Kid's Ministry Coffee Break | A Few Minutes of Spiritual Refreshment for Children & Youth Ministers.
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
"THE LORD'S PRAYER" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 24: There is an approach to the Lord's Prayer which can offer us a way to be grounded on the Kingdom of God for today in all we do. Here is that way.
I want to offer short homily today on The Lord’s Prayer.
I once learned of a way to understand this prayer which has been such a blessing for me. I’m hoping it is a blessing for you too.
Now…I’ll assume you know this prayer from Matthew 6.
I’ll also assume we all know this prayer in different ways.
Some of us know the oldest version which does not have the final line…
and most of us say this prayer weekly which DOES include the final benediction line.
Whatever translation you know…
whichever one you use…
whichever you prefer…
This approach to the prayer can be a blessing.
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
Give us the bread we need for today.
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
The basic idea to the approach I want to share concerns with helping us be present and founded upon today.
https://sundayschool.store/products/the-lord-s-prayer-5-lesson-sunday-school-curriculum-for-kids
It’s all about focusing on what is right in front of you and allowing yourself to not fixate on something that will or might happen tomorrow or that happened yesterday.
It works like this:
Our Father in heaven, uphold the holiness of your name.
(honoring God as a close and connected parent—the word for father is Abba…the word used by small children when addressing their daddy.)
the second line is about our desire to focus on the Kingdom coming to earth for us and through us.
We call upon God to bring divine reign to our lives and world while we also commit ourselves to living under the full reign of God right here and now.
Who we are,
what we do,
how we talk and respond to others and devote our time…is about what God would have us do.
We will live today as if heaven is already among us.
then we turn to the center line of the prayer.
give us the bread we need for today.
This is more than food, but certainly includes food.
What we need—to live—we trust you will provide.
We need more than food in our stomachs.
We need wisdom and life and purpose and meaning and joy and growth.
We trust God to provide it.
If our needs for today are met—we can focus all the more on living in the Reign of God in all we say, do, and are.
Forgive us our wrongs as we forgive those who have wronged us.
Don’t lead us into temptation and deliver us from the evil one.
Essentially, may we know our future is secure in you…so that we are not distracted today from living in God’s Reign.
It’s all about living in God’s Reign today.
We trust that God will be our God.
We commit to living into the reality of God’s eternal Reign
We trust our day’s needs to God.
We trust our past to God
We trust our future to God.
With our needs, past, and future secure…we can focus on what is right in front of us.
And through that focus and commitment to God’s Reign in all we say and do…we will find life in every step.
what a blessing, indeed.
May you continue to say this prayer.
May you say it daily as you reflect upon each line.
May it help you receive the joy and life the Reign of God offers you today and may you offer it to others in all you do.
Message brought to you be Rev. Joseph Sanford of Sanford Curriculum (Student ministry resources available on The Sunday School Store written by he and Lauren Sanford). https://10bibleverses.com/biblical-reference/what-is-a-devotional-how-to-have-a-quiet-time-with-god-using-prayer-and-bible-study/
Music by The Muse Maker
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