“Give us each day our daily bread.” (Luke 11:3) Prayer is a joint effort; a community project. Not only are we praying to “our Father,” but as this next request indicates we are praying for “our daily bread.” We are to be concerned for the provision of each…
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…your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 The first three requests have been about the Father: His name, His kingdom, and now His will. It is not uncommon for prayer to be about our name, our kingdom and our will. By following…
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(Continued from Our Father, and Hallowed Be Your Name) Your Kingdom come. Matthew 6:10 What does it mean for God’s Kingdom to come? That depends on your circumstances when you are praying, and what other kingdom you are currently living under. So for instance, people in the United…
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(Continued from Our Father.) This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…. Matthew 6:9 After addressing the One to Whom we pray as Father, and identifying ourselves in our coming as a part of His family, the first request we are…
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This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… Matthew 6:9 Our Lord Jesus taught us to pray and gave us specific instructions how to pray. Yet I find, with regard to the Lord’s prayer, that the church today tends to go…
Read MoreReading: 1 Kings 16:34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by…
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Reading: Psalm 107 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! (2) Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble (3) and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west,…
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Reading: 1 Kings 3 Solomon’s wisdom was famous in his own day and it is well known now. But what was so great about Solomon’s wisdom? Why does it receive such prominence in the Biblical story? And, what did Jesus mean when he said, “and now something greater…
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Reading: Psalm 94 The book of Psalms engages the world as it really is; it has no Pollyanna view of the world. When celebrating victory, it sounds triumphant. When viewing injustice and evil, it describes with equal fervor the brokenness of this fallen world. Psalm 94 is a…
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Reading: John 3 Most Americans know who Simon Cowell is – former lead judge on American Idol, now X-Factor. Eager to be affirmed, contestants audition in front of judges who then critique them. Simon’s insults are what make the show. His affirmation is rare but the most prized.…
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Reading: Acts 21:18—23:35 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Act 23:11) Over the past two Sundays we’ve examined Paul’s time in Jerusalem in Acts 21–23. In trying…
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Reading: Psalm 9 – 10 Scholars debate whether Psalm 9 and 10 were originally one psalm or two, but they agree that these two psalms are clearly intertwined. These psalms use consecutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, beginning in Psalm 9 and finishing in Psalm 10. Viewed this…
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The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. (Acts 28:15) Paul makes a unique contribution in…
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Reading: Romans 10–11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. (Rom 11:11 ESV) Early in my Christian walk I heard a preacher say, “God…
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Reading: Judges 5 The book of Judges narrates a recurrent story of God’s people forgetting Him, worshiping idols, therefore falling into demise, and God delivering them. Each time the Lord rescues them, it leads to a period of peace. Judges 4–5 (the story of Deborah, Barak, Jael, and…
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