This sermon introduction announces a new 4-week series called "Back to the Basics," focusing on the foundational aspects of Christian faith including prayer, scripture, confession, and service, starting with the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian.
Welcome church! Today we’re beginning a new 4-week series called, Back to the Basics. And as you may have guessed, it’s a series about the basics...the foundations of our faith. Over the next 4 weeks we’ll cover PRAYER, SCRIPTURE, CONFESSION, and SERVICE.
It’s going to be an awesome journey together as we head back to the feet of Jesus. Back to where the “Church” originally began. Listening and learning as disciples with Jesus leading the way…“The author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross.” (Hebrews 12:2)
Speaking of Jesus, have you ever wondered how He was able to accomplish all He did in such a short period of time? What was His secret to ministry?
For those who may not know, Jesus is the only begotten son of God the Father. And God sent Jesus into the world so that He might save the world through Him (John 3:16-17). We know Jesus did in fact accomplish what He was destined to do when He was crucified on the cross and raised again to life after three days. But the question remains, how? How was He able to accomplish it all?
Jesus had the benefit of being the divine Son of God, so there’s that. But there’s another part of Jesus’ life here on earth that cannot be understated. And that’s His prayer life. Jesus was always in conversation and communion with the Father. And from what we know from the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John it appears that Jesus kept a regular rhythm of prayer throughout His life.
And if prayer was a foundational part of Jesus’ life, the only Son of God, then it needs to be a foundational part of our lives as well.
And if prayer was a foundational part of Jesus’ life, the only Son of God, then it needs to be a foundational part of our lives as well.
“To believe that God can reach us and bless us in the ordinary junctures of daily life is the stuff of prayer… But when we pray, genuinely pray, the real condition of our heart is revealed. This is as it should be. This is when God truly begins to work with us. The adventure is just beginning.” - Richard Foster
I love this quote from Foster because he’s absolutely right when he refers to prayer as an adventure. It’s an adventure in faith, vulnerability, hope, sadness, grief, and all the other stuff that life throws at us. It’s holy ground. In fact, there’s much more to prayer than I could ever cover in a week, so today we’re going to take a closer look at just a few of the ways the Bible describes prayer.
The first thing that comes to mind is something that we see in the life of Christ; that He was constantly in communion and prayer with the Father.
Constant prayer is a daunting task ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium
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