sleep.
2. Use the Lord’s Prayer as your table grace before a meal.
3. When someone shares a joy or a problem with you, pray the Lord’s Prayer together to intentionally acknowledge the saving presence and action of God on your behalf.
4. Repeat the prayer slowly in the rhythm of your breathing. Meditating on God’s Word in this fashion centers us and quiets us- body, mind, and spirit. Meditation is an essential practice in our noisy and fast paced world.
Sunday- Our Father who art in heaven
Monday- Hallowed be thy name.
Tuesday- Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Wednesday- Give us this day our daily bread
Thursday- Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
Friday- Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Saturday- For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
6. Darrell W. Johnson in his book Fifty-Seven Words That Change the World believes the heart of the Lord’s Prayer is the phrase “on earth as it is in heaven.” As such, he finds it helpful to repeat the phrase after each petition.
Our Father who art in heaven
Hallow your name on earth as it is in heaven
Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread on earth as it is in heaven
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us on earth as it is in heaven
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one on earth as it is in heaven
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
7. Both N.T. Wright and Darrell Johnson suggest using each petition of the Lord’s Prayer as a starting point for praying for God’s transforming power in the world.
Wright says, “We live, as Jesus lived, in a world all too full of injustice, hunger, malice, and evil. This prayer cries out for justice, bread, forgiveness and deliverance. If anyone thinks those are irrelevant in today’s world, let them read the newspaper and think again.”
Thus “Kingdom come” leads us to pray specifically for places and persons in need of peace and just systems of governance and business. “Daily Bread” – access to and the just distribution of life’s essentials. “Forgiveness” for sins of omission and commission, for the redemption of personal, corporate, and systemic sin. “Deliver us from evil”- deliverance from “powers and principalities”, along with deliverance from unseen evil and the Evil One
Here’s an example from Johnson:
Our Father, your name is hallowed in heaven; hallow it on earth, in me, in my family, in this city. O Father, your kingdom has come in heaven; cause it to come on earth, in my house, in my neighborhood, in this country. O Father, your will is done in heaven; make it be done on earth, in my work place, in the work places in Vancouver and Seattle and Dallas and Mexico City and Tokyo and Baghdad and Calcutta and Nairobi. O Father, your name be hallowed; your kingdom come, your will be done on Main Street and Wall Street, as it is in heaven.
The Lord’s Prayer informs, forms, and transforms us and the world. – Lisa Degrenia
God is the Father. Family is the church. – Willimon and Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us
Those who speak of having “a personal relationship with Christ,” are right, it is personal. But is it not private. We are all in this together. – Willimon and Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us
We ask you to begin by praying the Lord’s Prayer. This is the fount from which all Christian belief and action flows, the daily bending of our lives toward a God who has, in Jesus Christ, so graciously leaned toward us. – Willimon and Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us
Extended quote from Darrell W. Johnson, Fifty-Seven Words That Change the World
A number of years ago I was wrestling with this. I said to Jesus, “I like you prayer, but it would be so much more inviting for more people if you had taught us to pray the prayer to you. Where are you in this prayer?”
And in my mind I heard John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” I sensed Jesus saying to me, The Father is just like me.” The Father, God the Father, is just as good, just as gentle, just as kind, just as approachable, just as vulnerable, just as welcoming, just as generous as Jesus. Jesus’ open arms are the open arms of his Father. Jesus’ open heart is the open heart of his Father. It is the passion of Jesus to help us know his Father as he knows him, to love his Father as he loves him, to trust his Father as he trusts him.
Worship Resources for this Message Make us your children by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Heavenly Father,
Your reach extends to every person, every nation
Offering grace, forgiveness, wholeness, and hope
A saving embrace
Drawing us to you and each other
Make us your children
Grateful for a place in your family
Humble before your love and generosity
Faithful in honoring and welcoming all
Joyful in sharing what we have found in you
Amen.
Prayer by Pamela C Hawkins from The Awkward Season:Prayers for Lent
Teach me to pray, O Christ,
That your kingdom will come,
That your will be done,
That earth will become like heaven
For the hurt and the hurting,
The wounded and warring,
The hated and the hating.
Teach me to pray, O Christ, for the power is yours.
Amen.
Prayer by Sam Hamilton-Poore from Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation
Help me, dear God,
to see my brother with the eyes of Christ,
to hear my sister with the ears of Christ,
to taste my neighbor’s hunger with the mouth of Christ,
to smell creation’s beauty with the nose of Christ,
to touch the world’s pain with the hands of Christ
and to love life, each life, every life,
with the heart of Christ.
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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Leon and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
