Back to the Lord’s Prayer

forgiveness The prayer Jesus Christ gave his disciples when they said, “Teach us to pray” begins with an acknowledgment of the God being petitioned, the God Jesus taught all disciples, then and now, to address as “our Father.” The first request seems to be something...

Freedom

worth celebrating Freedom is worth celebrating–even beyond the 4th of July. It is central to Passover feasts. It’s what kids think about on the last day of school. Freedom is vacations, the day we burn the mortgage or pay off that student loan, the day the cast...

The Lord’s Prayer Pt.3, More on Daily Bread

a second look While praying the Lord’s Prayer, do you just skim over, “Give us this day our daily bread”? Food is such an ordinary need, why waste a thought on it? That’s been my position, have to admit. However, the petition warrants more than a second look. First, I...

The Lord’s Prayer, Pt. 2

everyday needs Praying the familiar Lord’s Prayer, we first remind ourselves of the holiness of God’s name. Then we petition the Father to bring in his kingdom. From there, Jesus takes us right to everyday needs: “Give us this day our daily bread.” As a person who has...

The Lord’s Prayer, Part I

so familiar Jesus Christ was devoted to prayer and gave his disciples (us too) a model when they said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6, Luke 11) is a prayer we’ve known from childhood and say regularly, maybe in worship. But the familiar can...

Help Arrives

a catalog of troubles Many psalms of David can be read as a catalog of troubles, a list of hardships and many kinds of intense suffering. But the focus is on God’s help in multiplied troubling situations: “In my distress, I will call upon the LORD, / And cry to my God...