Lord's Prayer and the Kingdom of God

All Bible verses are from NIV, if not otherwise mentioned.

Matthew 6:9-13

9    This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

10  your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11  Give us today our daily bread.

12  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Matthew 6:13   And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  (KJV)

Luke 11:2-4

2    He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

3    Give us each day our daily bread.

4    Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

Two versions

Lord’s Prayer has two versions.

In Matthew 6:9-13 and in Luke 11:2-4

In Mathew it is longer and expanded, in Luke it is shorter.

The occasion in which our Lords told this prayer is also slightly different.

Laws of the Cross

 1.     Death is birth into eternity

Eternity is life in another realm where flesh and blood cannot exist

Life in eternity has a different purposes than in this world.

So those who enter into eternity have to leave behind this flesh and blood in this world.

The only way to enter into the eternal life is the transformation of this body of flesh and blood.

Death is only a process of shedding flesh and blood and inheriting another that is eternal.

John 12:23-25

23  And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man will be glorified.

24  Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.

25      The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world preserves it for eternal life.

What did he mean when he said that one must hate himself?

The expression to hate something often meant to prefer less.

Jesus says that nothing should get in the way of our preferring him and the will of our Father in heaven.

Making Disciples

Introduction

It is very difficult for us, almost 2,000 years removed from Jesus’ day, to project ourselves back across the centuries of time to a culture and language so totally foreign to our mind of today.

And yet, before we can even begin to understand the magnificent and thrilling words of Jesus, that is exactly what we must do.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20

18  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Conquering Depression

What is Depression?

There are normal ups and downs in life.

Everyone feels sad or has "the blues" from time to time.

Sadness or downswings in mood are normal reactions to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments.

Depression is much more than just sadness.

If emptiness and despair have taken hold of your life and won't go away, you may have depression.

Depression makes it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did.

Just getting through the day can be overwhelming.

Some people describe depression as “living in a black hole” or having a feeling of impending doom.

What is God’s Will?

Why ask this question?

The question is a tough nut

So we seldom bother to ask this question.

But there are times in which we suddenly come up this question.

We know our way until we come to a junction and are uncertain of the next move.

Three different situations

1.      Clear situations: there are right decisions and wrong decisions

2.      Grey situation: something that's not necessarily right or wrong

3.      Difficult situations: a choice between two good things

Kingdom of God and the Parable of Ten Minas

Parable ten Minas

Luke 19.11 – 27

The story goes like this:

Jesus was going to Jerusalem and he was near to it.

The disciples and other gatherings thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

As answer to their expectation, Jesus told them that the King had to go to the emperor and his kingdom.

So he will be absent for a period time.

To explain this truth Jesus said a parable.

A certain nobleman went into a far place to meet the emperor.

His intention was to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

He wanted the emperor to appoint him as the king of the province where he lived.

Importance of Individual Resource Management

Poverty is bad resource management

Introduction

This study is about the importance of individual resource management.

Collective resource management, as in a corporate office, is not discussed here.

Every individual has resources sufficient for reaching the summit of success.

It is our choice to manage the resources well and succeed or neglect and fail.

For illustrating my argument I am using reference from history as cited in the Bible, a parable of Jesus and the famous quote about the gazelle and the lion.

Run the race of faith

1corinthians 9.24 – 27
24 Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
25 And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
26 Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air.
27 But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.

2 Timothy 2 . 5  And also if anyone competes he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Introduction

Paul used the image of running race – the marathon.
Marathon is a race running for more than 42 Kms or more than 26 miles.
The image is from Greek culture

Paul is encouraging the believers to strive to reach a goal

The story of the hirelings

Luke 15:17 - And having come to himself, he said, How many hirelings of my father have a superabundance of bread, and I here with hunger am perishing! (YLT)

Lost and Found

Luke chapter 15 is a chapter of ‘lost and found’

Jesus says three parables with the theme of lost and found

1.      Parable of the lost sheep

2.      Parable of the lost coin

3.      Parable of the lost son

Jesus was explaining why he is rejoicing with sinners.

He equates the gathering to a group of ‘lost and found’

Jesus was trying to communicate the joy in heaven when a lost is found

To illustrate the situation He tells three parables

The three parables

Luke 15

The first parable is about the lost and found sheep

The second is about the lost and found drachma

The third is about the lost and found son

LESSONS FROM A FARMER

James 5:7 - Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains.

1.    Faith in the laws of the Lord

Genesis 8: 21, 22

21      And Yahweh smelled the soothing fragrance, and Yahweh said ⌊to himself⌋, “⌊Never again will I curse⌋ the ground for the sake of humankind, because the inclination of the heart of humankind is evil from his youth. ⌊Nor will I ever again destroy⌋ all life as I have done.

22      [As long as the earth endures⌋, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease.

       Laws of sowing and reaping

       They are universal and unchanging

       Even if one does not believe, or disagrees, universal laws does not change

       Our arguments cannot change them

       We are bound to live by the laws