Greed or need?
In your prayers of petition, are you able to identify whether your requests are based on greed or need? Reflect back over your most recent prayers of petition and ask yourself if they leaned more in the direction of greed or need.
Jesus in the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer teaches his disciples to ask God to "Give us this day our daily bread." Bread is food at its most basic level. It represents our essential needs to survive. Most of us at Redeemer are surrounded by material affluence and thus in our prayer lives we might have the temptation to skip over this fourth petition. However, upon deeper reflection, the fourth petition might actually be the most relevant petition in the Lord's Prayer to us!
Prepare with me for worship on Sunday by reading, meditating, and praying the Lord's Prayer from the Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13. Pause and take a few minutes to ponder the fourth petition. Ask God what your most basic needs are, how he is providing for you, and how you can deepen your dependence on him.
I look forward to worshiping and praying with you this Sunday!
Pastor Adam
Praying The Lord's Prayer: Our Daily Bread
Matthew 6:9-13
October 7, 2018 • Rev. Adam Feichtmann
How Not To Pray (A Prologue to Praying the Lord's Prayer)
November 4, 2018 • Rev. Adam Feichtmann
Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, but before he did he taught them how not to pray. Last Sunday we concluded our fall sermon series on Praying the Lord's Prayer. This Sunday we are taking one week to look at Jesus' prologue to the Lord's Prayer, in which he spends four verses teaching his disciples how not to pray. In preparation for Sunday, read, meditate, and pray through Mathew 6:5-8. Ask yourself if your life of prayer might be similar to two of the examples Jesus gives of how not to pray. If so, reflect on how you might shift more toward the model of prayer found in the Lord's Prayer. I look forward to worshiping and praying with you this Sunday! Pastor Adam
Praying the Lord's Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation
October 21, 2018 • Rev. Chris Stratton
Life is full of temptations and trials. How are we to pray in the midst of difficult times? This Sunday we have the honor of having Rev. Chris Stratton, Academic Dean at Pacifica Christian High School, continue our fall sermon series on Praying the Lord's Prayer. Rev. Stratton will unpack the sixth petition of the prayer from the Gospel of Matthew 6:13 which is, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." In preparation for this Sunday, spend a few minutes reflecting on what temptations and trials are currently in your life, then pray for God to lead you away from those situations and shelter you with his loving protection. Have a blessed weekend and may God encourage and strengthen you as you gather together for common worship around Word and sacrament this Sunday. Pastor Adam