Our Father

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'll see you next time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning. We are so glad and grateful to be able to share together this morning. we want to welcome you. If you're here with us or if you're watching online on this snowy morning, we are so thankful that you are able to be with us. A couple of announcements. One is we have coffee and water and snacks on the back table. You're welcome to help yourself to those. Also on the back table, there are some bulletins, some sermon handouts, and a little chart. It's been an interesting week in my attempt to make our bulletin a little more user-friendly. Anyway, we got something done, so it looks a little differently than it normally does, and we'll add some more as we go through. But if you want to follow along with our service, it's right there as well,

and there is a sermon outline as well. Additionally, we probably won't reference this in the sermon, but there's a section that talks about the focus and the way the Sermon on the Mount is constructed. with the Lord's Prayer, being at the very center. So there is kind of a chart that illustrates that that we put together for this week. Also, there are communion elements in the back. If you would like to celebrate communion with us, this is a meal for those who are Christians, whose hope is in Christ. And so if you would like to partake with us as a Christian, those elements are in the back table as you come in. We also have Children's Church this morning. and the kids will be dismissed after communion. So I'm going to go ahead and pray, and then we'll dive into it.

I don't know what that's. Try not to wiggle that. Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you for all the good that you have done for us. We thank you for our brothers and sisters in Christ this morning as we gather. We thank you for how you encourage us and strengthen us. I ask that as we gather for worship, as we read Scripture together, as we sing, as we confess sin, as we rejoice in the hope that we have and the forgiveness we have in Christ, as we gather to the table, as we open your word, as the kids learn and read and study together in their classes, we just ask that you would be at work in our lives this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So leading up to this morning, we kept hearing that we were getting a whole bunch

of snow, and I would say that a few weeks ago that probably would have felt like a bigger deal, But as I was driving through Winchester and everybody's panicking at the grocery store, one of the things that happened with our snowstorm a few weeks ago is it kind of puts things into perspective. We've seen something that was greater, and so we sort of measure everything else by that. And so this morning, one of our goals and our purposes as we gather for worship is we want to put things into perspective. We want to see God in His glory and His love. we'll see that he is a father to us. And this doesn't make our struggles or our difficulties disappear, but it does change the scale of all of these things. They begin to look different as we have seen something bigger.

And so part of the purpose of us gathering for worship is to see God in his glory and in his greatness and reorient ourselves and see who he truly is. So we're going to start this morning. We're going to read from the 34th Psalm, and we're going to do it a little bit differently. I'm going to read the first three verses, and then we will pick up together as a group in verses 4, 5, 6, and 7. So if you would be standing for the reading of God's Word. All right, the psalmist says in 34, For I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.

Let's do that together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. This is the word of the Lord. We're going to start by singing this morning, This is Our God.

Remember those walls that we called sin and shame? They were like prisons that we couldn't escape But he came and he died and he rose Those walls are rubble now

Remember those giants we call death and grave? They were like mountains that stood in our way He came and He died and He rose Those giants are dying now This is our God, this is who He is, He loves us This is our God, this is what He does, He saves us He bore the cross, beat the grave, let heaven and earth proclaim This is our God, King Jesus Remember that fear that took our breath away Faith so weak that we could barely pray But He heard every word, every whisper Now those altars in the wilderness Tell the story of His faithfulness Never once did He fail And He never will This is our God, this is who He is He loves us This is our God, this is what He does He saves us

He bore the cross, feed the grave Let heaven and earth proclaim This is our God, King Jesus This is our God, this is who He is He loves us This is our God, this is what He does He saves us He bore the cross, beat the grave Let heaven and earth proclaim This is our God, King Jesus He bore the cross, beat the grave Let heaven and earth proclaim This is our God, King Jesus

I believe in Christ risen from the dead He now reigns victorious His kingdom knows no end Through His resurrection, death has lost its hope. I know on that final day, I'll rise as Jesus grows. On that day, we will see You shining brighter than the sun. On that day, we will love You as we lift our voices one. Till that day, we will praise you for your never-ending grace. And we will keep on singing on that glorious day. What a blessed hope, thrown out tired and warm. We will spend eternity around our sayest thorns. Though we grieve our losses, we grieve not in vain. For we know our crown of glory is beyond the grave. On that day, we will see you shining brighter than the sun. On that day, we will know you as we lift our voices one. Till that day, we will praise you for your never-ending grace. And we will keep on singing on that glorious day.

Hallelujah, what a day it will be For at home with you my joy is going to be As I know you through your arms open wide I will see my father who is waiting for me Hallelujah, the higher day it will be For at home with you my joy is complete As I run into your arms open wide I will sing My Father who is waiting for me My Father who is waiting for me On that day, we will see you Shining brighter than this sun On that day, we will know you As we lift our voices one Till that day, we will praise you For your never-ending grace And we will keep on singing on that glorious day On that day, we will see you shining brighter than the sun On that day, we will know you as we lift our hearts

One till that day, we will praise you for your never-ending grace And we will keep on singing on that glorious day And we will keep on singing on that glorious day

We want to come together before we sing in just a moment of both confession and of assurance. Confessing our sins together before God and finding assurance in the forgiveness of Christ, which leads us to our celebration around the table this morning. And so confession isn't necessarily about bringing a list of all of our failures, but it's about turning back to God, to stop pretending that we've got it all figured out and all put together and that we're doing well on our own. So this morning, as we confess our sins together, I'd like us to read together from Luke chapter 15, beginning in verse 18. So if you would read together with me. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, felt compassion, and ran, and embraced him, and kissed him. Let me read to you from 1 John chapter 3. See what kind of love the Father has given to us. That we should be called children of God, and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. We're going to go ahead and sing When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

A wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died. My richest gain I count. And pour contempt on all of my pride. Forbid, Lord, that I should boast. Saving the death of Christ my God All the vain things that show me most I sacrifice them through His blood We'll be right back. Innocent love and sorrow Earth does come close so rich and close

We'll be right back. Amazing, so divine, demands my soul, and I, I, my all. C.S. Lewis once wrote a very short, just a couple pages long essay. It was entitled, Three Kinds of Men. He said there's three kinds of men in this world. The first lives simply for themselves. They treat the world and everything in it as raw material to sort of shape and to use for their own pleasure. And all of life is entirely self-directed. There's no reference point to life besides what do I want and how do I get it. The second kind of person that C.S. Lewis speaks of is those that acknowledge there is some kind of claim on them, whether that's God or conscience or duty. And knowing that there's a claim, they seek to try to honor it. But C.S. Lewis, when he describes them, he says that they're like taxpayers.

They want to pay what's required and hope that there is enough left over to live on. And he said, to use a military illustration, there's a difference between life on parade and life off parade. That they give God a portion and they try to get by with the rest. And he will say this very specifically. They are always and necessarily unhappy. The tax, the moral conscience levies never quite leaves enough to live on. They either feel guilt because they haven't paid enough or emptiness because they have. And then he describes a third kind who, like Paul say, to live is Christ. And this third kind of person has stopped negotiating. C.S. Lewis says their old self has been turned around, reconditioned, and made into a new thing. The will of Christ no longer limits their will, but it is their will.

And here's why this matters this morning as we come to the table. If we come to the table as this first kind, seeking to shape and turn everything, to serve ourselves and to meet all of our desires, what we find is that Jesus does not let us do that, But he does have something to say to us. That the emptiness that we feel is not a malfunction, but it is an invitation to come and see something more. And this meal has something to say to the second kind of man. Those of us maybe who are tired. Maybe you're tired of negotiating. Tired of guilt. Tired of never getting the balance right. C.S. Lewis says this. The way forward isn't more effort. The price of Christ is something, in a way, much easier than moral effort.

It is to want Him. And so for some, this table is an invitation to know Christ more deeply, to want Him more fully. You see, this is a table where wanting and desire is welcome. It's where the tired and the empty are received. Not because we figured it out, but just as we read the father runs toward those who've turned home and so we come to the table not as those who have paid enough but one who knows the ones who know the one who has paid it all for while we are still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Since therefore we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we now be saved from him, saved by him from the wrath of God? For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more that we are reconciled, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Father, as we come to this table, we ask that you would help us to see that you are our hope and our strength, that it is through your Son and his sacrifice that we have forgiveness of sins and peace with you that there is a future for your people to look forward to may you nourish us in the depths of our soul

may you convict us of our pride and of our sin may you restore us may you help us as we seek to live for your glory in this world and we would do so not in our own strength but through the strength that you give us through your spirit and in the power of the gospel. I ask that you bless this bread, you bless this cup, may we proclaim your son until he comes again. We're going to partake and then as we finish we'll share as we did last week in just a short time of meditation with music. So let's partake of the body of Jesus and of what he has done for us. and in the same way, let's partake of the cup, his blood of the new covenant given for us.

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise to respond And to remember our call to follow with the steps of rest As His body here on earth As we share in His suffering We proclaim Christ will come And learn His joy In the face of heaven Around the table of the King Around the table of the King Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Before we move into Matthew chapter 6 in the Lord's Prayer, we want to, I don't know if I added it, did I add you've already won somewhere in the slides, Derek? You've already won? Okay, I added it to the computer, not to the slide. So we're going to go ahead and we're going to just dive directly into Matthew chapter 6. So let me get everything set here and we will go.

I recently was listening to a preacher, and it wasn't about the Sermon on the Mount or the Lord's Prayer or any of those things, and he seemed pretty against preachers giving disclaimers before they preached. But I think in this case, it might be a little bit necessary. As we come to this prayer, there is so much here. It's almost, it's just an abundance of wealth. There's a lot of things we could talk about in terms of the structure of the prayer. There's questions we could ask about the text, the long ending of the Lord's Prayer, the short ending of the Lord's Prayer. We could talk about the contrast that Jesus draws between the Pharisees and the pagans and the prayer that he instructs his people in. We could dive deeper into forgiveness. In fact, Jesus views it so important that after he is done praying, he comes

back and teaches us a little bit more about forgiveness. There are about a million different ways in which we could go through and move through this prayer. And the reality is, I really want to follow every single one of those. However, that's the disclaimer. However, this morning what we're going to do is we're going to try to focus very specifically just on the Lord's Prayer. Not going to bring in a lot of the contrast, not going to bring in the larger context, except a little bit. But I primarily want you to see two things in this prayer. I want you to see a glorious picture of who God is, first of all. And secondly, I want you to see His gracious provision in the lives of His people. So there's a lot we could say, but we're going to try to stay focused on those two things.

Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer. Father in heaven, help us this morning. Your word is so rich and full and deep. And it's the sword that protects us and it's the sword that cuts into the depths of our heart. It's your word that creates in us new hearts, that transforms broken people, that calls us to repentance. And there is so much wonder in this text. It's easy for us not to know where to look first. So I ask that you would focus us on your goodness this morning. that you would sustain us by your grace and your spirit be working in us and on us and through us. May we see your glory and may we proclaim it to the world. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So one of the projects that my grandma, Grandma Nelson, my mom's mom, undertook in her life

was she crocheted an afghan for all of her kids, all of her kids, and I think almost all or all of her spouses. And so I think it was like 28 or 29 total blankets she crocheted. Now this is in addition to the two years before she made everybody quilts for their beds as well. And so the way it worked in my experience was she asked me what colors I liked and I gave her the colors I liked and she said what pattern do you like and she would give me the pattern and then she would go to like Joanne's like rest in peace or in our case Ben Franklin like also rest in peace and she would get some skeins of yarn and then she would sit down with this little crochet hook and somehow

over the next several weeks she would take that yarn and that hook and those individual just wads of yarn would turn into this remarkable pattern, right? With the colors interwoven and in the right places and in the right times and made us a blanket out of that yarn. And it was remarkable and it was amazing. I want you to keep that picture in your head this morning as we move through the Lord's Prayer. So one of the things that I want us to make sure we understand is that we will not underestimate the Lord's Prayer. Just like my grandma Nelson took that yarn and turned it into something filled with beauty and emotion, because she wasn't just pouring her craft into it, she was pouring her love for her grandkids and her kids, and for her kids-in-law as she crocheted Jesus.

As he teaches us to pray in this prayer, he's doing the same thing. Not with physical yarn, but as we look through all six petitions in this prayer, one of the things that happens is that every single one of these, and it's so remarkable and it's so amazing, is that it ties all the way back through the Old Testament Scriptures. And Jesus takes all of these wonderful strands of promise and of command and of example and of worship, and he takes them and he ties them together, not just into some kind of knot, but he crafts them together into something wonderful that attracts us as we move forward in service to him. All of these pieces lead us forward in wonder and strength and in the grace of God. This prayer is threads woven together

into a wondrous tapestry for God's people. And I want to make sure you don't underestimate the importance of the Lord's Prayer. This prayer is at the center of the Sermon on the Mount. The literary term for this is chiasm. It comes from the Greek word key, which is like an X, and you sort of picture it as arrows, one arrow pointing down, one arrow pointing up, and the text sort of mirrors each other. I think for probably most of us it might be a little easier to think of this as a mountain. In fact, I've got a little chart in the back you can grab if you didn't get one already. On the front side, you see it leading up to the point, on the back side leading down, and if you were to fold that in half, what you would find not just that there's an up and a down

to this sermon, but the up and the down match each other and are symmetrical to each other as we go up and down. And at the center of the point of this, there are three things, right? How to give in terms of almsgiving, how to pray, and how to fast, and in the middle of that is prayer. So the Lord's Prayer isn't just sort of in the middle section of the text, the Lord's Prayer is the middle of the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount. And it's easy for us, I think, to know a lot of facts about the Lord's Prayer. We can talk about the structure. We can talk about the six petitions that Jesus calls to us to make. We can see it as a checklist, right? I've hallowed God's name. I've prayed for the kingdom to come.

I've prayed for his will. I've prayed for my daily bread. I'm eating toast right now. The prayer's been answered. I've prayed for forgiveness, and I've prayed for God to lead me away from temptation. Sort of check and check. And I'm a fact person, and my instinct is sort of take all these petitions and list them out and seek to understand every detail, and that is not a bad instinct. However, I think it misses the wonder of what we have here. It certainly contributes to the wonder of what we have here, but I think we need to see it as a whole, rather than just a list of six petitions that have been thrown together. And the reality is I've spent the last several weeks thinking and praying and studying about the Lord's Prayer. One of the things that I've realized is I know a lot of facts

about the Lord's Prayer. But what I've missed is the wonder of how it is woven together through all of Scripture. And not just bringing them together, but expanding them and making them beautiful. So for example, and we'll see this in a minute, Jesus begins the prayer with our Father. And if you go back to the Old Testament, God is listed as father over and over and over again. But so frequently, it's listed as the head, the ruler. Fatherhood is a picture of who God is. And then we come to the Lord's Prayer, and Jesus takes all of those Old Testament pictures of father and goes, not just a father, but your father. And then Jesus will address my fears and my struggles and my heartbreak. Help me to let go of resentment. This prayer is more than just something to simply memorize.

And to repeat, this is something that is wonderful. And I don't want you to underestimate the wonder of the Lord's Prayer. I want you to see the picture that this prayer paints of our God. This is a wonderful and glorious picture that leads us into gracious provision. It leads us to our first two sections this morning. I want us to see this glorious picture of the Lord's Prayer. Probably every single one of us knows how this prayer starts, right? So if I was to say fill in the blank hour, right? We could probably do it with the whole thing. Who aren't in, yeah, right? Hallowed be your, like, we go through the whole thing, right? We know the facts of this prayer. And one of the things that happens is that it's easy for us sometimes to just read through what we've already read.

When we hear these words, Our Father, what we're seeing is a new relationship for us with God. Do you know Jesus' most used term for the first person of the Trinity? It is Father. 180 plus times in the Gospels. and we hear it so much it becomes so familiar we often don't even think about it right in the same way that i don't think about water or electricity i i turn the tap or i flip on the switch and it just sort of happens we hear this word father and we do the same kind of thing i want you to first of all understand this is not a general universally applied term for God although father in terms of God can certainly be used in this way, right? The father of all things, right? When Jesus uses it,

this is a specific usage reserved for those who know the son. When Jesus says, our father, he's not talking about the whole, he's talking about those who know and recognize the son. In fact, in John 8, 42, he makes that contrast exceedingly clear. So we might say, we've heard these words, our Father. It's common, it's simple, it's elementary. Why does it matter? Throughout most of the Old Testament, this picture of God as Father was to illustrate or to teach His people. God's fatherhood, not in all cases, but in the majority, was seen as sort of corporate headship. He's the authority, He's the creator, He's the author of life. Yes, He can have compassion, but by and large, He is an authority figure, and it was the biggest way to see the Father. And Jesus takes this, and he adds one word, our Father.

One of the things that this would have done to those who heard Jesus, especially those religious leaders, is it would have scandalized them. How dare you refer to God as your Father? in doing so Jesus is announcing a new relationship right not a father not a picture of father but your father and in the first words of this prayer we see a closeness that we are called and welcomed into the second thing we see these words hallowed be your name and you might just think like i have for so long right what does this mean right what does it mean to hallow. How can I hallow? Well, if you move through Scripture, the word here, hallow, it's the same word that's used throughout the New Testament as sanctify. And you might say, well, that's really

not that much better, which sanctify is a way to say to make holy. And you're like, well, I've heard that word before, but how does that help me? To make holy, to be sanctified, to hallow means to set apart. We think about it if you've ever been to a cemetery where there are war veterans buried, right? It's referred to as what kind of ground? Hallowed ground, right? It's set apart in honor and in reverence. Maybe a more common way of thinking about holy or hallowed or set apart in sort of a humorous way when our kids acquire candy, whether that's Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, right? They go through their candy and there's someone in our house who really likes a very famous combination of chocolate and peanut butter. And so our kids, knowingness, what they do is they separate out all of their Reese's eggs, Reese's pieces, Reese's cups,

Reese's Christmas trees, Reese's eggs, right? And what we do is we declare those holy to the mom, right? And we put them in the freezer. And those are set apart in a place of honor for her. And so when we hear this, to hallow God's name, to see it as holy, what does that mean in regards to God's name? First of all, this is a petition. It's asking for something. But it's also directing us to a reality. When we say that God's name is hallowed, what we mean is that God is set apart from everything in power and greatness and in glory and in majesty and in wonder and in awe. If you read from Isaiah 6, and you hear this picture. In that year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne,

high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. And above him stood the seraphim, which had six wings, and with two he covered his face, and two he covered his feet, two he flew, and he called to one another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. So in a sense, talking about God's name is a declaration of what's already true, that God is set apart in glory and wonder and in righteousness and in His eternal nature and is all-powerful knowing and doing in all things. But it's not a declaration in this prayer, hallowed be Your name. It's a request. And it's a request in two directions. One, for our world, and secondly, for our lives. another way of saying it is this is a request for out there and in here that in our world may your

name be holy set apart and lift it up because in the glory of God we find our good that for the world this reality we started this morning with Psalm 34 and we read through verse 7 verse 8 says this taste and see that the Lord is good and in part when we pray and we request that God would hallow his name what we are saying to him is is let the world see and taste that you are good but it's not just out there it's in here it's a picture brought in from the entirety of the Old Testament this desire for a new heart is he writes about this there's coming a day where your heart of stone will be taken in a heart of flesh given and that we would see this glory and be transformed

by it you see this is a prayer that our hearts would be transformed from seeking ourselves that God would transform us Jesus just finished talking about two kinds of prayer he's talking about the kind of prayer that is self-serving in pride and the part that is self-serving in seeking to manipulate God and he starts this prayer by saying first of all you have a heavenly father secondly your first request is that God would be glorified in the depths of your life that instead of glorifying yourself and seeking what you can gain, that you would see God's glory and be transformed. It's not just a description of God's name, right? This is a prayer of the heart that we would see His greatness. So if you're keeping track, right, it's a new relationship, it's a new desire,

and now we're going to see a new authority. Your kingdom come. We just read, but I'll remind you, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Right, the picture of authority and kingship. And the response to seeing the glory of God is to be moved to worship. And if you think about this, in terms of this prayer, we have just said, Our Father, this relationship, whose name is above every name, And transform my heart to desire your glory. And now we find out that our father is also a king. And he renews and he transforms hearts and he has a kingdom. And our king reigns with authority and in the same way that hallowed moves into sanctifying,

which moves into making holy, right? And his name both outward and inward, right? This prayer is for that same authority, both outward and inward. That God's authority, the King, would reign in our world and in our lives. With the big picture of worship and power, but consider how deeply practical this call for the authority of God to reign in my life really is. There are so many things that compete for authority in my life. Things that direct my path and my actions. Sometimes it's things we need. We say, well, I've got to do this or everything's going to fall apart. Sometimes it's things that we want. Sometimes it's people telling us what we need to be pursuing. And we live in a world of voices that compete to tell us where to go. And this second petition of the Lord's Prayer.

We know He's a Father. It's the first declared facts. The first petition has changed the desires of my heart. The second petition is this, that you would cause me to follow you and live under your authority. rather than all of the things that compete for this, that God would reorder our hearts to follow the right one. And if you're keeping track, right, that's a new relationship, a new desire, a new authority, and now a new obedience, just simply this, your will be done. Right, and it gives God's people a new mission. Not just to hear, but to put into practice that you would help me to know you, to be transformed in my desires, to live under your authority, and now to go and put that into practice, a new obedience. It should be our prayer that the authority of our Father the King

would be put into practice in our lives and in how we live, on earth as it is in heaven. I want you to see the glory of this prayer, that your Father, that your heart with its desires is transformed. You're a child of the King under a new authority, And the prayer here is that our desire would become our defining direction. We want to see that our desires, these first petitions, become the direction of our life. And if we really begin to understand that, and it is so hard with the competing voices and the struggles and the worries of life to see God in His glory because we're listening to so many other things. but when we truly see it, right, it's like giving kids caffeine, right, they can't sit still. The Valentine's party for the homeschool kids, and the lady who made the tea made it all caffeinated,

so you got like 30 kids, like running around, powering through tea, bouncing off the walls. If we, as Christians, truly see who God is, our relationship with him, have been transformed by him, live under his authority, we're going to get to this point where your will be done, right, It's like we can't sit still anymore. And maybe if we are sitting still, it means we haven't seen him as we should. And so in this prayer, we see this beautiful tapestry woven together. Old Testament promises, prophecies, examples, commands, united in this glorious picture of God designed to stir our hearts into action, to glorify, to surrender, and to get to work. And here's the problem. It's a big thing, and we're not. It's one thing to talk here about extolling God's glory and it's another tomorrow morning

when I haven't had coffee and I'm cold and I'm running behind and everything's terrible and my friend Gary comes into church and he's being really annoying, right? That's one thing to glorify God. Here, what happens when the rubber meets the road? It's one thing to say, look at the authority of the Father, another to set aside my own desires. especially when those desires are my comfort or my perceived survival and there's a mission here that's far too big for me and so here's the second part of this prayer that brings us to wonder our struggle it's one thing to see this and it's another to know it and then it's another to live it out and Jesus doesn't just give us a glorious picture he gives us a gracious reality so remember we began with my saintly grandmother crocheting a bunch of blankets into something beautiful.

She did so not so we would put them on the wall, right? She gave them to us so we would use them, right? She wanted to see her kids and her grandkids be warmed by the blankets that she made, and in the same way that this prayer expresses God's glory, draws us to worship, calls us to obedience, it also equips us for the task. It's not meant to be hung on the wall of our lives, it's meant to be put to use. And then here's where we also begin to get into trouble. I'm somebody who likes new projects. New projects excite me, and I have an unbridled enthusiasm for them. You can ask my wife. However, I never see any of the problems. I never see any of the problems. I never see the cost. I never see the cost of time or the cost to

the marriage. I don't know if you ever watched the original British Top Gear, but there's a phrase they use. For example, they're getting ready to drive across to Africa in $2,500 cars they bought online from the UK they've never seen before. And their response is, how hard can it be? Right? That's me. You give me something new, and I'm just like, let's go. Let's do it. Let's, hey, we got a project house. Let's do it. And four trips to Lowe's, and I'm hiding in the car for my fifth trip, eating secret Chick-fil-A, going, please don't make me go back in there. right what starts as excitement very quickly turns into discouragement it doesn't take long for that vision to crash it's more than i thought it would be in here with this vision of glory

Jesus knows that and he goes let me feed you let me forgive you let me guide you that he comes to rescue us in the midst of our brokenness or maybe you're more when it comes to things like this like eeyore right just discouraged from the beginning oh it's my birthday oh it's raining right you maybe see all the problems and of choice you aren't discouraged by struggle because you've expected it and it's a struggle and you're already discouraged before you even get to it right it's like the quote from the movie armageddon the best thing about being smart is or the worst thing about being smart is you always know what's going to happen next is right everything falls apart right? And maybe that's your personality. And you hear about the Lord's Prayer, and you hear this

picture of the glory of God, and what it's called you to do, and you go, I don't know how that's even possible. Jesus knows, and he says, I know it's hard. So you must depend on me to feed you, to forgive you, to lead you. And so for some of us, what we need is rescue. For others, you need to be turned in reliance. And maybe you aren't overexcited, or maybe you aren't discouraged. you just simply say I can handle it no matter what it is I've got this I know it won't be easy but I'm strong and I'm prepared and I'm ready sometimes I'm like this too right Brandon you need help moving that washer up the stairs like nope I got it no help needed right as you're collapsing under the weight of what is going on around you there comes a point where we come to

the end of ourselves and realize that we do not in fact have it and Jesus knows and he says I'm here, let me show you a better way, and he calls us to repentance. So in the midst of the enthusiasm that these first three petitions bring to us, these next three petitions are going to remind us that God comes to rescue. He comes to call us to reliance and call us to repentance. Let me just show you briefly the gracious provision that's found in the heart of this text. First of all, he says this, right? Give us this day our daily bread. In Exodus 16, God's people are very hungry, and maybe not just hungry, but we have a term for it now, it's hangry. In verse 3, they literally say to God, you brought us out here to kill us with hunger, right? If you've

ever met somebody who gets real angry when they're hungry, right? You recognize what's happening here, and listen to how God responds. And the Lord said to Moses, behold, I'm about to rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day that I may test them whether or not they will walk in my law or not. And so here's God's people. They're tired and they're hungry and they're complaining. But underneath all of that is the fear that we can't keep going like we've been going. I'm going to die in the wilderness because there's not enough here to sustain us. And the reality is that's a struggle, isn't it? Our father has called us and he's transformed our desire and he's called us to live under new authority and not

just know this, but to live it out. And here we are in what seems like the wilderness and we're going, I'm hungry and I don't know if I can keep doing this. And what does Jesus say? Give us this day our daily bread, calling us right back to the book of Exodus. Think about how God provides in exodus he provides graciously first of all this is not their first exaggerated complaining incident in the wilderness the second way he provides and this is hard for us is a day at a time with the exception of friday into saturday where they could gather enough manna for the second day it was a day at a time you got what you needed for that day and his mercies were new every morning. In this petition, give us this day our daily bread, right? There is a promise of

gracious nourishment for our hungry souls, but there's also a call for ongoing dependence, right? Where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. God's not simply providing, he's teaching, encouraging us, and reminding us of his provision. The second thing he says is this, forgive us our debt. So the year of Jubilee in Israel was like a Sabbath year after seven sets of years. So it was the 50th year. You have seven years, which is one set, seven more. You have 49 years, and on the 50th year, you have a Sabbath of years. It was a time of redemption and forgiveness. You were released from indebtedness, from bondage. Prisoners and captives were set free. Property returned to its original owners. At the heart of this is redemption and forgiveness.

For God's people, it was a new start, released from the burdens of life and restored. And in this petition, there is a promise of forgiveness and restoration and renewal for our souls and a reminder that this is an ongoing part of the Christian life. Forgive as we are forgiven.

Do you hear the call that's being answered here? You see, we live in a place where we have to qualify for everything. In the honor of the hockey game this morning, last night we watched the movie Miracle, which is, I guess, a more modern version of the Miracle on Ice, going back to the 1980 Winter Games. One of the things that stood out to me is they have all these young men who are amazing, excellent hockey players. And they're all trying their hardest for a coach that seemingly can't be satisfied and they're all improving and teamwork's coming together, but the problem is, right, you only have 20 spots for the Olympic team, and so the first five or six or seven that got cut, it wasn't a big deal, but you got that difference between 20 and 21, and it's a guy you've watched, grown in his relationships and in his

development, and he's worked so hard, and he gets held in, and it's like, sorry, you've got to go. Don't we kind of live so many times in constant fear of being that person? The one who says, you didn't make it. Yeah, you tried your hardest. You grew greatly. You did everything I asked of you, but it just wasn't enough. You see, we live in a world where we have to qualify. And some of us, this is our fear. No matter how good or strong, am I good enough or strong enough? And here's the reality. God's brutally honest. He says, you're not good enough. But there is forgiveness and restoration and renewal and a regular rhythm of life. But more than that, it's an overflowing practice. And so to the heart that is sitting there going,

I don't know if I'm good enough, Jesus says, see the forgiveness of God. That you don't qualify, but because of what Jesus will do, He will qualify you.

And because of that, your heart can be free from resentment. That's a whole other sermon. We'll get there. Third thing he says is, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We don't get lost much anymore. My phone will give me directions anywhere I need to go, but I have been lost, and it was terrible. In college, when I was supply preaching, the way they would give you your supply preaching assignment was in your mailbox. On a Friday, you get like a little quarter sleep of paper with a church name and a time that you were supposed to be there and some really poorly written directions. and there were so many times I found myself going, well, there's a road J in this county, and there's a road J in this next county,

and the only thing for 50 miles in any direction is farms, and no idea where to go. You see, this petition is a reminder that God directs us in the middle of the wilderness while it's seen that we're lost. It's not just direction. Notice that it's an acknowledgment there's danger, that we are opposed and tempted, it's not just asking, it's submitting to the leading of God, that I don't know the way. But there is one who does, whether that is by green pastures, still waters, or through the valley of the shadow of death. He is the one who restores my soul, who walks beside me, his rod and his staff, they comfort me. And I shall fear no evil, because he is with me. Our natural response and the human response to the reality of the glory of God

I think is the same as Isaiah's in Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah answers simply this, Woe is me. And God takes him and changes him and sends him out on mission. And if we come to the Sermon on the Mount and the answer to us is woe is me, there's a deeper righteousness, there's an opposition to God's people, there's struggle, there's conflict, and we look at the Christian life and our answer is, woe is me. Jesus answers with this reality that God is the one who nourishes, that God forgives, that God leads in His gracious provision. I want you to understand that this picture of the glorious reality of God and the gracious provision that he has provided for us. This blanket that's been woven together is not just beautiful, it's for us. And so in the midst of our enthusiasm

and discouragement and pride, these three petitions remind us that God rescues us, we just talked about, calls us to reliance and repentance. I want you to understand as you see the glory of God but he's also the one who rescues who is reliable and who leads you and saves you and he's going to say one of the things that you need to learn is to put your trust on the rock know the God who feeds the sparrows makes the flowers grow and i think for all of us there's a part in here that calls us to repentance and our self-reliance and our self-glorification and seeking our own desires, that this prayer isn't just glorious and gracious, but it's a stop to look to evaluate where it is we stand in relationship to our Heavenly Father.

Let's pray. Father in Heaven, Your glory and Your goodness, we thank You for the words of this prayer. Help us to see the gracious reality of who you are, and to live boldly in the gracious provision. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. One of the things we would remind you as we consider our lives and our repentance and our discouragement and our encouragement is that if there is ever a time that you feel the need to respond, that you are more than welcome to do that during this time, you're welcome to come talk to me at any time. Welcome to talk to someone else in the church. You're welcome to, we'd love to pray for you, pray with you, to teach you more deeply, help you in whatever need that you might have. So we're going to stand and we're going to sing about God's glory. So we're going to do that.

I have seen my Father's glory revealed in Jesus Christ, and the more that I behold Him, the more He satisfies when I gaze upon His view. As I should, then my eyes are lifted upward for His glory and my will. There is hope in every trial, for I can trust the Lord. He will turn my heart towards Him, and help me bear the thorn. So in faith I follow Jesus, on the road I understand. For I know He is working, for His glory am I good. To our God be the glory, to our God be praise, He alone, the name above all names. I will boast ever only in the Lord my name Oh, His glory is my good See the open arms of Jesus Upon the cross that day What they understood as weakness

Deserve every praise For the charge that was against me It was handed to them Yes, I know You're safe You're safe Yeah, my God To our God be the glory To our God be praise He alone The name above all names I will boast ever only in the Lord my God For I know His glory is my good

Would I gladly be made nothing, that Christ would be made more? Would I seek the only King, that far out and more I will stand before my Father? Where the faithful saints have stood, and with joy my heart shall praise Him for His glory and my good. And with joy my heart shall praise him for his glory and my good. To our God be the glory, to our God be the grace, he alone, the name above all names. I will boast Him, my God, for I know His glory is my good. To our God be the glory, to our God be grace, be alone, the name above always. I will boast ever only in the Lord my God. For I know His glory is my good. Yes, I know His glory is my good.

We are so thankful that you are here with us this morning. Just a reminder, we'll be back here Wednesday night, 6 p.m. for our Wednesday night Bible study, and then back here again next Sunday. I guess it's a leap Sunday, so this only happens every four years. So we are excited to come and continue on in the Sermon on the Mount. We're going to go ahead and have a word of prayer. I'm going to read from Hebrews chapter 4, and we'll sing the doxology. be dismissed. Father in heaven, may we seek your glory to proclaim your name and your goodness and your greatness, not just to the world, but to our wandering hearts. May you help us to see your authority and your plan and your work in our lives. May you nourish us, May you forgive us, and you lead us through this life.

It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Hebrews chapter 4 says, Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast to our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. So let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and to find grace to help in the time of need. And so, as you go through this week, I want you to remember that you have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. And when you're weary and when you're pressured and when you're uncertain,

may you hold fast to your confession. When you feel weak, may you not hide, but may you draw near, knowing that you are not reaching for a distant throne, but for the throne of grace. And there at that throne of grace, you will receive mercy for your sins and grace to help in your time of need. So go and come. Christ goes with us. Amen.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here below Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts Praise the Father and Holy Ghost Thank you.