Sermon Central
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How You Should Pray: Embracing The Lord's Prayer
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 9, 2025 (message contributor)
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1. A Solid Starting Point For Effective Prayer
Contributed on Apr 9, 2025
The beginning of the Lord's Prayer is the words "Our Father in heaven." This starts our prayer with the fact that we are asking for help. How does this phrase encourage us in that direction?
- A couple opening points for the sermon series as a whole. - First, the Lord’s Prayer is a good antidote to our limited prayer life. - Many of us have prayer lives that are largely limited to asking for stuff, whether it’s for ourselves or for others. Now, that's a good thing to do, but ...read more
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2. How Can I Make God’s Name More Hallowed?
Contributed on Apr 23, 2025
A look at "hallowed be Your name" and what it means to make that a part of our prayer life.
NOT AS IT SHOULD BE: God’s name is not hallowed in this world as it should be. - Matthew 6:9. - “Hallowed” is not a word that we use a lot, so it’s probably worth taking a second to define it. - The definition of the Greek word for “hallowed” is “to separate from profane things and dedicate to ...read more
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3. What Does It Mean That Jesus’ Kingdom Is On Its Way?
Contributed on Apr 23, 2025
This sermon focuses on "Your Kingdom come" in the Lord's Prayer. What does it mean to pray for that to come about?
“YOUR KINGDOM COME": Jesus is inaugurating a kingdom. - Matthew 6:10. - So there is an important and underused word here in this part of the Lord’s Prayer: kingdom. - Let’s set the stage as we have in previous sermons. This is the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus is teaching us how to pray. He is ...read more
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4. Why Are We Praying For God’s Will If It Always Happens Anyway?
Contributed on Apr 29, 2025
Many presume that everything that happens is God's will. That's not true. What does it look like to pray that God's will would start to be done here on earth as it is done in heaven?
WHY PRAY THIS? This is a prayer because it isn’t happening much now. - Matthew 6:10. - So in this fourth part of the sermon, Jesus calls us to pray for God’s will to be done. - But, wait, isn’t that already happening all the time? We hear people constantly speak that whatever happened was God’s ...read more
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5. Can I Count On God For My Practical Needs?
Contributed on May 6, 2025
Some practical encouragement on how to see God provide for our "daily bread" needs.
ON MY OWN? Many Christians don’t count on God to come through but live as though they are on their own. - Matthew 6:11. - Most of us as Christians live as though it is up to us to provide for our lives, without any thought of divine help. - This is proven in a few different ways: a. Our paltry ...read more
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6. How To Ask God For Forgiveness As A Christian
Contributed on May 13, 2025
Practical insight on asking God to forgive our sins as we walk daily with Christ.
NOT JUST WHEN WE'RE SAVED: Asking for forgiveness is supposed to be a regular part of my walk of faith. - Matthew 6:12a. - Let me start by saying that we are going to handle v. 12 in two parts. This week we will look at the first half of the verse; next week the second half. I am doing this ...read more
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7. Do I Want God To Forgive Me As I Forgive Others?
Contributed on May 20, 2025
Jesus puts forward challenging words in the second half of v. 12 - calling us to ask for forgiveness in the same way we have forgiven others. Verses 14-15 emphasize the expectation from God that we will forgive others as part of having been forgiven by Him. What happens when we live this out?
DOES THIS SCARE ME? Do I want God to forgive me as I forgive others? - Matthew 6:12b, 14-15. - I said last week as we unpacked the first half of v. 12 that we often don’t put a lot of thought into what that actually means. In that case it had to do with making confession of our sins a regular ...read more