Posts from May 2022

Our Father who art in heaven,hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come.Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread,and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us,and lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil. (Amen.) 13 And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…Matthew 6:13 (KJV) For weeks we have been evaluating how Jesus taught us to pray.  These lines or phrases are pieces of…

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) A lot of times we can sit there and say, “Well, this person isn’t sorry. They don’t deserve my forgiveness.” In this verse we see that Christ forgives us and He wants us to do the same to others. God’s forgiveness is unlimited. We can always go to Him with a repentant heart. God forgives us even when we don’t deserve it.…

Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 (MSG) This verse was linked to the point “Please forgive me” from the message last weekend. When you are truly sorry and ask for forgiveness, it means that you will repent for what you have done. It means that you have severe regret or remorse. When…

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17 (NIV) Pastor Chris linked this verse to the saying “I am sorry.” He pointed out in this verse that contrite means “I am sorry at the core of my being.” When you do wrong against people or against God, your heart should be broken. This is what sorry truly means. If you are saying sorry to people and not…

It is harder to win back the friendship of an offended brother than to capture a fortified city. His anger shuts you out like iron bars. Proverbs 18:19 (TLB) In the message last weekend, Pastor Chris links this verse to the saying “I am wrong.” Admitting that you have done wrong against someone is really hard to admit sometimes. A lot of times we like to move the blame so it doesn’t all fall on us. In this passage it…

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12 (NIV) Everyone has debts to pay and people that have debts against us. It is not all about owing money. Forgiveness is to tell a person “I know you did this, but I will no longer hold it against you. You do not owe me anything anymore.” It isn’t about forgetting what that person has done or letting them do it again. It is taking something…

So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.  Exodus 16:35 (NLT) The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and God provided for them until it was time to transition into their next phase and possess their inheritance.  The next phase of their provision came from following God’s commands.  They were able to…

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:17-18 (NIV) We sometimes focus on the material things in our lives.  We see the things we need in…

He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. Deuteronomy…

But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it,…

“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Exodus 16:3a-b (NLT) As we are moving forward in life, sometimes we can complain about how hard the transition can be.  Imagine a trapeze artist flying through the air.  They have to let go of one bar to reach for the next one.  Sometimes we have to let go of what we know…

 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.  Luke 11:9-10 (NIV) Jesus urges boldness and persistence when we pray.  He also assures us that God will answer our prayers.  What love and confidence to know that when we…

 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…

42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Luke 22:42-44 (NLT) These words of Jesus are taken from the scene when He is on the cross and suffering…

Our Father who art in heaven,hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come.Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread,and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us,and lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil. (Amen.) 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew…

Our Father who art in heaven,hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come.Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread,and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us,and lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil. (Amen.) 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew…

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (NIV) When we pray we need to remember this verse. We need to remember how powerful God is. He is the one who gives us the gift of salvation. Jesus came to earth to rescue us, to save us from our sin. He saw who we are and still died for us anyways.…

9 “This, then, is how you should pray… Matthew 6:9a (NIV) ALIGN YOUR HEART WITH GOD’S HEART. 9 ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… Matthew 6:9b (NIV) After stating what not to do, Jesus goes into what we should do as it relates to prayer. He wants to make sure that you have your heart aligned with God’s heart before the prayer. Then He goes into what to start prayer with. We talked last week about starting it…

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:7-8 (NIV) When you pray, don’t use a lot of meaningless words. Some people will pray to make themselves the center and the most important. God sees that. When we pray it is not to persuade God, it…

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6 (NIV) Prayer is a conversation between you and God. Although it is great to pray with others, Jesus said when you pray there is something important about spending time alone with God. Your motive when you pray is also important. We went through how you…

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. Matthew 6:5 (NIV) When Jesus was asked how to pray, He started with some things not to do. In this verse, He does not want people to pray like the hypocrites. They made a show out of prayer.…