Lord's Prayer (cont'd)/Lord's Supper

C) What should our prayer be like? Read Matthew 6:9-13. Jesus gave His followers a model/template/outline on how to pray.

How did Jesus begin the Model Prayer? Verse 9

1) Praise. How often do we go right into our prayer by telling God what we want rather than take the time to praise Him? What did Jesus praise God for? His holiness. What do you praise God for?

Read verse 10

2) Humility – Whose kingdom come? Whose will be done? We must come to God in prayer with a spirit of humility. Otherwise, God is not going to pay any attention to us. Example – Pharisees. We must bring our requests to God in a spirit of humility. We are not to impose our will of God. “God, this is what I want you to do and how I want you to do it.” God will not respond to such a prayer. I John 5:14-15. Always remember, we are not rulers of the Kingdom, God is.

Read verse 11

3) Needs – Did Jesus say “Give us this day our daily T-bone steak?” No. How important was bread to people living in Jesus’ day? It was a vital part of their diet. They needed bread in order to survive. What is Jesus saying here? What are we to pray for? Needs. What are needs? What is the difference between a need and a want? A need is something you have to have in order to survive, to live day-to-day, to serve God and others. A want is something you do without. It is not necessary for your survival, to live day-to-day, to serve God and others. Problem is sometimes we consider our wants to be needs.

Read verse 12

4) Confession/Repentance – When we come before God in prayer, we must do so with a pure heart. God is a holy God. He does not acknowledge the prayer of someone who is living in a state of disobedience. Before we pray, we must examine ourselves to see if there is any hint of sin in our hearts. If there is, we must confess, repent, and seek God’s forgiveness. There’s a condition to God’s forgiveness. What is it? Forgive others who have wronged us. What if we do not forgive those who have wronged us? Read verses 14-15. See also Matthew 5:23-24.

Read verse 13

5) Guidance and Deliverance – Example of Sacajawea. What was her job? Her job was to guide Lewis and Clarke across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. She was to direct them to the safe paths and avoid dangers. Lewis and Clarke would ask her do we go left or right? Do we cross upstream or downstream? Do we take the mountain pass or go through the valley? In the same way, God is our guide. He knows the paths we are to take, the choices we are to make in order to avoid temptation and sin. But in order for us to know, what must we do? Ask Him! If we’re stubborn enough to take the wrong path, make the wrong choice, who is their deliver us from the Evil One if we cry out for help? God!

The above is how Jesus taught His followers to pray. What is your motivation to pray? Are you motivated to pray? Does your prayer incorporate the above elements? Is there an element lacking in your prayer life? Is there an element you place more emphasis on than others? Example - Needs vs. praise. Remember – the key to prayer is the quality of your heart not the quality or quantity of your words. Prayer was vital to Jesus during His time on earth. It should be equally vital to us.

The Lord’s Supper – Read Matthew 26:26-30

It also referred to as the Last Supper, the Eucharist, and Communion. It was the last meal Jesus shared with His disciples. The meal took place at the time of the Jewish Passover. A sacred time on the Jewish calendar when the Jews remembered how God freed their ancestors from slavery in Egypt by the shedding of blood (read Exodus chapters 11 and 12.) Jewish families gathered to gather for a meal of unleavened bread and wine. Jesus and his disciples gathered in an upper room in a home in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. During the meal, Jesus established a custom that Christians of all denominations have followed to this day although in various ways.

Jesus first took a loaf of bread, broke it, gave thanks (eucharisto), and gave pieces to his disciples to eat. What did the bread represent? His body. Then Jesus took a cup with wine, gave thanks, and offered to His disciples telling all of them to drink from it. What did the wine represent? His blood. Specifically, His blood of the covenant for the forgiveness of sins. The covenant Jesus is referring to is the New Covenant … New Testament. According to the Old Covenant/Old Testament, forgiveness of sins came how? Through the shedding of animal blood. At the first Passover, the firstborn of the Israelites were saved from death by the blood of lambs. According to the New Covenant/New Testament, forgiveness of sins came how? Through the shedding of Jesus’ blood.

Ever since, Christians have continued to observe what became known as the Lord’s Supper. Why? Read I Corinthians 11:23-26. Proclaim to the world what Jesus did for humanity – died so that they might be saved. How communion is performed varies from one denomination to the next. Catholic Church and Anglican Church – unleavened wafers and wine are used. They are given to congregation by priests only. Performed at every church service/mass. Protestant churches (Baptist, Methodist, etc.) – unleavened wafers or crackers and grape juice. The ritual is overseen by pastor but lay people pass out the wafers/crackers and juice. How often Protestant churches practice the Lord’s Supper varies greatly depending on the church – weekly, monthly, quarterly.