Good Monday morning! Hope you had a wonderful fourth. Glad we can start the week together in the Pastor's Workshop.
This week we'll continue with our series, "Prepare with Prayer". Our hope is that prayer would become a more powerful tool you can use more effectively to integrate your faith more fully into your daily living.
The Scripture this week comes from the Gospel of Luke, Luke 11:1-13. Of all the Gospels, Luke is the book that emphasizes the power of prayer and the working of the Holy Spirit.
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"
5 Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' 7 And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
As you see, this Scripture covers "a lot of ground." It begins with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray, the Lord's Prayer, and then three of Jesus' teachings on prayer. What we'll be doing in this week's message is seeing how all these elements fit together in an overarching truth. The title for our message is "Game On."
As always on Monday we immerse ourselves in the text of the week. So read and re-read, copy and re-copy, listen carefully. What are the ideas and images that "speak" to you? Make sure you jot these down in your notebook.
Tomorrow we'll look more closely at each of the sections of the Scripture. We'll identify key elements. We'll see how they interact to advance our core message.
So, I'll let you get to work. And I look forward to being with you tomorrow!
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for this day and this new week. Thank you for the gift of prayer. Thank you for the ways prayer gives expression to the hope of our hearts. Thank you for the hope You have for us and the ways Jesus leads us to pray into that hope. In that blessing, we lift our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
In Christ,
Paul