TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13
Read: Matthew 6:9-13
Listen: Matthew 6
TODAY’S MESSAGE
We read yesterday about the temptation of Jesus and his forty-day stay in the wilderness without food. The devil approaches Jesus in this place of weakness and tempts him to make food for himself out of stones. Jesus responds by saying, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus announces his trust both in God’s Word and God’s ability to take care of him.
Temptation is really about trust. When we are tempted, it’s a question of what we trust more. We must determine if we trust the appeal of the temptation to satisfy us or if we trust in God to satisfy us. We must remember when we are tempted, God can be trusted.
Trust is a repeated theme throughout The Lord’s Prayer as well. When we pray “Our Father,” we trust he is our Father who loves us. When we pray “Your kingdom come,” we trust God’s plans are greater than ours. When we pray, “Give us our daily bread,” we trust he knows what we need. When we pray, “Forgive us our debts,” we trust he will be faithful to forgive us. And when we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we trust God’s guidance, deliverance and substitution.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Remember to pray The Lord’s Prayer this one last time for this series. After praying, reflect on this series and your time praying The Lord’s Prayer. Consider which sermon you might need to revisit. Maybe you missed a week or were particularly moved by one of the lines of the prayer. If so, go back and listen to the sermon for that week. You can find the sermons here.
40 DAYS OF PRAYER
Join us for 40 DAYS OF PRAYER where all of us will find a quiet space and slowly read The Lord’s Prayer. May forty days of praying like Jesus prayed, and desiring what Jesus wanted, make a big difference in our hearts and our communities.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN
Join us this year as we read through the New Testament.
Today’s reading is Acts 11.
