00:05:52,067 S1: Thank you. 00:05:58,567 S2: Thank you. 00:06:04,667 S2: Thank you. 00:06:06,868 S1: Thank. 00:06:11,868 S2: You. 00:06:18,000 S1: Yeah. 00:06:22,267 S1: Okay. 00:06:42,400 S2: That. 00:06:46,367 S2: Was great. 00:07:56,801 S1: Great. 00:08:32,000 S3: Well. Good morning. It is so lovely to see people here this morning. We had a few weeks of back and forth with the snow, so a really warm welcome to you. A special welcome to you if this is your first time with us. We're so glad that you're here. We'd love to get to know you. I hope that you received a worship folder as you came in. There's some information you can follow along. Uh, our service in there. Uh, this week, we do acknowledge, uh, we found out the death of our dear brother, Miguel Martinez. Uh, we do grieve. Uh, and we do have hope that he knew the Lord Jesus and is with him now. Uh, we will have a memorial service for Miguel on March the 1st at 3 p.m.. Uh, so I want to inform you of that. Uh, a few announcements for us today, and then what's coming up in the weeks coming. Today we start our new Sunday school program. Our Sunday schools are a great way to get to know other members of the church. A great way to grow in our faith. So please come along. We'd love to. We'd love you to make the most of that. We've got a great host of classes. You should have received a little, uh, information on there. Uh, we weren't able to conclude our winter Sunday school classes because of the snow. Last week. So we will have a make up class. There's been some interest both classes we will next week, the 22nd at 12:30 p.m. after the 11 p.m. 11 a.m. service at 1230. There'll be a makeup class. Hopefully that was clear. Um, make sure you read your emails and there's information in the announcements. Uh, in your announcements. I encourage you to read through this. Um, there's information there about our Ash Wednesday service this week, the women's ministry gathering. If you're a woman, I encourage you to come along. Our family board game night. Uh, there's also information there about our men's retreat. Man, get on this. The 28th. It's going to be fantastic. And there's also I want to just highlight the college ministry we're meeting tonight, but we've also got a lunch next week after the 11 a.m. service. So please do come along for that. Make sure I mentioned everything I was meant to. 00:10:46,901 S3: Wonderful. Well, let's take a moment now and let's prepare our hearts for worship. 00:11:59,167 S3: Would you please stand for the call to worship? 00:12:06,000 S3: May your kings bow down to him. And all nations serve him. 00:12:12,868 S4: And he cried out. He afflicted and noted above. 00:12:18,467 S3: Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. Well, let's continue to stand. And let's worship by singing Jesus shall Reign. It's an insert in your worship folder. 00:12:56,901 S5: Shall we wait for the sun? Does this successive journey, the district of faith on the shore. Till sun shall rise. And suppose 00:13:21,501 S5: to be me. The rays rising through me. To the days to trust in me. Oh, we have made the key Jesus for. 00:13:45,067 S5: The. 00:13:57,167 S5: Sake of the enemy may love me to the. 00:14:09,667 S5: Glory! Glory be to God and all the sons of God. Come to me. You may not seem to be proud of me, but can be blown 00:14:42,200 S5: These are. 00:14:58,367 S5: People in real trouble. We can't tell if we see his name. Whether I shall. 1st May never be blessed before him, too. I may be mine is my life. See through me the day to They will be, shall they say, the. 00:16:01,367 S5: Release of God's every blessing to God. To the. 00:16:13,367 S5: Angels, he said, please stop talking. 00:16:20,767 S5: To me. Be allowed. 00:16:26,467 S5: To love me. I gave my finger to. 00:16:39,601 S5: Does that make me happy? Jesus. 00:16:53,400 S5: Love me. Are you ready for me to say I love you? They love me. I pray he does. 00:17:30,100 S6: Please join me in prayer. Let every creature rise and bring the highest honors to our king. Angels descend with songs again and earth. Repeat the loud Amen. Father, we come today and worship to honor you as our King. You are our righteous and true king. And you alone are worthy of our worship and praise. With the psalmist, we to ask, Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary, who may live on your holy hill? We ask because we understand deep down in our very being that our sin separates us from you. That we have desired our will above your will for our lives. And we confess and ask for your forgiveness for the times this week where we have honored ourselves more than we have honored you, Lord, as we enter the Lenten season, I pray that your Spirit will work in powerful ways within our church family, that your spirit will show us where we need to repent and return to you and assure us of your complete forgiveness. Lord, we need you as a forgiven people, loved wholly and completely by you, father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We worship you this morning with awe, wonder and gratitude. Praise be to his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. Please join in song. Seek ye first the kingdom. 00:19:25,100 S4: Seek first the kingdom of God. That is righteousness. 00:19:41,868 S4: And all these things shall be added unto you. Oh! 00:19:53,200 S4: Hallelujah! 00:19:56,067 S4: Jesus. 00:20:04,300 S4: Christ. And it shall be done. Do you see it? 00:20:16,367 S4: Oh! 00:20:20,267 S4: God. And it shall be given to you. Oh! 00:20:31,100 S4: Who are they? Who you are. 00:20:38,467 S4: Who are you? 00:20:46,400 S7: You may be seated. And children, we'd like to invite you forward with Mrs. Biggies for the children's message. Come right down. 00:20:54,667 S8: Good morning. I have got a whopper of a promise to tell you about today. It is a large one. I've been thinking about this for many days. I just hope I can share it all with you. And it's going to be tough, because I got to be short. Right. Come on up. Don't be shy. Come on up. Come up. Yeah. All right, so I want you to tell me about something I want you to tell me. Yeah. Tell me about light. Tell me. Tell me about light. What? Tell me something about white light. What does light do? 00:21:33,601 S9: Um. It's great. 00:21:35,667 S8: It's bright. What else? 00:21:40,601 S8: It's kind of like. Jesus, you are so smart. Yes. Absolutely right. It shines. What happens when I put something dark over light? What happens? 00:21:52,767 S9: Um. 00:21:55,200 S8: It stops shining, right? It stops shining. Absolutely. So I want you to think about that today as we go into a particular story. Now, for the past several weeks, we've been telling you about the promises of God in the Old Testament. The first book. Right. We've been talking about Adam and Eve and Noah and Abraham. Abraham's wife. Sarah. Abraham. Son. Isaac. Isaac's son. Right, Jacob. And today? Guess what? 00:22:21,667 S5: Uh. 00:22:22,667 S8: Jacob. Son. Joseph. That's what we're going to talk about today. So guess what? The story of Joseph covers ten chapters in Genesis ten chapters. Now I can go over all ten chapters because guess what they'd be saying? You know what, Mary? Because you are talking too long. So we have to make this very short. So I want you to think about this when I'm going to talk about Joseph. You're going to tell me, is he shining or not? So chapter 37 tells us that Jacob had 12 sons. Oh, that's how many brothers he had, right? So the 11th son's name was Joseph and Jacob. Guess what? The dad loved Joseph more than the other brothers. Yeah. And you know what he does. He decides to give Joseph a coat of many colors. Now imagine this. I know this is my Afghan, but you know what? You know what? Imagine this. This is Joseph. This is what he gets from dad. Now the other bros. Oh, they're like. 00:23:23,300 S10: Whoa, what? 00:23:25,167 S8: Guess what? They're jealous. Well, of course they're jealous because he gets this beautiful robe, right? Of many, many colors. And he wears it right. So his other brothers are out there. They're they're they're ten in the sheep. He goes out there with his coat. They can see him. Well, of course, it's so bright. Right. And you know what they do. They're going. That's it. We are going to take the coat and put him in a pit. So they do that. They take the coat, put them in a pit, and then they sell them off to traders. And these traders make him go work for this guy named Potiphar in Egypt. Well, he's far away from home. He's only 17 years old. And he. Guess what though? He was shining when he got the coat. I forgot about this. And then, right when he gets sold off to Egypt, what happens? Darkness. But guess what? This is Jacob. He's still thinking and believing in hope and. Right. And then from Potiphar's house. Right? Guess what? Somebody accuses him something and he gets sent to jail. Jail? Dark time. Right? And guess what the prisoner guard says. Jacob, you're such a smart guy. We are going to put you in charge of all the prisoners. So he does. And while he's in prison, guess what they tell him? Dreams. Now, the thing about Jacob is Jacob was. I mean, I'm sorry Joseph was a guy that could actually tell dreams. In fact, when he was young, he told his brothers about this dream that they were out in the field and they were all gathering stalks. And as they were gathering stalks, sort of like his stalks stood up and all of his brothers bowed down to him. Now, his brothers didn't like that dream. Of course not. Right. Because they're bowing down. He has another dream. And it's about the moon and the stars, and there's 11 stars to look like the 11 brothers. And guess what? Again, the stars bow down to him. Well, while he's in jail, he's telling them what happens in their dreams. Now they get released from jail. They go back to work for Pharaoh, the king. Guess what? They forget about Joseph. Joseph? Guess what? He's stuck in jail and no light, right? So he waits in jail for many, many years. Pharaoh, the king has this dream and they can't figure it out. What is this dream about? Right? And guess what? They remember Joseph. They bring him out and he can tell Pharaoh the king all about his dream. And Pharaoh goes, whoa! When you went, the dream was about that. Egypt was going to have this time of lots of suffering. There would be no food, nothing. So he puts Jacob in charge. Guess what? Jacob stores all the good things for seven years in Egypt. And so when suddenly, when all the starvation happens, guess what? Joseph's brothers, they don't know. They think he's like, gone and dead and no longer. They travel to Egypt and guess who's in charge? Joseph. But they don't recognize him because so much time has passed, right? And so they come. They come there and guess what? Finally, Joe Joseph reveals himself and his brothers have to bow down to him, just like in the dreams. But Joseph said, you know what? All this time I could still be a shining light. Even though I went through many dark times because I believe that God would fulfill his promise. Right. So what does it tell us? It tells us that even during dark times and we don't know what's happening, God always has a promise for us. Right. So let's pray. Dear God, thank you for your promise to Joseph. 00:26:49,300 S8: And show us in showing us how Joseph was a believing light. 00:26:56,267 S8: May we be lights even during dark times. Remembering your promises. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 00:27:09,801 S9: Right. 00:27:13,367 S9: Amen. 00:27:15,100 S6: Thank you. Mary. Today's scripture reading is from the Luke chapter 11, verses 1 to 13. 00:27:25,767 S6: One day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, when you pray, say, father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins. For we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. Then Jesus said to them, suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, friend, lend me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him. And suppose the one inside answers don't bother me. The door is already locked and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives the one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? The word of the Lord. Please stand for the song of praise. 00:29:43,267 S5: My hope is built on nothing. 00:29:49,901 S5: And Jesus love and understanding. 00:29:56,567 S5: I cannot trust the system. 00:30:03,200 S5: That will be trusted. 00:30:11,167 S5: By the cornerstone. 00:30:17,601 S11: We made strong in the Savior's love through the storm. 00:30:29,200 S5: All. 00:30:32,000 S5: Of. 00:30:40,801 S5: This seems to hide his face. 00:30:46,667 S5: I rest on him. Changing. 00:30:53,467 S5: In every line for me. And. 00:31:00,267 S5: My anchor for the day. 00:31:07,167 S5: I am the hope within. This. 00:31:15,801 S5: Is story no one has come to me is going to save your love for the story. He knows the Lord. God knows. 00:31:57,901 S11: When he shall come with trumpet sound. 00:32:04,767 S11: Oh, may I let him be found? 00:32:12,367 S5: In his Bless the Lord. 00:32:18,567 S5: For Mississippi. Oh! 00:32:26,567 S5: My God, 00:32:30,100 S5: oh, God, be strong. 00:32:38,367 S5: My. 00:32:41,167 S5: Love for me. 00:32:47,267 S5: Oh, the. 00:32:54,067 S5: Eyes of God. Oh, yes. Remain strong. Save your love. 00:33:12,868 S5: For. 00:33:15,367 S5: God knows. 00:33:34,200 S3: You may be seated. 00:33:38,267 S3: Well, let us pray together. 00:33:44,000 S3: Our Lord God in the storms. You are Lord, and we rest on your unchanging grace. 00:33:58,000 S3: We thank you today that we can bring to you our concerns, our needs, and our requests, and that you hear us. 00:34:09,267 S3: We lift up this morning the Martinez family. 00:34:14,367 S3: Lord, we grieve the death of your precious son, Miguel. We are thankful for his life, his faithfulness, his compassion that many of us experienced. Lord, we pray now that you would give comfort and peace to Christina and the children. Lord, be very close in their pain, in their grief and their loss, and we thank you that you are no stranger to grief, and that we do not grieve without hope. And we know that this was not unexpected to you, that you numbered Miguel's days, and you have received him now in glory, and we have the hope of resurrection. Thank you Jesus. 00:34:56,200 S3: Father, this morning we pray for those who are suffering sickness, and we bring to mind those who have health concerns. We pray specifically for an and ask that you give wisdom to our doctors to know best how to treat the cancerous tissue. And we ask Lord your peace for her as she navigates this diagnosis. We prayed two for Ken and his procedure this week. Lord, give your strength. Fill him with your love and we ask your healing and your peace. And for others, Lord, not mention who come to mind now. Please God, be glorified, to heal and to stir faith and to help us to trust you. 00:35:41,567 S3: We pray this morning for our missionaries. We bring to you, Rachel Dean, and we thank you for the work that you are doing through her on campuses here on the North Shore. Lord, we ask you bear great fruit through her and that many students would come to know you. We pray especially for her housing situation and we ask that in your goodness, Lord, in your generosity, that you would provide a place for her to live soon. Lord, we praise you as the one Universal King overall. You are our leader and our Lord, and we worship you. And we pray this morning for those in positions of leadership in our country and our state. For President Trump and Governor Healey. We pray that they would govern and make decisions in ways that are good for justice and good for righteousness and good for equity. Lord, help us to look to you. Help us to trust in your word. Help us to seek your wisdom and live in ways that reflect your love and your grace, your righteousness and your justice. Lord, we pray for the offering now that it would be towards your glory and your kingdom. And we ask for Kevin too, as he comes to preach your word. Lord, speak through him now. All these prayers we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. I now invite our ushers forward to collect the offering. 00:41:43,067 S11: Blessings, for praise be delivered. 00:41:53,667 S11: May in the. 00:41:55,868 S5: Lord be with me as Pray. Father, son and holy, Holy mother. 00:42:15,801 S7: Please be seated. 00:42:22,067 S7: I want to start with a question this morning. Do we know how to pray? 00:42:31,667 S7: People pray all over the world. They pray to many gods. They pray to the universe, to the Mother Nature, to their ancestors. Some pray to Jesus. People pray ancient prayers. Or they pray in their own words. 00:42:53,100 S7: Who do we pray for? What do we pray for? We pray for others. We pray for our world. We pray for ourselves. We have public prayers, private prayers. There's rhythms and daily practices of prayer. And then there's prayers of desperation. 00:43:14,000 S7: You can find countless books on prayer, and some of them are good. 00:43:21,000 S7: As many teachings on prayer and some of them are true. Prayer is something that we should consistently grow in. It's it's a practice. It's a a way of being, of relating, of understanding God. It's one of the marks of being a follower of Jesus. But do we know how to pray? I confess, approaching this sermon to stand up here and say, well, now, let me tell you, uh, I'm in the same school that you're in learning to pray. And Luke records Jesus's teaching on prayer at the beginning of Luke chapter 11. The passage that was read earlier and he gives a simple outline for how to pray. And then he offers further instructions. So let's join together in Jesus's school of prayer this morning, and I want you to listen for for three things Jesus is guidance on prayer, Jesus's directive for prayer, and then Jesus's comfort in prayer, his guidance, his directive, and his comfort. So first, Jesus's guidance on prayer. And it starts with his own prayer life. Luke moves from Jesus's commendation of what Mary modeled. Remember Mary last week, choosing to sit and listen and learn at Jesus feet as a disciple. And Luke goes right from that scene to Jesus praying. He'd written in several examples of Jesus's practice of going up to the mountains or in wilderness areas for extended times of prayer. This is what Jesus did regularly. His ministry had this rhythm of activity and prayer. More activity, more prayer all throughout his his life and ministry and his disciples. They saw this. They were walking with Jesus, learning from him, following after him. They were teaching the things he was teaching. They were healing in the way he was healing. And they were watching Jesus pray. And now here in chapter 11, one of the disciples asks him, Jesus, would you teach us how to pray? 00:45:43,100 S7: What questions do you have about prayer? How does it work? Does God really hear? Why don't why don't I always get what I pray for. I'm praying so earnestly. 00:46:00,501 S7: Does God really care about my prayers? I mean, I'm just one person. 00:46:06,601 S7: These are critical questions about prayer and and Jesus. He gives guidance to his disciples and and to us as his followers. At the time, there were prayers all around. There were prayers in the temple. You'd go up to the temple at the high festivals, and there's regular prayers. There are prayers in the little towns and villages, in their synagogues, regular times of prayer. And then, of course, there were prayers like we know of personal prayers in our life. Prayers are rooted in the Ten Commandments and Scripture. In the Shema hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one is this daily prayer. They are rooted in the Psalms, but the disciples want Jesus to teach them his way of prayer. They knew of other groups and their prayers. They certainly knew John the Baptist. He taught the disciples how to pray back in chapter five, in verse 33. We read that John's disciples are are known. What are they known for? For fasting and prayer. Along with the disciples of the Pharisees. And so they asked Jesus, teach them to pray like John taught his followers. I mean Jesus, John taught his father. We really should know this. Prayer is central to Jesus's life and ministry. And so they say, teach us to pray. And Jesus responds, and as he does so, uh, in the sermon on the Mount, uh, he he begins in the same way here. He says, when you pray, it's a word of expectation. The life of prayer isn't a sad thing, isn't it? If you feel like it, it's when you pray. It's a given for followers. It's a a given for disciples. It's essential for someone who's in the kingdom of God. This means that we all, in our own way, need to prioritize prayer. A friend of mine gets up every morning before everyone else, and sits at her kitchen table and spend his time with the Lord. Another pastor friend of mine had a a small room added to his office. Maybe maybe a little larger than a phone booth where he could pray without distraction. Some of us like to get out in nature and pray. Someone in in our family has this consistent pattern for prayer with regular requests that are the the foundation for his prayer life. There are a variety of ways to prioritize praying, but we want to be people who come to the Lord regularly and intentionally. Jesus says, when you pray, he shares this expectation, and then he gives guidance on a pattern for prayer. And it's based on two principles. Jesus guides us on prayer to first have a Godward orientation. That's the first principle. And then second, a life of daily dependence, a Godward orientation, and then a life of daily dependence. So our Godward orientation, it starts with honoring God above all others. He says, father, hallowed be your name. We approach him as our father, the one we rely on, the one we trust in, the one we follow. Halloween. His name means remembering and upholding the worship of who God is. He's the creator. He's the sustainer. He's the one from which all that we have flows. We remember what he's done. Not only is he created, but he's rescued. He's known his people. He's called his people. He's forgiven his people. And we think about his preeminent position in our life. He is the only one, the only true God. And so we think about what he's done in the past. We think about his character. He's the center. The only one worthy of honor and glory. Who else would you hallow? Jesus says, come to him as Father and hallow his name. A Godward orientation honors God, and a Godward orientation also yearns for God's reign to be established. Jesus says, your kingdom come. He came preaching the kingdom, and Jesus demonstrated it was already coming in power. That's partly why he's healing. That's partly why he's exorcising demons and getting them out. That's why he's teaching all these things, coming together to show that God is coming to his people. That was the point. His teaching his followers here to beg God to bring his kingdom. Why? Because God's kingdom is the perfect kingdom. It's the kingdom of love and justice and peace and hope. It's the kingdom that sees each person and puts them in the right place and cares for them. It's the kingdom that that doesn't forget about anyone. And so we yearn for the right rule and the reign of God to be present in our world. He says, pray your kingdom come. Do you feel that in your heart a yearning, a desire for God's ways to be present for all kinds of people? 00:51:15,767 S7: And this God's Word application has his influence in all the choices that we make, all the attitudes that we exhibit. And this can be very granular, very specific in your life. Don't let this prayer remain so lofty. Thy kingdom come that it sails away. No, it shapes your life and at times it corrects your actions and thoughts. Are you Halloween? His name? Are you honoring God as the preeminent one? Are you allowing his holiness to pervade your thoughts about your coworkers. 00:51:53,868 S7: Our envy or gossip and selfish pursuits crowding out our pursuit of God's kingdom. Because when you bring those things into your life, it means you can't concentrate on the way of God's kingdom. In how you view other people. It distracts. It pulls away. It distorts our lives as Christians. What is the Kingdom of God in your life look like? See if you're praying this prayer. You're partnering with the Spirit of God to to demonstrate this Godward orientation, to honor him and to desire His Kingdom's power in your life. The kingdom in you is advancing. 00:52:32,968 S7: So, Jesus, the first principle of prayer is this God word oriented petitions. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. And that are followed by the second principle of prayer, which is a request reflecting that life of daily dependence. I need you, God. 00:52:53,267 S7: The first request is for daily bread sustenance for each new day. It's what we need. We're praying for what we need. It's asking God to provide as he has in the past, depending on him. This is the practical matter of food. We think about the the Israelites in the Old Testament being supplied day by day, manna and quail in the in the wilderness as they're waiting for God to bring them into the Promised Land. As they're looking forward, they're trusting him day by day. It's a request to provide for any and all of our needs. Do we have needs this morning? 00:53:31,400 S7: Does God care about my needs? He says bring this request. Give us this day our daily bread. It's easy when things are going well, isn't it? Kind of have all I need. I'll pray. This prayer is essential. When things aren't going well. When all is well, they. This should lead us to Thanksgiving, right? Thank you Lord, as I pray for my daily bread, it's right there and it also shapes us when it's not there to trust day by day. Lord, I'm hanging on. I'm trusting you. You said pray for daily bread. I'm coming to you. And so we pray for daily bread. Before we move on. Just. Just a side note. Think about the connection between the what he just said. Thy kingdom come and the prayer for daily bread. If we have what we need, can we take what's extra and use it to build up the Kingdom of God? It's a call for generosity. It practically means that maybe you have extra and you provide meals or help a neighbor. It may mean financially sharing like like giving to the church or other organizations that are bringing hope and healing and justice and above all, the message of the gospel to the world. See our prayers like Jesus, few our lives and actions. And so when we're praying for God's kingdom to come, when we're praying for daily bread, when God gives and provides and there's an abundance, can we give it away to bring the kingdom? 00:55:07,400 S7: He says, pray for daily bread. A second request beyond daily bread is forgiveness of our sins. Jesus says, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who's indebted to us. We want our balance sheet to be clear. We want to walk in freedom. We want to walk without being burdened, to live out the values of the kingdom. And so we come to God asking for forgiveness. And that comes from a repentant heart, doesn't it? Oh, God, I'm a humble person. Oh, God. You know what I've done. I'm so sorry. Would you forgive me? Would you clean me out? I just want to know you. I want to be a part of that kingdom. 00:55:58,767 S7: We know that God alone is able to forgive sins. And so this prayer extends the forgiveness that we ask from God and a response to others, those who've wronged us. Can you think of someone who's wronged you? How are you holding them in your heart? Are you able to approach them when they are repentant and say, I forgive you? Be free. We live out the kingdom values of forgiveness by extending forgiveness to others. This is so radical. The prayer asked and answered. It transforms relationships because you don't have to hold on to that bitterness and it can transform the world. We've seen demonstrations of this. It's interesting in in South Africa after the fall of apartheid, they had these these, uh, sessions. Uh, they kind of gave amnesty to everyone, but they had these sessions where someone would have to come in and confess. They'd have to say everything that they'd done, and then the people would, would respond and forgiveness. And it was it was amazing. It changed the world. They didn't do it perfectly, but it's just a glimpse of the kingdom of God, the type of behavior that transforms our lives. Are you praying this? Can you pray this today? 00:57:23,968 S7: It's not a one and done request. It's a core aspect of our daily dependence on God. He says, pray for daily bread. He says, forgive and pray for forgiveness. And Jesus guides us in this prayer of For forgiveness as we practice the discipline of forgiveness. God's calling you that to this day. And then the final daily prayer. Remember, we're orienting to God first and then praying for daily dependence is for protection and guardianship. He says, and lead us not into temptation. It's a request for God's care as we face the trials and the temptations of life. He's he's not guiding us into a cul de sac of confusion, but he's he's leading us to lives of faithfulness. Think of Paul's statement in First Corinthians. He says this no temptation has overtaken you except what's common to mankind. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you're tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. This prayer is for God's intervention. It's for his help. He's not only forgives our sins, but he helps us to resist temptation, to resist sin. 00:58:40,968 S7: So Jesus is teaching on prayer moves from this Godward orientation, honoring God for his character, for his accomplishments. We honor his name. We yearn for his kingdom, his unfolding plan, and his righteous rule to be established. And then Jesus's teaching moves from that Godward orientation to daily dependence. We depend on God for our needs. We depend on God for forgiveness of sin in our relationships, and we rely on him as we face trials, as we face struggles, as we face temptations. Incredibly practical. How many of you face trials in the last week? A few of you. Anyone face temptations? A few of you struggled. 00:59:30,567 S12: Come on. 00:59:33,367 S7: This is for you. And that would be enough to focus our attention. This is Jesus's guidance on prayer. We could just keep coming back to that for years. But Jesus doesn't stop there, he continues. He he leads us on teaching through a parable and examples to give a directive for prayer. And this directive is to come with confidence to God. With our prayers. We're to ask, we're to seek. We're to knock all three of these. They're essentially the same thing. It says come confidently to God with with your need. Come to him in prayer. And we see this clearly in the parable of the this neighbor and this friend. You can picture it. Your sleep. It's been ours. You're entering that third phase of REM sleep. Everything is great. And you hear the the doorbell ring and it's in your dream and you're like thinking you're at a C and there's a bell or you're trying to sort it all out. Finally, you come to yourself and you get on your phone and you see the door camera and you're like, what is going on? And there's your neighbor doing. 01:00:44,767 S7: What are you doing? What do you want? Huh? Your hair's all messy, you know. They can't see me. Can. Someone's just coming to town. We don't have any food in that. We were going to Market Basket tomorrow. The CVS is closed. I can't even get Wonder Bread. We can't get anything in the cellar. Can you spare some bread? Just some food. They're starving. We didn't know they were coming. We're scrambling. I hate to do this, but I. I'm desperate. And you're like. Huh? If I go out in the kitchen and do this, you know, it's going to wake up the kids and then they're going to be up, and then it's going to be hours before they can settle back down. Oh, but the neighbor is so. They're just not leaving. 01:01:36,200 S7: They're breaking all conventions, just breaking common courtesy. You were their friend. Now you're just their neighbor. And his desperation and the awkwardness caused the neighbor to give the man what he wants. He's knocking, he's asking, he's seeking. And so what is Jesus directing his disciples to do? He says after telling this story. Ask. Seek. Knock. 01:02:09,767 S7: The one who asks will receive. The one who seeks will find the. The one who knocks will have the door open. Don't hesitate, don't hesitate. You don't have to. To be sophisticated, you don't have to be appropriate. Just come to God. Come to the father and ask. That's the directive for prayer. He uses these three imperatives. He's emphasizing this action in prayer. Ask. Seek. Knock. Then God will give. Reveal and open the way. 01:02:41,367 S7: Doesn't mean we get anything we want. Does it mean we get everything we pray for? Right when we pray for it? Why? Because God's good. Because he's. 01:02:50,767 S12: Wise. 01:02:53,200 S7: Think about Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 01:02:57,767 S13: I want the golden ticket. No, daddy. 01:03:03,000 S7: Veruca salts father buys. He uses his whole factory to buy candy bar after candy bar to get the golden ticket for his daughter because he loves her so. 01:03:14,868 S7: But Veruca Salt doesn't actually treasure the golden Ticket. It's wasted on her. It corrupts her. 01:03:21,968 S12: Character. 01:03:23,167 S7: She's a spoiled. 01:03:24,167 S12: Brat. 01:03:26,200 S7: Her father's love would have been wiser if it had been used to correct her greed and help her to have good character. See, our Heavenly Father is no Rupert Salt. He gives good gifts with wisdom. With our best interest in mind. He knows us, and so he longs to respond to our prayers when we come to him. Jesus directs his followers to come unhindered to God in prayer. 01:03:57,767 S7: So this is lesson number two. Jesus gives guidance and how to pray and then his directive to come with confidence. These are the first two lessons in the school of prayer and then one more. The third lesson this morning is Jesus's comfort to followers in prayer. He gives two examples about how fathers act towards their sons and follows the example up with a question. When father among you, if his, what father among you if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish, give him a serpent. Or if he asks for an egg, we'll give him a scorpion. You just have to laugh like that's crazy. The absolute. The answer is clear. You have a son who's asking for a fish or an egg. Can you imagine a father would give a poisonous snake or a scorpion? That's the work of a monster. A father's role is to. To protect his children, to provide for them, to to help them grow into maturity. A father has love, is willing to sacrifice, to protect, to defend his children so that they they thrive. It's the basic contract between fathers and children, between the father and the son. Everything else is unthinkable. Jesus says this is the expectation. He draws us in because we all know this. You all understand this. You all. You all know how to provide. You all know how to do good, to listen and respond to your children. But. But you're not perfect. You're tainted by your sinful nature. You're. You're wicked, evil, unholy. He puts it very starkly. Kind of jarring. Oh, Jesus. Why are you calling me names? Why? Because they understood their spiritual position, apart from God, that they were separated. They needed his grace and forgiveness. And despite this, he says, despite that situation, you know how to give good gifts to your children. Look at verse 13. If then you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? How much more? He says, look at the Heavenly Father. Look at his character. What type of person is he? Look at his nature, his makeup. Look at his objective. When you pray. His objective is to shower his children with blessing. He wants to give much more. He delights to respond when he ask. He doesn't have those sinful inclinations or limitations. The exuberant goodness of our God is on full display. This is a great comfort that we have when we pray. God is so much more willing to hear and to bless than any earthly father. Some of you have amazing fathers. Some of you have terrible fathers. This is saying he's like none of those. He is so much greater than the best father that's ever been seen. 01:07:07,601 S7: In Matthew's Gospel and the teaching on the sermon on the Mount. Uh, he says something similar. He says, how much more does the father give good gifts to those who ask? Kind of following up when we ask, God provides. But here in Luke's recounting, in this setting of teaching his disciples how to pray. He responds with something that's more specific. It's more intimate. Did you see what he said? How much more does the father give? Not good gifts, but give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. You see, when you ask God, when you seek for him, when we knock on the door of his house, he opens and he reveals. And he responds with the the most comprehensive answer to our desires and our yearnings and our hopes. What's that answer? It's himself. He gives the Holy Spirit to us. It's God Himself who's poured into our lives. We're praying, we're asking. We're needy. We have confusion. And he says, I'm giving you all that I am. It's the mark of the kingdom. It's the differentiator for Christians. What's different about Christians? You have the Spirit of God in you. It's like six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Challenging people to find that distance through movies or commercials between Kevin Bacon and some other actor in six steps or less. When we pray, God removes all the degrees of separation. 01:08:49,367 S7: Because he gives His Holy Spirit. In Luke's sequel to his gospel, The Book of Acts, he begins with the fulfillment of the prophet Joel as the Holy Spirit is poured out, is the language on his followers. The Holy Spirit propels believers into life and to ministry, to hope and future beyond anything that we could create on our own. Whatever you could imagine, God says, I'm going to give you myself. I'm going to reveal my plans, my kingdom, my way. His response of radical love to us as his children is when we pray, he gives us himself. When you approach the living God, he's good. He's eager to give himself to you. What more do you want? Oh, but there's this other thing. God beyond you. Are you serious? If you want something greater than God, you probably need to meditate on who God is a little bit more. This is Jesus's comforting teaching for us to give us confidence, to give you hope in your prayers. Do we know how to pray? I certainly know ways to pray. I know things to say. I know a lot of resources, but how to pray? It flows from Jesus. We can come again and again to this passage to consider Jesus, who who guides us in prayer. Who directs us to come to him. And then he comforts us with the promise of the Good Father's delight and giving us the Holy Spirit. 01:10:34,501 S7: It's a beginning. Can we be a praying people? Let's start here. Let me pray. O God, we delight in your presence. You are holy beyond our imagination. Help us to know you just a little bit more today. We do ask that your kingdom would come, and that it would start in our hearts and our lives, that we would demonstrate a changed life. We have so many needs, Lord, would you meet them in your great wisdom? We've gone so many wayward directions. Lord, please forgive us and help us, Lord, not to hold on to bitterness and frustration with others, but to forgive freely. And Lord, keep us in your way. Lead us as we go through all the trials of life. This is your model for prayer. Shape us by it. Lord Jesus, we thank you that we can come to you as a good father and that you give us yourself. What a gift! We pray all these things asking for your help day by day. In Jesus name, Amen. Invite you to stand with me and we'll sing this prayer together. It's in your worship folder. The Lord's prayer. 01:11:57,868 S14: The father. 01:12:05,667 S14: Which art in heaven? 01:12:15,300 S14: Hallowed Let me. 01:12:23,501 S14: My name. 01:12:30,801 S14: Thy kingdom come. 01:12:37,667 S14: Thy will be done. 01:12:43,100 S14: On earth 01:12:46,400 S14: as it is. 01:12:50,067 S14: In heaven. 01:13:08,701 S14: Hear us this day our daily Eat bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. 01:13:33,701 S14: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory. 01:13:58,200 S14: Forever. 01:14:20,267 S7: Amen. Thank you for joining us in worship. If you need prayer, we'd love to pray with you about anything. Please come and pray. Head up this ramp and through the chapel. It's the first door on your right. The Prophet Joel prophesied, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions even on the male and female servants. In those days I will pour out my spirit, and I will show wonders in the heavens on the earth, blood and fire, and calms of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So receive the benediction. Brothers and sisters, go praising the name of our Heavenly Father, giving thanks for the grace of our Lord Jesus, and praying Confidently because the father delights to give you the Holy Spirit for your salvation and for your joy in all circumstances. Go in his peace. Amen. 01:15:34,000 S15: Let us. 01:15:41,868 S5: Pray to the. 01:15:48,000 S5: Lord. 01:15:52,000 S5: For.