This past Sunday, I shared a message based out of the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. In that chapter, Jesus prays for his disciples and for us, those who would follow him in the future. As I prepared for the message, I noticed a glaring discrepancy between the way Jesus prays and what we pray for. In that prayer, Jesus prays for us to be one. He asks the Father to protect that unity. His declaration is simple: our oneness will demonstrate to the world that Jesus w

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 To respond to that question, Jesus then shared a model prayer that demonstrated a progression of perspectives that could and should change the way we pray today. As Jesus closed out the prayer, He ends with this request, “And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:4). Temptation represents a real challenge to the life Jesus wants to build in o

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 To respond to that question, Jesus then shared a model prayer that demonstrated a progression of perspectives that could and should change the way we pray today. Over the past few blogs, I’ve offered perspectives on this prayer, and what Jesus is teaching us today through it. Jesus prayed, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 To respond to that question, Jesus then shared a model prayer that demonstrated a progression of perspectives that could and should change the way we pray today. Jesus prayed, “Forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4). There are two things that we need to assume before we can pray with that perspective. #1 – We are not perfect. While this may come as

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 In response to that question, Jesus taught his disciples using a model prayer. That prayer has been referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”. During this prayer, Jesus models a progression of perspectives that could and should change the way we pray today. In verse 3, after Jesus has instructed His disciples to start with focusing on God as their so

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 At this moment, Jesus taught his disciples to pray by praying a model prayer. That prayer has been referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer” and is commonly recited among Christians worldwide. During this prayer, Jesus models a progression of perspectives that could and should change the way we pray! During the first blog in this series, I shared how

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 “The Lord’s Prayer” (or the “Our Father”) wasn’t invented on the ball field or in the halls of a cathedral. It was a simple, model prayer that Jesus shared with His disciples. In response to the question, Jesus wasn’t giving a poem to memorize. He was, instead, teaching them how to pray. This teaching walks His disciples through a simple progr

For the past few weeks, we’ve challenged our church to fast for 21 days as we take an intentional season to seek God in prayer. In life, there is a time to feast and there is a time to fast. Feasting in the scriptures happens in celebration and remembrance. Fasting is a spiritual discipline, like prayer and meditation, that draws us closer to God. When we think of fasting, we often think of saying “No.” That’s not what it really is all about. In it’s most basic form, that’s w