Tag Archives: prayer

The Lord’s Prayers

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Reblogged from April 1, 2012. Originally Holy Week: Three Prayers of Jesus 

When Jesus taught his followers how to pray, he gave them a simple formula (such as in Matthew 6).  We often called this the Lord’s Prayer, but Model Prayer or even Disciples’ Prayer would be more descriptive.  Here are three prayers Jesus himself prayed during Holy Week.

The High Priestly Prayer (John 17) This entire chapter is a prayer spoken by Jesus that we call the High Priestly Prayer.  The writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to detail the ways Jesus acts as our high priest, continuously going into God’s presence and making intercession on our behalf.  His prayer in John 17 casts Jesus in the role of High Priest, bridging the gap between man and God, between the unholy and Most Holy.  Jesus has only a few days left on earth at this point in the story, and is about to take his place at God’s right hand.  Jesus prayed for his followers of that day and all that would ever believe and follow in the future.  Jesus literally prayed to God for us. Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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As a public service to our guy readers, you have three shopping days left.

john 316 valentine… Continue reading →

Blessings and Curses

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The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 ESV)

That is the blessing which God commanded Moses to give Aaron and his sons.  Aaron was the first high priest of Israel, and his sons were anointed to serve under him as priests.  This was the blessing they spoke over the people of Israel, so that God’s name went before them and he would bless them.  I like to place my hands on any man being ordained as a deacon or into the ministry and say these words.  It is a fitting and appropriate way to ask God’s blessing on others.

There is another phrase often borrowed from scripture Continue reading →

Men’s Morning with God

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I met Michael Spencer in 2003 when my wife and I visited the ministry he was a part of.  After joining that ministry, I was introduced to an early morning small group, Men’s Morning with God.  The poster said “bring your Bible and coffee.”  I’m a big fan of both of those things.  We met twice a week at 7 a.m. studying the scripture and praying before work.  I have been involved with other small groups before and since, but I stayed with that particular group for the duration of our ministry in Kentucky.

I thought that particular situation was unique.  There were about 150 people all living within a few miles of each other, ministering together, and all beginning the work day at basically the same time.  Still, our men’s group was never more than 10 or 12 (and sometimes just Michael and I).  I have been blessed to find an early morning men’s group once again.  This morning there were 5 of us.  From different churches, different vocations and with different schedules, this is a group of men that meet at 6 a.m. to read, discuss and pray.  One of those men was a friend of my dad, and one of my teachers back in the day.  Another member of the group went to high school with my brother.  You gotta love small towns.

And I love finding a group of men willing to be up and dressed before they have to be, in order to pray with and for each other.

The Sinner’s Prayer Debate

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One side of the debate says that the sinner’s prayer is not found in scripture.  Okay, I’ll give you that.  But you loose me on the premise that nowhere is such a prayer commanded nor implied anywhere in the New Testament.  The Apostle’s Creed is not found in scripture, but that is the statement of faith regularly made by many believers.  Each claim is based on scriptural truth.  Below is the sinner’s prayer text, followed by several statements quoted directly from scripture. Continue reading →

I’ve Got Friends in Blog Places

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I love the Internet; no surprise there right?  I watch movies online, stream music, author multiple blogs and make excessive use of Facebook.  My wife and I each have a laptop, and our own handheld web devices.  I’m blogging in the kitchen while baking a lasagna, but that’s probably more intel than you need.

One of the privileges afforded by the internet is that anyone can have a global audience.  This blog is read around the block and around the world.  I in turn have made blog friends in places such as Canada, Australia and Israel.  While brothers and sisters in the Kingdom, we have never met in person.  Paul Wilkinson (he’s Canadian, eh) is the author of Christianity 201 and Thinking Out Loud, both of which are listed in the blogroll at right.  He wrote me last week and asked about submitting a guest post, which I am always happy to do.  Good blogs include links to other places, and one test of your own blog worthiness is being linked to by others.  Featuring a guest author adds variety to your own blog and increases the web presence of your guest.  If no one has coined the term Internetworking let me toss it out there now.

My latest post, Jesus Said More Than the Lord’s Prayer, is featured at Christianity 201.  Paul adds new content daily from a variety of sources, so be sure to visit again.

The Read and Share File

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Image is unrelated, but is something I read this week.

Culture war, church culture, shallow Christianity, need for the Gospel – they’re all featured in this post on Internet Monk.

Praying in Jesus’ Name – John Piper offers four “filters” for how to do it right.  Here is a 3 minute clip; you can watch, listen to, or download the full sermon at this link.

This article at 9Marks is interesting, but will perhaps apply to only a very few readers.  Marcus Glover writes a list of ways aspiring pastors can serve their wives now.  Huh?  Once you become a church pastor, there are some things you will miss.  Make sure to engage in those now.

Obama has come out in support of gay marriage.  He supported gay marriage as a state senator, but changed his position to run for U.S. Senate.  So he is now changing back to his original position, in support of gay marriage.  So: why does Obama evolve but Romney flip-flops?  Both men, like many politicians, have changed their views over their political careers.

I recently added Steve Brown etc. to the blogroll, and am anxious to link something.  Here is the latest post, an update to what’s known as the watchmaker argument.  Dr. Rana, author of the post, has a PhD in biochemistry and is the vice president of research and apologetics at Reason to Believe.  The post includes links to that site, as well as Dr. Rana’s recent appearance on Steve Brown’s radio show.

Tall Skinny Kiwi recently insisted he and his family are not living in a commune.  Watch this local news report about Justin Duckworth (not your ordinary bishop) and decide for yourself.

Faith by Hearing is an aggregator of audio resources, including audio books, podcasts and sermons.  Kind of like a blog, but also featuring an extensive and growing collection of audio material.  The archives are divided by topic, speaker, faith tradition and other classifications.  Faith by Hearing is a treasure trove that simply must be explored to fully appreciate.

The Read and Share File

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Here’s what I’ve been reading:

What if revival broke out in your town… at the church down the street?  What if you were out of town for a few months on a mission trip, and revival started under the guest preacher?   9Marks suggests that we Pray for Revival – at the other guy’s church.  

At Believing God Today: To Gospel or Not to Gospel Part I
To Gospel or Not to Gospel Part II

NEWS – Abortion, birth control and gay marriage ranked lowest on issues of importance to registered voters, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. What issues ranked highest?  The economy, jobs and the deficit, in that order.  No surprise there; if you want to hurt Americans, hit them in the pocket book.  More of this story at Christian Post.

The Desiring God blog shares 15 Tips on Blogging from John Newton.  Perhaps you recognize John Newton as the writer of Amazing Grace.  Did he really offer tips on blogging, 400 years ago?  In a manner of speaking.

Here is the Al Mohler post that everyone is talking about.  Paul Wilkinson (Thinking Out Loud) explains Why Al Mohler Should Retire; Jeff Dunn (Internet Monk) writes on Al Mohler’s Problem with Grace.  Suddenly all my problems seem smaller.

This just in: Tall Skinny Kiwi does not live in a commune.

Holy Week: Three Prayers of Jesus

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When Jesus taught his followers how to pray, he gave them a simple formula (such as in Matthew 6).  We often called this the Lord’s Prayer, but Model Prayer or even Disciples’ Prayer would be more descriptive.  Here are three prayers Jesus himself prayed during Holy Week.

The High Priestly Prayer (John 17) This entire chapter is a prayer spoken by Jesus that we call the High Priestly Prayer.  The writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to detail the ways Jesus acts as our high priest, continuously going into God’s presence and making intercession on our behalf.  His prayer in John 17 casts Jesus in the role of High Priest, bridging the gap between man and God, between the unholy and Most Holy.  Jesus has only a few days left on earth at this point in the story, and is about to take his place at God’s right hand.  Jesus prayed for his followers of that day and all that would ever believe and follow in the future.  Jesus literally prayed to God for us. Continue reading →

The Read and Share File

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Tim Challies shares truths supported by scripture on the topic of evangelism.

The title of the post – Is There a Holy Spirit? – may give the wrong impression.  Bobby Jamieson at 9Marks Blog is describing two ways to fill a church, and how you answer that question has a lot to do with how you proceed.

What is the best thing you can do for your pastor?  According to The Blazing Center it’s pray for him.

I actually took this picture myself, then added Luke 1:78.  That’s a genuine eastern Kentucky sunrise.

Boston.com, the online presence of the Boston Globe, shares 22 pictures of the Jewish festival of Purim.

On a whim, I searched for “sunrise service” on Google.  Enjoyed this short entry on Wikipedia.    Here’s an excerpt:

The first Easter Sunrise Service recorded took place in 1732 in the Moravian congregation at Herrnhut in the Upper Lusatian hills of Saxony. After an all-night prayer vigil, the Single Brethren, the unmarried men, of the community, went to the town graveyard, God’s Acre, on the Hill above the town, to sing hymns of praise to the Risen Saviour. The following year, the whole Congregation joined in the service. Thereafter the “Easter Morning” or “Sunrise Service” spread around the world with the Moravian missionaries. The procession to the graveyard is accompanied by the antiphonal playing of chorales by brass choirs.

And then I stumbled onto this:

Read more here: http://www.capitalchurch.net/ministries/easter-service/  There were 120 at the first service in 1979; on April 8 they expect 6,000!