How Not to Pray: What Jesus Teaches About True Prayer

I’m doing okay. That was fun. It’s good to see you. Make sure to hey guys, in the fall three all right.

Good morning. Oh, really? That’s right. I’m trying to I don’t think you were doing but the person you look like a real guitar. Somebody check. It’s a lot of fun.

Morning sir. Am I hearable? All right. Can you hear me in the back?

Go back another few rows and see if it’s better or worse.

Family trip and return to teaching 23 min mark

We have been on our annual family trip with my sister and her family and all of our family. So, we got back yesterday afternoon and left. We left Destined at 5 yesterday morning to drive home and it was a great opportunity to go back on the website and listen to what you experienced last week with Mark Sullivan filling in. and Mark did such a good job. I I’m a little embarrassed. I I forgot stickers today, so I don’t have stickers to hand out, but I don’t I don’t get the audience participation that Mark was able to get, so I’m not going to give you stickers anyway. But we will we will move forward.

Moving into the New Testament 26 min mark

Uh kind of a kind of a pivotal day this morning in our look at God’s love story as you very patiently have been going through with what Cole and I are doing as we as we teach through the text and we move into the New Testament today and it’s I I love the Old Testament and I love the stories and I love the challenge that it presents and I love the way that it it personifies the Christ throughout and if we ever lose sight of that we lose sight of what God is doing through what revelation he has provided for us.

But there’s a familiarity with the New Testament that is ours that allows us to breathe somewhat of a sigh of relief and go, “Oh, good. I’ll I’ll kind of I’ll kind of at least be familiar with everything that goes on from now on.” And that’s the case. There are several weeks left in God’s love story, but we’ll be moving through primarily over the next few weeks the the life of Jesus in a very brief excursion through it.

Luke and the synoptic gospels 27 min mark

And our our text this morning, if you have been following through God’s love story, you will notice that most of the readings came from Luke. So, I thought, well, it’s a good opportunity to do a little bit of of history background with who Luke was, what his purpose of writing was, what his unique approach was as he tells the story of Jesus.

You’ll you’ll hear the term synoptic gospels and it it simply means that Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar in in what they have in their record of the story of Jesus Christ. And so they have a synopsis of it and they go together. And then you have John which which covers much different material from the life of Jesus and covers some of the things in very lengthy passages compared especially to Mark. And so you combine them all and you get an idea.

But we miss so much because as John says in his concluding chapter and verses, if all the story had been told, the world wouldn’t be able to hold the books. Well, you and I have three years of life. And if we took any three years of our life, uh mine might be a little pamphlet or a track, but it’s because what Jesus did so impactful. And we have little stories. We have his teaching. We have his parables. We have his truth.

The four gospel accounts 28 min mark

And we have from John who you might say was the best friend. We have a heartfelt testimony. We we have from Matthew the the idea of here’s Jewishness personified and we have that story. We have from Mark an acolyte of Peter who was there with Jesus but as a very young man. We we have we have the beginning of the move to the Gentiles. And as Mark succinctly tells the story, he tells it for the coming Gentile involvement in the body of Christ.

Then we have Luke, complete outsider. We don’t really know where he comes from specifically or why he comes or how he gets involved in this drama of Jesus Christ which comes through Paul, but he does. And so his record and as we read through and we won’t do that this morning, but his record as we read through the account is is so powerful in the beginning. Now obviously throughout but Luke more than Mark says nothing virtually about the birth of Jesus Christ.

John’s mention of the birth of Jesus Christ comes in those first few verses where it encapsulates all of creation, all of everything. Matthew has quite a bit, but no one to the extent of Luke. And so if you want to see the beginnings of of how this started there in the first century, you you go to Luke and you begin reading because you have Luke and it has you have Elizabeth’s birth of John the Baptist and you have Jesus and his birth and you have Mary and Elizabeth and their association and and it’d be easy to wonder, well why Luke? Why the Gentile? Why the one who wouldn’t have grown up with all this anticipation of a Messiah unless he did in some way were just not privy to all of that information.

Why does he have all that? And then you think back to his association with Paul and the time that they spent together and the time that Paul spent in Jerusalem. Sometimes not because he really wanted to be there, but the time he’s there. And it becomes fairly apparent that maybe Elizabeth likely Mary are friends of blue and that he’s able to spend time with them in conversation and going through well what was it like and what happened? Now obviously the Holy Spirit is involved in this endeavor with Luke as he records the story but it is it is somewhat a unique approach that he has.

Belief systems and eternal truth 31 min mark

Our lives are filled with beliefs. We we believe things. Sometimes we believe things that are not true. Sometimes we fail to believe those things that are true. You can you can separate our world into two belief systems if people are really thinking about what they believe. There is a belief system and that’s what it is that says there is an eternal creator. There’s a belief system and that’s what it is. It’s a belief system that says matter these things atoms the way that they combine that’s eternal. And between those two belief systems with all the different variants that may be there, we decide our truth.

It is challenging for me to think that this kind of thing had an eternity to it. Not hard at all to believe that there is an eternal being who is the one who has brought all of this to be. But those are the belief systems. There may be believers in different things, but there are no unbelievers. No matter how we may couch it or what we may say, it’s just what we have chosen to believe.

Absolute truth. I believe it. Understanding and finding it. Well, that’s why we have been left what God has provided for us to come to that understanding.

Luke mentioned in Colossians 33 min mark

In Colossians chapter 4. And this this has very little to do with our look at Luke this morning other than the fact that his name is mentioned in it. In that fourth chapter, as Paul writes to that church in Colasse, he is he’s talking about those who have partnered with him in ministry, Jewish and Gentile, because the ministry is growing. Paul has been on his journeys. And so the the the church is expanding because the message is being taken throughout the world.

And it begins this way. Aris who is in prison with me sends you his greetings and so does Mark Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. Jesus, the one we call Justice. And you you can imagine the confusion in those early times. Jesus was a very common name. And and now it has been given a reference even as early as this that that those with that name may be choosing to be called something else not to be confused with Jesus the Messiah the Christ. Jesus the one we call justice also sends his greetings.

These are the only Jewish believers among my co-workers. They’re working with me here for the kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been. Now, it was fairly fast at the beginning, but notice where Paul is. He’s in prison. What a great thing to have friends with you in prison. And for Paul, that that works out. That’s not always the case of what he has, but it is now. And so, those are the Jewish believers that are with him.

And then the next, a member of your own fellowship, a servant of Christ Jesus, evidently a part of the Colassic church, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you asking God to make you strong and perfect fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. I can show I can assure you that he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Leodysa and Herodas.

The importance of prayer 35 min mark

The importance of prayer among the body of believers. So, as I was listening to Mark and his class and then Scott and his class, I was listening to Terl and his prayer, the thoughtfulness that he places in prayer as he leads us in public ways and the knowledge that Terl’s praying for a lot of us. He’s praying for this church. And Paul recognizes the importance of those who pray for believers wherever they are. and then

Our our hero of the day. But the next verse says, “Luke, the beloved doctor senses greed, so to speak, just names. But there’s a story behind all of those names.” And maybe the saddest story, maybe the greatest story in a sense is is Mark Barnabas cousin who Paul did not want on the second journey but now that reconciliation has occurred and maybe the saddest story is Deus who is there with Luke and Paul because later in the letters to Timothy Deus because he loved the world he’s gone a different direction. That can happen even among the strongest of believers.

Paul’s suffering and need for Luke 36 min mark

I I think about Paul saying beloved doctor. Now you know the life of Paul and you know what he experienced in his teaching of Jesus Christ. You know the hate that was leveled against him in some of the places where he ministered. Stoned multiple times, beat multiple times, shipwrecked multiple times. And I realize some of that may have been miraculous that allowed him to continue, but I know the thorn in the flesh was not miraculously removed from him. Our assumption is generally that that’s something physical. It could have been emotional. It could have been mental. We are not given that specific. We just know it’s there. He didn’t want it, but he got to keep it.

And I and I think of Luke being very grateful for the beloved doctor. And I think I think of Paul being very grateful for the beloved doctor. And I think of Paul as someone who really needed a beloved doctor with him most of the time because you didn’t know what was going to happen. And if it wasn’t for the meetings and the shipwrecks and everything else, if it’s just for the thorn in the flesh, well, it helps to have somebody that can provide that physical healing.

Theophilus and Luke’s purpose 38 min mark

Theophilos. And as we read through, we’ll read through those first verses of Luke in a moment. As we read through, we we notice that it is directed to Theophilos. And the discussion has been throughout with with Luke’s message here in his gospel account and in the acts of the apostle. Is theophilus an individual? Is that a person? Is it a code name for the church? We don’t know this side of eternity. But theophilus is the lover of God. And whether it is an individual to whom Luke writes or whether it is the church in general to whom writes to whom he writes, we get to be included in that.

And so as those of us who are lovers of God, who listen to Luke tell the very eternal story of Jesus Christ, we benefit from his wisdom. He recognizes the promises that are there in the Old Testament. They often come out in his gospel account. He recognizes those prophecies as both true and both fulfillment. So he wants us to know that this this fulfills what had been told in the past. He’s very correct with his his get this out his historical dates and as he talks about people, places and times they are correct by history because we have history of that day. It’s not that the Bible is the only words that we have left from that time. There are other writings that are there and so we know some of the things that went on from a historical perspective and Luke is correct with that. It is attested to by things outside of the text which gives a greater belief in what the text has going on and not an eyewitness.

The gospel writers and their sources 40 min mark

Now, Matthew and John, they are eyewitnesses. They are participants in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ. Mark hears about it not only from Jesus, from his interactions there. There is the indication there at the arrest of Jesus Christ. The young man who is there ease dropping and when the arrest comes his cloak is grabbed and he leaves without never named often believe that that’s one a young man kind of aware on the periphery and watching so he sees some things and he’s there with Peter and he’s got Barnabas and he learns from them as well as from what the spirit would say. But here’s Lee and maybe it is at times with the privacy of their home, but he’s with Mary and Elizabeth and learned so much about those early times. He would have spent a lot of time in his in in Jerusalem during Paul’s imprisonment.

The Acts narrative. Luke, the author of both Luke and Acts, and the Acts narrative switches, and we’ve l we looked at that when we looked at Phileiman and the Acts 16 chapter account of Paul’s beginning of the church in f and with not Phileiman, Philip Philippi, Paul’s beginning the church with Philippi that you switch sometimes in Acts from the first person to the third person. So Luke’s there at times and at other times he’s not with Jesus. There are recurring themes that are there throughout Luke’s apologistic study of Christ. He wants Theophilus to know these things are true. And part of his reason for writing and why we talked about belief at the beginning is because that’s his purpose. I want you to know I want you to know that the things that you’ve heard that you can believe those that there is truth.

Key themes in Luke’s gospel 42 min mark

So Luke can as you go through this account, it’ll be something that Cole and I will be doing with with all four gospel accounts over the next coming weeks. But as you specifically think about Luke, here are the themes that he has. He’s the he’s the one who really points out the role of the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And he does that throughout the importance of prayer. And and I know as as Scott has called us through the elders working together in what’s going on for 2026, there’s been that thought of fasting, there’s been that thought of reading, and there’s been that thought of prayer. And even specifically, who’s the one person you’re praying for? and to to to break it down even to that level along with our general prayers that we offer.

There’s the joyful praise of God’s people and that comes out so strongly in in Luke. It’s what one commentator has has said Luke is like a a Broadway musical because everybody breaks out in song all the time and and especially in these opening couple of chapters. You go for a while and then somebody starts singing. You go a while longer and somebody else starts singing. And Luke uses the verb rejoice more than anywhere else in scripture.

We’ve got Paul’s letter with rejoice always. Again, I tell you, rejoice. But but maybe Luke picked that up for Paul because the spirit drives him to remind us of the power of rejoicing. He shows God’s initiative in the salvation of his people. It’s not a self-help treat. We can find those in our literature today. It is the story of divine rescue from the loss. And he wants us to know that we have been rescued.

Luke’s focus on outsiders and women 44 min mark

Luke in a in a way that could be ascribed to his being a gentile, an outsider as all of this starts. as that outsider role, he is very aware and picks up on Jesus love for the outsider. But sometimes the outsider can be sitting right next to you, can be right here, can be right in our midst, but it is the feeling that that that I’m not I’m not like all of those around me. And so Luke is very concerned about the outside. He has his stories of the women who are the faithful and make tenacious friends of Jesus even when the males have abandoned. It’s hard to look at that time at the cross and not realize that it’s the women who are the strongest adherence to Jesus because they are there. John is John the only one mentioned among those closest friends of Jesus. But the women there, women who were given not the same status as male in that day, but women who were given the highest of status by Jesus Christ.

He’s compassionate and Luke shows that for the women. He’s merciful for the women and Luke makes that something that we are very aware of. He points out that it’s the women who are the financial supporters. They are the ones who are helping the ministry of Jesus Christ. They are the givers. Men may have too. There’s a difference in men and women. And the women are strong believers in Jesus.

Jesus and children 46 min mark

He look he looks at the children. And one of one of the fun things when when you reach this age is watching parents interact with children because you know you’re not having to and and so it’s kind of one of one of the fun things that that goes on that you can go back out. It’ll it’ll get better and then they’ll become teens and then it’ll get better and you know you go through all of those various stages of life with it all. So, one of the fun things is is watching as the children head off to their their time together at at different different levels. All seem to go with joy. If they don’t, they’re dragged there. And and then you see the ones that run. And you just hope there’s not an accident. And so far, I haven’t. At least the times I haven’t been there, there have been no there have been no injuries that have occurred with that. But just the exuberance of children.

And yet sometimes we don’t want the exuberance of children. Well, know your place. You’re to be seen and not heard. Unfortunately, children are hurt and they shouldn’t be. And Luke points out just how often Jesus gave them a prominent place in a society

Luke’s portrayal of sinners and outsiders 47 min mark

At that time which wouldn’t have cared that much. And then then you get to me sinners. Luke really points out how Jesus responds to the sinners. Oh, aren’t we all we are? But the challenge as Jesus walks through our world with his ministry is that there are some who did not believe they were. They thought they were above them. They transcended that moment of being sinners and now they were they were special. They were different.

So Luke points out the the sinners and some of the most memorable characters and and I I appreciated what Mark said in class that he didn’t like calling them characters because then it makes you think you’re watching the play rather than the reality of of what what happened. Some of the most memorable individuals that Luke talks about are the most disreputable who’ve come to Christ and he shows that they’re the foreigners. Those weren’t particularly appreciated in that day.

The angels declare the good news, the birth of Jesus to the entire earth. And when the interaction is there in those early days with Simeon in the temple, Simeon says that Jesus and this would go against everything that most of the priests and the hierarchy would have would have wanted to think. But Simeon makes the statement that Jesus will be a light of revelation to the Gentile. Luke wants to make sure that Theophilus realizes that Jesus was there for everybody. The poor, the sick, the harassed, the demon-possessed, widows, bereieved parents, and even Samaritans, the hated Samaritans, those individuals who lived in the middle between Galilee and Judah. And the good Jew would walk around to make sure his feet didn’t touch Samaria. They’re a big part of Luke’s history.

The underdog and God’s kingdom 49 min mark

The account takes to light in telling the story of the of the underdog because it recognizes the ideals of the magnificant, the coming of the magnificent Jesus Christ, the dawning kingdom of God. Last will be first. And so the underdog is given the place that God gives the place.

Salvation as a repeated theme 50 min mark

A lot of time cross and the resurrection of Jesus. The other gospel accounts use the word salvation only once. Luke in his record uses it repeated in both the gospel and in Acts because he wants to show that God has a plan executed through his son Jesus. That God keeps his promises so his word can be trusted. So Theophilles, whether that’s an individual or Theophilus, whether that is us or whether it is both, there’s a reason to trust, a reason to believe. There are facts that back it up, that make it understandable.

And the hard one of the hard stories, there’s no glory without suffering. I’m I’m happy for the glory. I’ll take glory. But to get glory, there will be suffering. That’s a part of what takes place. The kind of person who finds a home in the hope Jesus offers and what kind of person walks away a little bit confused. Luke shows how those how those happen throughout the story.

God’s love story and increasing wisdom 52 min mark

Our goal and as we’ve gone through God’s love story which is just a way of trying to to look chronologically at the text now we’re doing that through the New Testament we’ll get into the letters and then the revelation will be the end but as we look at that and as we go through it that the goal is always to increase our not just knowledge but our wisdom our understanding I can know the facts. Can those facts make a difference in my life?

Luke’s Greek and composition 52 min mark

Real quickly before we read those first few verses, Luke’s a good student. His Greek [clears throat] is some of the most elegant throughout the New Testament. Now, I I don’t know Greek, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you what’s elegant and what’s not, but I but I do know what those who know Greek have said. Peter Peter can be a struggle. He’s a good fisherman, but his his ability with the Greek very much relies on the Holy Spirit to help him out with that. And and you can tell sometimes it’s it’s it’s the way I talk rather than the way a a philosopher or a teacher or a theologian might talk. Luke, he’s right there. He’s very elegant in the way that he uses the Greek. His structure is formal. It’s precise.

Now, we have the English translations and they they they take away some of those differences that might have been there if we were actually reading from the Greek. But Luke Luke had the the composition suits a Greek native speaker but one who’s very aware of Jewish affairs. So somehow he’s got that history too. [clears throat] As as far as the text that he uses, he uses the Septuagen. Now the Septuagen is a Greek translation of the Old Testament. We talked about that a bit earlier and and it’s there is the Greek translation. And when Luke has a record that he’s accounting from the Old Testament, he’s he’s quoting from the Septuagent. That that’s the translation he’s using. There there were others, but that’s his.

Luke’s careful research project 54 min mark

It’s not a a random collection of reminiscence. As we’ve been on vacation with all of our family, we’ll talk about the things that that we remember. Had uh my my niece and nephew-in-law last evening child. You do your best with the sunscreen, but these are children and they’ll rub it off and they’ll get in the water and the sunscreen will be gone and so little little too much sun for one and little burn, little uncomfortable. What do you do young enough to be really not not happy? Doesn’t matter what age you are. Your sunburns, you’re not happy with it. And and so mom mom’s concerned, you know what? We we didn’t get all this done just right. Melinda very graciously noted to her, well, just get ready for it. Few years later, they’re going to tell you all the things you did wrong, and you just go ahead and laugh at them because you’ll remember all the things they did wrong, and you can bring those up, too, and it’ll just be the story. But those are just you reminisce at different times. It’s not what Luke’s doing. He’s laying out a very serious research project so that we might believe by verses.

Luke’s extensive writings 55 min mark

It’s the longest gospel. And we often think about Paul and I if if you grant Hebrews to Paul, I’m not sure whether this would still hold. I I don’t know. I I don’t think it would. But but if you just go with the letters that we know are Pauline, then Luke has the longest writings of any New Testament author. His two books, Luke and Acts, but they’re both very lengthy. And so he’s got the most words.

Identity and worth in God’s promise 56 min mark

So where do we find ourselves? Here we are in a world which struggles for identity and worth. And then I find out that I share the promise of God. So my identity and my worth they are there. So Theophilus an individual Theophilus the early church Theophilus us open the scroll and here’s what we read. Many people set out to write accounts about the event events that have been fulfilled among us. They use the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I have also decided to write an accurate a right an accurate account for you most honorable Theophilus. And then the fourth verse says what? So you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. Belief knowing it happened and there was a reason for it.

Upcoming anniversary and focus on Luke 57 min mark

So as we go through the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I wanted us to focus this morning on on Luke. Cole, I’m not sure what you get to focus on next week, but it is our semiquincent. No. Yes. Semiquincent. So, Friday is our 250th [clears throat] anniversary. I’ll be with Nolan Hills and Nolan Hills is doing three Sundays on the anniversary of the English Bible because it is the quincentennial of the English translation. So, we’re we’re spending three Sundays with that. I’ll I’ll be back in that middle one. I think you’ve got six.

We try to figure out where we are, what we haven’t, and I’m grateful to have Cole here to work together, work together with this u but everything that we’ve been through in the Old Testament was to point us to this moment. As Luke continues, there’s been that 400year period of silence as Malachi’s prophecy comes to its conclusion until we reach this moment.

The beginning of Luke’s gospel 59 min mark

When Herod, this is verse 5 of Luke chapter 1, when Herod was the king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zachariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah. And his wife Elizabeth was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zachariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth had been unable to conceive and they were both very old. One day, Zachariah was serving God in the temple for his order was on duty that week as was the custom of the priest. He was chosen by Lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. When the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside praying.

While Zachariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing to the right of the incense altar. Zachchariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw it. But the angel said and and angels say this every time I think because they are fearful you know the nice little ones that

The angel’s announcement to Zachariah 60 min mark

We have on our picture or not pictures but on our our artwork and our little figurines that’s not them they are fearsome individuals and so their first words are always don’t be afraid and here it’s very specific don’t be afraid Zachariah God has heard your prayer your wife your wife Elizabeth will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And so, we find that first even before his birth, and he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. Now, that means that there are bunch that haven’t been turned that way. And so, one of his roles will be to make that turn for the Israelites. He will be a man with the spirit and the power of Elijah. Malachi prophecy from God has predicted that Elijah will come. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and will will call those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the God.

Zachariah’s doubt and the angel’s response 62 min mark

All right. So that’s Zachariah and he’s hearing this charge that comes from the angel. And then being a man, he’s got questions about all of this. Well, wait a minute. I’m not sure. Zachariah said to the angel, “How can this happen?” Moses, not Moses, but Abraham and Sarah, you say, same kind of thing. You wait a long time for a child and the child comes and you didn’t think that would be possible. How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now.

And here’s where he gets in trouble. and my wife is also well along in years. Well, that that’s not it’s not what you’re ever supposed to say. You just stick with I’m an old man and let’s go with that. It’ll all be on me, but let’s not talk about the the age of my wife.

Then the angel said, I’m Gabriel. We don’t have a whole lot of angelic names, but we got a couple. I’m Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. Now, if you want to give your ability to say I’m something that that does it. I I got an angel name. Not everybody gets them or not everybody gives them, but I got one and I stand in the presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring this good news.

And then the problem. But now, and I have a feeling Zechariah’s ears perked up at that. What What’s What’s the rest of the sentence? You You’ll often hear people say something that is appropriate and then they will use the conjunction but and they will add something else and they’re also often called to task with that. You should have quit before the but. What you said there was fine, but then you had to negate it by what you said next.

Well, that’s the case here. But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you’ll be silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.

The people waiting for Zachariah 64 min mark

Meanwhile, because Zachariah’s been in the temple with the incense in the altar, meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zachariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taken so long. So, it’s like any of our other church services. Why is this one gone on so long? What have we done? What what do we add here that we didn’t know we were going to have? Not that that would ever happen here that you would ever feel that way, but you know, sometimes people do do have that feeling. Well, I thought we got out in whatever x time it was supposed to be. So, they’re wondering why Zachariah hadn’t come back.

And when he finally comes out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then, they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. When Zachariah’s week of service in the temple was over, he returned home.

Now, I I can’t remember all of the details, but there were so many priests that would serve in this role. The being chosen to do that was a very tiny percentage. And and he’s had that he’s had that very great blessing in a sense. And now he goes.

Elizabeth’s pregnancy and the changing times 65 min mark

Soon afterward his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, went into seclusion for five months. How kind the Lord is, she exclaimed. He has taken away my disgrace of having no children. The silence of God has been silent and now it changes. Everything will be defeated. The world is getting ready to change in ways that provide salvation for all of us. And Luke records the story that we might believe.

The timing of Herod’s reign 66 min mark

And you notice it begins with those words when Herod was in J was king in Judea. So just just a moment on on the timing of all of that. Herod the Great, we know historically ruled from 73 BC or lived from 73 BC to 4 BC. He ruled over the Jews long before Christ and in the early days of Christ. So how can that be? Because we think that BC and AD are supposed to change at the birth of Jesus. and oh dominoes and the year of our Lord before Christ and and now we try to change things because some people don’t want to recognize that that our calendar is based on Jesus Christ.

So that 4 BC the modern calendar and this doesn’t really affect anything is off by 4 to 6 years and it it was miscalculated in the sixth century. There was a monk named Dionicius Exodus who mapped the historical timeline based on the estimated birth of Jesus, but he didn’t have all the information. And so it it got off. And modern historians agree that it’s off.

AD to BC there there is no there is no zero here. They didn’t have I it’s it’s hard for me to fathom how you don’t have a zero, but they didn’t have zeros. They had one, two, three. And so there’s no BC 0 to one. A D 0 to one. AC BC A D. I’ll get my electricity mixed up with my dates. A D BC. They they are together. And so that’s a a year that’s that other one year that may be in there, but it it allows for for that difference in the timing.

And our timing is up. And that’s a little bit of how it all starts as Jesus Christ is to be the next announced birth in the Gospel of Luke.

Closing prayer 68 min mark

Let’s pray as we close. Father, thank you for leaving us truth that we might believe. We understand the necessity of faith, but you have given us facts that allow faith to become real. Help us to know those, to grow in our understanding of those, to grow in our knowledge that our wisdom might increase. Thank you for giving us life through Jesus, for giving us salvation because of your love for us. He said we pray through the Christ, the one who made it possible. Amen.

Informal fellowship and announcements 69 min mark

There you go. fresh. You’re so handsome. What’s going on? I can’t get out. We’ve been [laughter] talking [laughter] At least [laughter] you [laughter] You can do that. Street. while taking it. All right. Good. Thank you. I want this one too. I bet you joking. [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] It’s called [laughter] This is [laughter] I love money. [laughter] [laughter] All right. Let’s [laughter] [laughter] do [laughter] [laughter] Hello. Happy birthday. [laughter] Morning.

Worship song and welcome 73 min mark

Let’s be standing for our first song, please. The splendor of the earthj. And tonight his voice is our God. Sm [singing] our God and see how great how great is our God and days to heaven and the end and the end [singing] of God, son. The lion and the lamb. The lion and the lamb. How great [singing] is our God. Sing to me. How great [singing] is our God. I’ll see how great how great is our God. How great [singing] is our God. Sing how great [singing] is our God. And see how great how great is our God. How great is our God. Sing with me. How great is our God and all see how great how great is our God. [music] Truly, how great is our God.

Well, welcome, welcome, welcome. If you are visiting with us, uh you’re our honored guest. And and just so you know, we do this every week. Uh we come together as a family to worship our great God. And we are so glad that you have come our way. And we do hope to get to meet you and shake your hand and tell you in person, uh thank you for coming our way.

Community events and announcements 86 min mark

Uh this afternoon, you need to know we have opportunities to to gather and fellowship together today. It’s called our children’s bike parade. And this year, we’re adding a piece to the bike parade, calling it the sauna. It’s the children’s bike parade sauna. So 5:30 if you will come out you will not only get to see all of our children riding their bikes up and down Excela you too can sweat out all your impurities and enjoy this time together uh this suffering together. We can make it a a time of prayer that we don’t combust. Um anyway I hope you will come out. We’re going to eat inside. I’ve been told uh hamburgers and hot dogs. Just hamburgers. If you want a hot dog, head on to Sonic. You’re not going to get that here. But a hamburger, we got you back. And enjoy the time together.

Opening prayer from Psalms 87 min mark

As we continue in our worship this morning, I want to read from Psalm 27. Here, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me. You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you. Your face, Lord, do I seek. We serve a great, great God. Let’s worship him together today. Let’s pray. Father God, we come

Before you as a church family and we want to take a moment to thank you for another Sunday of worship and fellowship together. Thank you for your many blessings in our lives. Those that we see, uh, those that we may take for granted, and those that we can’t even comprehend right now because we know all good things come from you.

And we pray for those right now in our congregation who may be going through tough times. Pray that you will bring your your peace beyond our own understanding. Bring your peace upon them and bring them comfort in troubling times.

And this morning, um, please Lord, help us set aside the distractions of the week and just focus our minds and open our hearts to be fully present to worship and hear your message together. Lord, we know we’re all sinners, all in desperate need of of your grace. And we we ask that you forgive us once again of our sins, those that we are painfully aware of and those that we may be too blind to see.

And give us the strength, Lord, to resist temptations, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life. Create in us clean hearts this week. And when we don’t have the words for prayer, we pray that you hear the wordless groans of your spirit interceding within us every day of our lives.

Thank you most of all for our son for for your son Jesus who’s the way and the truth and the life. It’s through him and in his name that we pray. Amen.

Congregational singing 89 min mark

The osed every nation tremble at it. All creation rises to rejorded. Behold our God seated on his throne. Nothing can compare. Let us adore him. All the guilt of sinful man to the grave. Jesus risore him. You will rain forever. You will rain forever. You will rain forever. You will reign forever. Behold our God seated on his throne. Come let us adore him. Behold our king. Nothing can compare. Come adore him. Behold our God. Sing on his throne. Come let us adore him. Behold our king. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore him.

Great is thy faithfulness. Oh God. There is no shadow with me changes notes as forever will be. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning. Mercies I see. All I have is thy faithfulness to me.

For sace. I know dear presence to cheer and strength for today and bright for tomorrow. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning my morning is thy sing. All I have in thy handid. Great is thy faithfulness born unto me.

Scripture reading and communion preparation 93 min mark

Our unison reading this morning comes from Romans chapter 8 verse 15. I’ll ask you to read along with me. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, aba father.

And now we will sing the song, beautiful lamb of God, to lead us into the Lord’s supper. Kenwell will lead us.

Beautiful weather merciful Godather. To redee us with his blood. Lamb of God, you’re ask Merc for us. We all are here. Lamb of God, give us pure and mercy, beautiful lamb of God uses will take our sins away. Lamb of God, helpless and pure as mercyful, beautiful God.

Scripture and communion blessing 95 min mark

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are the called according to his purpose. For those whom he forneew, he predestined and conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those who he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he justified. And those whom he justified, he glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us. How will he then also with him be gracious and give all things? Given to us all things. The God of the universe is our God.

And we’re taking a little bit of time this morning to take the Lord’s supper to remember that death and that sacrifice on the cross. If you would please bow with me. Our father in heaven, we thank you for all of our blessings. We we thank you for this time we have. We thank you for the the implements we have. And we especially thank you now for this bread that represents that body that hung on the cross that was given willingly as a sacrifice for us. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Now with me again, And like man, father, we thank you for this fruit of the vine which to us as faith by our faith represents the blood that was shed. The blood that was shed for the remission of our sins that we could be forgiven. We could be pure in your sight. We take this blood remembering that sacrifice in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Nat King Cole and giving 101 min mark

I’d like to ask for a little audience participation as we think about our contribution this morning. Um, who remembers the singer or knows about the singer Nat King Cole? Oh, quite a number. Wonderful. Wonderful. Um, to me he was one of had one of the smoothest voices that uh perhaps I’ve ever heard. Uh if you’re not familiar with him, let me point you to a music platform to check out his music. I think after listening to a few songs, you’ll probably like his voice and enjoy that.

But what stands out to me perhaps uh isn’t just about his music. Natt King Cole lived during a time of deep uh inequality, racial inequality in our country. Yet throughout his 45 years, he carried himself with a quiet strength and a genuine faith. He constantly showed Christlike character and that made an impact on people on both inside the music industry and outside.

One thing that often is mentioned about him was his generosity, but it wasn’t something that was flashy or attention seeking. It was the kind of generosity that happens behind the scenes. For example, he helped people pay their hospital bills and they couldn’t. He supported fellow musicians when they were going through troubled times. And he offered personal help without expecting anything in return.

And here’s the part I finally I I I especially is meaningful to me. Many times he asked that no one say anything about how he had helped or assisted them. It wasn’t about drawing attention to himself. He just wanted to help in his uh in his life.

Widow’s offering and church generosity 106 min mark

This reminds me of a story that Jesus told that’s found in both Mark 12 and Luke 21 about the widow who gave out of her poverty while others gave in ways that were noticeable. Her gift was from the heart. It was quiet. It was sincere. And it was deeply meaningful.

You know, in a lot of ways, that same spirit is the spirit that I see within this congregation of God’s people. The elders are so thankful for this church family. So many of you give, you serve, and you love others without any need for recognition. You simply show up and your willing heart is there. And we work together as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ together. And I’m reminded of that again and again.

This steady, quiet generosity that defines who we are. And it doesn’t draw attention to itself, but it reflects something much greater, a love for God. And through it all, we see how God continues to bless us. And for that, we are truly grateful.

Closing prayer 107 min mark

Would you bow with me in prayer? God and father, you have given us everything that we need in this life. Father, you are generous. You place people in our lives that help us become better. Father, you place members of your family in our lives to help us grow and become closer to you and point us to the kingdom. Father, we are thankful for the generosity of each individual here. But in their generosity, Father, they’re giving because first they loved you and they know that you love them.

And Father, help us to be generous people in our generosity, whether it’s in our money that we give, but our talents and our abilities. Father, help us to always focus on serving Jesus Christ so the world can see Christ in us. And it’s through him we pray. Amen. I express [singing] all my gratitude. [singing] I could sing these songs as I often do. Every song must [singing] stand [music] and you never do [singing] my hands. Praise you again [singing] and again. All that I have is a [singing] hallelujah. [music] [singing] And I know it’s not much else for except for a [singing] heart singing hallelujah. [music and singing] Got one [music] response. I’ve got just one with my arms wide. [singing] I will worship [music] you. So I throw up my hands and praise you again [singing] and again. [music] All that I have is a hallelu [singing] nothing else for a king [singing] except for a heart singinglelu. >> [singing] >> Hallelujah. [music] [singing] Come on my soul. Don’t you shine on me. Lift up [singing] your song. You got a lighting inside of those. Get up and praise [singing] the Lord. Come on my soul. [singing] Don’t you get shift up your soul [singing] inside of those up and praise the Lord. [music] [singing] Come on, don’t you get shy. [singing] Get up and [singing] praise the Lord. So I throw up [music] my hands [singing] and praise you again and again. All that I have is [singing and music] a hallelujah [music] for the king [singing] except for a heart singing hallelujah. [music] [singing] So I throw up my hands, [singing] praise you again and again. [singing] Hallelujah. [singing] I know it’s not much, but like nothing else [singing] for a king except for a heart singing [singing] hallelujah. [music] [singing] [music] The lesson text today comes from Matthew. It’s verses I mean excuse me chapter 6 uh verses 1 and 5 through six. Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. >> Please go ahead and be standing. Scott will be speaking to us after we sing the sunshine song. If you’re visiting with us and have a child ages two through the second grade, we would love for them to participate with the rest of our kids. Just get them to this double door over here on my left, your right, and they’ll be taken to the class. >> Come and see. It’s happening right [singing] here. Come and see. [singing] Let’s go shining over here. Heavenly sunlight, [singing] heavenly sunlight, [music] flooding my soul with glory divine. Hallelujah. [singing] I am rejus. [singing] Please be seated. >> If you have a Bible, turn to Luke chapter 18. Luke 18. We’ll be there uh in just a moment. If you’ve ever been to Washington DC recently, maybe you’ve been to visit Okay, we checked this out before we started this morning. Yeah, that maybe you’ve visited the Museum of the Bible. It’s built like the Smithsonian except it’s all about the Christian faith and about the Bible. It’s a entire city block. It’s seven stories tall. It’s a fascinating full day, day and a half of adventure uh for a Christian to go there. And one of the things that you’ll see inside is a portrait of George Washington. And they actually have a little performance that a George Washington figure will do uh from time to time. And it’s George Washington at prayer. He’s the general of the army. And he’s not praying to be seen by others. He’s actually moved away from the camp and has silently bent a knee to ask for God’s blessing upon him and upon those that he was leading. And I was thinking over the last 250 years how much performance has become a part of life. And today as we come to Matthew chapter 6, we’re reminded again to watch out for that idea that religion is performative. That we do it to be seen by others rather than to express an incredibly deep desperation and dependence upon God. And so what I want to remind us this morning is that true prayer begins in desperation, not in demonstration. And I think that we’ll see that by looking at our text. I told you to be in Luke 18. So just keep your finger there. But remember last week we looked in Matthew chapter 6 verse 1. And Jesus says, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness. These are your acts of righteousness. the things you can do to demonstrate a capacity or a desire to please God. And in chapter six, those things are going to be giving, praying, and fasting. And we looked at giving last week. Today, we look at praying. But we’re supposed to be careful not to do our acts of righteousness to be seen, not for show, not for demonstration. In other words, Jesus wants to ask ask us, who’s the audience? Are you doing these things to be seen by the people around you or are you doing this for God? And oh, it’s harder than you think to make sure that what we’re doing is aimed at God. And Jesus says when you do things to perform for other people that’s the only reward you’ll ever get paid in full. If you impress them you impress them but that’s all you’re going to get for your work. Now I mentioned last week that there is a dilemma in that chapter five Jesus said we should let our light shine so that people will see our good deeds and glorify our father in heaven. So chapter five, we’re supposed to shine and let our good deeds shine. But notice what it says. So that they see what you’re doing and what? Give glory to God. Right? Now, what does he say in chapter six? Be careful that you’re not doing these things so that you shine and so that you bring glory to yourself. And so what we understand is that Jesus says in chapter 5, there’s a time when you should let your light shine. In chapter six, Jesus is trying to say there’s a time when you need to let your ego hide. And one of the things we have to do is to understand what time it is. And often when I want to shine, that’s when I should hide. And when I want to hide, that’s when I should shine. And we tend to see that in our own spirit and we tend to understand that. And so we come today to the passage I told you to look at. Luke chapter 18 beginning in verse 9. Do you remember it? Jesus tells a story. It’s a prayer story. It’s about two people who go up at the time of prayer to the temple. Now the times of prayer every day were at 9 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. 9 in the morning, 3:00 in the afternoon. They go up to the time of prayer. One of them stands alone apart from everybody else, dressed up well, speaks loudly and eloquently, and talks about how great his religious life is and how grateful he is to God for all the good things that God has allowed him to do and to give and to be. And it is quite a show. And Jesus says, “There was another person who just stood over to the side, a tax collector, and all he said was, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” >> And then Jesus asked the question, which one went down from the time of prayer justified before God? Which one was it? Was it the Pharisee who chose the spotlight or was it the tax collector who was more like a candle? Jesus says one received his reward in full, the other one God honored. There’s a danger in our world today into thinking that piety and the theater go together, that we can show out our religion. Today, we’re conditioned to perform. How many likes did you get for that? How many clicks? How many people noticed what you posted? How did that go over? You know, it’s amazing. Did you know you can get paid to just put stuff on the internet and people like it? I mean, you can have a cat that does crazy stuff and you can put it on and people will pay money to actually I mean, you’ll get paid for people to watch a silly cat doing crazy things. And you think, huh, it’s all about a condition to perform. There’s money in it. There’s power in it. There’s influence in it. And Jesus says that we should watch out. I’ve lost it again. There we go. That we need desperation over demonstration. What I wanted us to notice about Jesus in Luke 11 and also in chapter 22 is that we find Jesus going away to private places to pray. We find Jesus who has a quiet place where he regularly goes to talk to God. Isn’t that interesting in chapter 22:39 that Jesus regularly went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray? That’s why Judas knew he would be there is because he closed his day that way every time he was in Jerusalem. But he had these places where he went, but it wasn’t for show. It was where he went to talk to God. And so look at our text for today. Chapter 6:es 5 and six. When you pray, by the way, turn to the person next to you and say, “Jesus assumes you’re going to pray.”

Prayer: authenticity over performance 123 min mark

Can you say that? Jesus assumes you’re going to pray. Now, remember what Bara told us about prayer. And uh Americans, the average American prays for one minute or less a day. The average minister pathetically prays less than five minutes a day. So hopefully we’re all above the national average. But Jesus says, “When you pray, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they’ve received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father who’s unseen. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

There’s a danger of the stage of doing it for show. John Sto, one of my favorite writers, says, “Hypocrisy is a blasphemous attempt to use God as a tool to advance our own prestige.” And Jesus says, “You have to watch out for that.” And you especially have to watch out for it when every day at 9 and every day at three, religious people stop to pray. And did you know that when they stopped to pray, there were generally 19 prayers that they recited? The Shama Israel here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Remember that? And then the 18 benedictions, which were just basic prayers of the Jewish synagogue. And wherever you were at 9 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, you’d stop and pray those prayers. So imagine if you just happened to time it so that at 9:00 a.m. Lord, hear my prayers here. O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your Do you see what they could do? And Jesus says, “Watch out for performative religion. Don’t do it.” Because if you do, you’ve been paid in full.

But Jesus says, “What you should do is go into your inner room.” Fascinating word. I try not to give you all too much Greek, but this is a very interesting word. It’s called tamon. You want to say that one with me? Tamon. Tamon is an inner room or a secret room. It was a room in the center of your house that didn’t have any windows to the outside world. It was where you would store your valuables. It was the place in the center of your house where you would go to place things that you didn’t want other people to see or to steal. It was your hidden place. And Jesus says, “What you should do when you pray is go into that place, that hidden place that’s only between you and God, the treasury of your heart.”

The ditki said, ‘d don’t pray in public. Pray the Lord’s prayer three times a day. The ditki is the teaching of the apostles. It’s an early uh early church document. Uh St. Augustine said that treasury word that Jesus was talking about there is your heart. And what he says is the human heart closing the door means shutting out the noise of the world to speak purely to God. And John of Christenom said that praying to be seen by men makes mockery of God. Acting as though God’s gaze is somehow less valuable than human onlookers. And so Jesus says, “Go into that hidden place. Don’t go onto the theater for theatrics. If you do, you’re a hypocrite and you’re an actor. go into that secret place where it’s only between you and God.”

Prayer without babbling 127 min mark

Let’s keep going. Verse seven. And when you pray, tell the person next to you, Jesus expects you to pray. Okay, very good. So, we got that part down. So when you pray, okay, not only are you supposed to do it in secret, but when you pray, don’t babble on like the pagans do, for they think that it’s their many words that are going to cause them to be heard. Don’t be like them. Your father knows what you need before you ask him.

By the way, the fact that your father knows what you need before you ask does not tell us that Jesus thinks there’s no reason to pray. Okay, can we catch that for a minute? I talk to people every so often that say, “Why should I pray? God already knows what I need.” Jesus says right here, “You pray. Don’t babble on.” He knows what you need, but he wants to hear from you. He wants you to say it. He wants your heart and his heart to align. He wants to have a conversation.

Young people, I’ll tell you something. Your parents often know what you need, but you haven’t asked. Jesus says, “When you pray, don’t babble. Ask. Your father knows what you need. And you know what? Your parents are never impressed with a PowerPoint presentation. They know what you need. Okay? You don’t have to con them into it. Just if it’s if it’s good, it’s good. If it’s not, it’s not. You don’t have to go into some verbose uh diet tribe to impress your parents. You just say, “Hey, this is what I need.” Jesus says, “Treat God that way. It’s how we should speak to him.” We don’t babble. We just tell him what we need.

In our reading this past week, if you’re reading through the Bible on the schedule that I’m on, we read uh the story, you might remember again of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. And the prophets of Baal spend the entire morning jumping up and down and yelling and screaming and praying and reciting words and cutting themselves and all these public demonstrations. Jesus says, “No, all you need to do is pray. pray with a deep dependence [snorts] and an audacity towards God. So we don’t pray like pagans. We pray like people who understand that God wants to hear from us.

Think back to the parable we began with. And think about the word count. There’s a Pharisee over here going on and on and on about how great he is. And there’s a tax collector whose entire prayer is seven words. God have mercy upon me a sinner. One was heard. Let’s be the one that’s heard. And it’s not about our eloquence. It’s not about our verbosity. It’s about our shameless audacity to keep on praying. Keep on praying.

The Nashville context and performative piety 131 min mark

So what’s the point? We live in Nashville, Tennessee. If there’s any place in the country where piety is rewarded, it’s here. We’re the Christian music capital of the world. We’re the Christian publishing capital of the world. We’re probably the Christian church building per capita capital of the world. It’s a great place to be religious, to get your likes, to get your clicks, to get your show. Jesus says, “Watch out. Be careful that you’re doing these things for God and not to be seen by people.”

Bara did a study and it realized that performative religion wasn’t helping to calm people’s anxiety. But when people began to have private devotions with God, their anxiety and their stress went down almost 20 points. When you get along with God and it’s about you and God, it’s amazing what happens to our heart. Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes God calms the heart, but God always answers a prayer that’s desperate and devoted.

Three principles for authentic prayer 132 min mark

And so, here’s three quick points. Number one, choose authent authenticity over an audience. Yeah. Make sure that it’s real. We must actively forget that anyone else is watching. Find God. Kill the desire for human approval. CS Lewis said these words in his uh letter letter to Malcolm about prayer. He says, “May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real thou that I speak to.” Isn’t that great? You want me to say that one again? May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real thou that I speak to. Authenticity over audience.

Number two, intimacy over imagery. Humble yourselves to God. The hidden life sustains the public life. What you do in private is what was most important to Jesus. His disciples wanted to know what’s happening behind that rock that’s powering everything else. They wanted to know what are you doing in your private devotions that are just between you and God. Teach us that because there’s something going on there that’s powering everything else. And it’s the same for us. It’s what we do in the quiet, in the alone time, that powers everything else.

John Bunan said these words in prayer. It is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. Ain’t that great? in prayer. It’s better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. Make sure that what we’re doing is from the heart.

And last, it’s about access to God, not about achievement, not about being seen by others, [snorts] not about bo checking boxes. It’s about God. And the danger that we have in this performative world is that we’ll get it backwards. Richard Foster says in contemporary society, our adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. Superficiality is the curse of our age.

A call to desperate, dependent prayer 135 min mark

So July 4th is coming. Maybe we can be those who really earnestly like President Washington pray not performatively but as a demonstration of a deep dependence and a desperation. There’s a lot to pray about in our world today. There’s a lot to pray about in our country today. There’s a lot to pray about in our cities today. There’s a lot to pray about at our church. We need people who are desperate to pray and who let prayer drive everything else. But it’s not performative prayer. It’s that true dependence upon God that happens in the quiet place in the treasury of the human heart. You know, Benjamin Franklin’s my favorite

American and he was a deist, which I’m not proud of, but I love so much else about him and his character and just how crazy he was. But there was a time at the Continental Congress where they were in a world of hurt and they weren’t sure whether this thing was going to come together or not. And it was a mess. And Franklin got up and said, “We have not hitherto to once thought of humbly applying to the father of lights to prosper our succeedings. Have we now forgotten that powerful friend?” And he turned the Congress back towards prayer.

Finding Your Secret Place 136 min mark

And somebody has to be the people that say, “You know what? Prayer in the secret place is still the most powerful tool that a believer has. It’s what we’re armed with when we go into battle is to pray. And we do it in the secret place. So here’s your challenge. Find your secret place this week. Where can you go? And it’s just between you and God.”

Let me tell you a secret I’ve learned. You’ll think I’m the silliest person. If you don’t already, you’ll think I’m the silliest person you’ve ever met. But my secret place, this is crazy, I know, but when it’s time to pray every morning, I take a blanket and I throw it over my head. And what I realized, I was telling my friend Dave Clayton about that. He said, “Did you know that’s what Susanna Wesley would do, John Wesley’s wife?” I said, “No, I had never heard of anybody else doing that. I think it’s absolutely crazy.” He said, “Yeah, it was just her way of finding a quiet place where she was just alone.” She didn’t know how to do it because she had all these kids running around. So, she would just throw a blanket over her head and tell the kids, “Don’t bother me until the blanket comes off.” And I was like, “Okay.”

So, that’s what I do is I throw a blanket over my head. It just kind of helps to take all the distractions away and talk to God. Find your place, wherever it might be. Maybe you’ve got one more beautiful than I do, but find your secret place. Silence the performance. It’s not for anybody else. It’s just you and God. And lay your heart open.

Acts of Hidden Kindness 139 min mark

And then remind yourself by doing little acts of kindness towards others that anonymity is important and doing it not to be seen. You know the question at the end of the day is if your platform, your public ministry, your Christian so social circles and your professional reputation were entirely stripped away, what would be left? Would there be that deep relationship with God that you fostered in the hidden place? If it is, then the most important thing is still there because he who has God has everything else.

God as the Ultimate Reward 139 min mark

Guy named St. Thomas of Aquinas is widely considered to be the greatest theologian since Paul and John. And at the end of his life, he was on his knees in a church when he claims to have had a vision of the Lord. And here’s what it says. Toward the end of his life, Jesus appeared to St. Thomas after he finished his theological writings. When asked, “What reward would you have for your labor?” Thomas replied, “Non do which means nothing but you, Lord. Nothing but you.” And what he meant was God is the ultimate reward.

What do you want when you pray God? [clears throat] What do you want when you give to please God? What do you want when you fast? >> To petition God. But what you want more than anything else is God. And Jesus says, “When you pray, abandon the theater and talk to God.” Just the two of you in the treasury of your heart and he will reward you.

Altar Call and Song 140 min mark

If you’re subject to the call of Christ, if there’s anything we can do for you this morning, if there’s some way you’d like to respond publicly or you’d like our prayers, we’re not in a hurry. We just encourage you to come as we stand and sing this next song together. Carry all your man with [singing] his heart make you what you ought to be [singing] cleans your heart and make you free and you will see him with his kingdom find a place Would you truly always at your best with [singing] his power what you ought to be his cleanse your heart and make you free your soul and you will for his way with me.

>> I know we have a lot of people traveling this weekend, but so many visitors here. We’d love to get to meet you if you’ll stay around. Scott, we really appreciate that wonderful message. I’d like to close our time together in prayer and then the song to follow where our children will join us. Bow with me, please.

Closing Prayer 142 min mark

Father, you have been so good to us and given us this avenue of prayer where we can come before your throne. And you reach out your scepter and accept us willingly as sons of daughters of yours. And father, we want to thank you for that opportunity. And we want to thank you for the blessings that we have all received from you. But we have a few people and it’s a pretty good list, Father, that we want to bring before your throne.

We’re concerned about our sister Becky Thompson and her husband Barry. Father, we just ask that the treatment that she’s going to receive will be totally curative for her and that she can be back to her normal life as soon as possible. We pray for Elizabeth Row and the splendid way that she has approached meeting you personally. Thank you for that example. We continue to pray for Drew Charlton. We’re so grateful that he’s here today and he’s doing so well and looking so good. Father, you’ve just brought he and that family through so much and we’re so grateful for that.

We continue to pray for Gideon Sanderland and Father, we just ask you to continue to bless that baby. Father Tilman and Linda Price are both going to have surgery pretty soon. And so we ask your blessings on them.

Father, there’s discord. There’s a war going on in our world and we pray for Russia and Ukraine that somehow peace can be brought to that war and that it can end soon. We also pray for Iran and the people of Iran and Father may peace reign there. We pray for our government. We pray for our mayor Freddy Okonnell. We pray for Governor Bill Lee. We pray for our President Donald Trump. And we pray for all of those that are in places of authority that are guiding them and giving them their best advice. And so, Father, we just ask that your word and your will will reign in our city, our state, our country, and the world. And bless us, Father, to show this world, show our community everything about your son and the way that our lives have changed because of him. bless us as we are your ambassadors. And it’s in your son’s name that we pray. Amen.

Hymn of Heaven 145 min mark

And we’ll be dismissed singing the song Hymn of Heaven. >> [singing] >> to look for [singing] all eternity. There will be a day [singing] when allow him. There will be a day when death will be no more standing face to face [singing] with him and rose again [singing] of faith. We thank God in [singing] the end see that it was worth [singing] it when he returns to our fears. There will be a day when all bow before him.

>> [clears throat] >> There will be a day when we [singing] stand face to face heroes of >> [singing] >> With one voice [singing] the lamb who was slain on that day heroes of the faith with one voice out to generations. See what he [singing] is forever. [singing] We shout him of heaven with angels and the saint [singing] we raise the mighty glory to our God who [clears throat] gave us life beyond the holy [singing] Today we [singing] angels and the saint [singing] might glory to our God who gave us life. Holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, [singing] holy is. And you are dismissed. You would love to have