Father, Teach me to Pray
The Protection of Prayer
July 2, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." This Sunday's message is entitled, "The Protection of Prayer" as we look at the last phrase found in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:13. This prayer has a negative request - lead us not into temptation, and a positive request - deliver us from the evil one. These statements bring to our attention several thoughts. First of all, no one is above falling. No one is above yielding to temptation in its multiple forms. Secondly, we need to know how to pray for spiritual protection for ourselves. This Sunday, we'll look at two actions we must take in order to have victory over temptation.
The Pardon of Prayer 2
June 25, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
Christians are characterized as those who forgive. In Matthew 5:43, we find that the traditional Jewish rabbis taught, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy." But Jesus said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you, and persecute you, that ye may be the sons of the Father" (Matthew 5:44,45). It is characteristic of saints to forgive. We are forgiven, are we not? Have we so soon forgotten what has been forgiven us that we would not forgive someone else? When we fail to forgive someone else, we set ourselves up as a higher court than God because God infinitely forgives. This Sunday we will see why and how we are to forgive others.
The Pardon of Prayer
June 18, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
We have been studying the Disciples' Prayer at great length, and we now come to verse 12 in Matthew 6, "And forgive us our debts"; and then a footnote on verse 12 in verses 14 and 15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." These three verses, consisting of the statement in the prayer and the very important, yet very misunderstood footnote in verses 14 and 15, are going to be the subject of our study this Sunday. In this message, we will get close to the place where we all live. We will look at how we are to deal with sin in our lives as well as how we deal with the matter of sin in our relationships with others. God can do an amazing work of cleansing and freedom in our hearts, if are willing to hear Him!
God's Plan
May 21, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
When we pray "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done," we are praying that His rule and reign would come in the hearts and lives of the people who don't know Him; we are praying that His rule and reign would come in our hearts to the fullness He's worthy of; and we're praying, too, that someday He will come and break the tyranny of sin and set this evil, ugly, cursed world right. That glorious day is coming. But till that day, the Kingdom is in our midst as He rules and reigns in the hearts of His people. This Sunday we will look at what "Thy Will Be Done," looks like in our lives.
The Program of Prayer
May 14, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
We serve the Lord as we pray, when our prayers are in accord with His design for prayer. Prayer is as vital to the Christian as breathing is to the human being, giving us our life, and sustenance so we must know how to pray! Here in the Disciples' prayer, or what is commonly know as the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gives us a skeleton from which all prayers are to find form. This Sunday we will be looking at "The Program of Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come." Because this Sunday is Mother's Day, we'll be honoring all our mothers. Two mothers who have the most family members and guests with them will receive a beautiful study Bible. We'll also be having baptism and baby dedication.
The Priority of Prayer
May 7, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." How do we hallow God's name? It's more than words we say in a prayer. The implication in the Lord's Prayer is that God's name is to be hallowed in our lives. This prayer is not saying that God's name is to be revered as holy just in heaven or around the world, it is saying that God's name is to be respected and honored in me and you! This is where prayer begins. "Hallowed be Thy Name" means "In me, God manifest Your holiness by my right knowledge of who You are, and by my right living in response to it." I Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God." Matthew 5:16 says "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." This Sunday we will see how we can hallow God's name in our lives.
The Paternity of Prayer
April 30, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
As we begin the study of the Disciples' Prayer, we face one of the most vital subjects in all of Christian Life. The subject of prayer! Prayer has been much discussed, much talked about, and much taught about; and yet, much misunderstood. As believers we must learn how to pray. If we are to experience the fullness of communion with God and know the fullness of His blessings, we must know how to pray! The disciples asked Jesus, "Lord teach us to pray." May we learn, along with the disciples, as we sit at Jesus' feet and listen in on how the Master taught his disciples to pray! Don't miss this new series on the Disciples' Prayer.
How do you talk to God
April 23, 2017 • Dr. Danny Lovett
When the disciples heard Jesus pray, it was not like any prayers they had heard before. He prayed about personal things, private things, dangerous things, and difficult things. He prayed in the morning for bread to eat later in the day. He spent a lot of time in His prayers praising God. And He prayed for protection from harm. In fact, the disciples were attracted to Jesus' prayers because He prayed about all the stuff they spent time worrying about! So it probably came as no surprise to Jesus when they said, "Teach us to pray." So teach them He did. The prayer He taught them is the most famous in the world. We call it the Lord's Prayer because the Lord Jesus taught it, but it is really the Disciples' Prayer because it was given to His followers as a model for how they should pray. If we are disciples of Jesus, the prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 is for us to use as a pattern for our own prayers. This Sunday we start our new series on The Lords' Prayer. The first sermon is "Daddy, Teach Us to Pray."