“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”Luke 11:4bSeptember 27, 2026 Some 2500 years ago, perhaps as early as 700 BC, in order to protect themselves, the feudal states of China began to build protective walls to guard against invaders. When the 1500-year-project was completed, those walls were joined to form the massive Great Wall around China. The […]

“Forgive Us Our Sins”

“Forgive Us Our Sins”Luke 11:4September 20, 2026 There are many truths that distinguish Christianity from the religions of the world: The tri-unity of God The union of God and man in the person of Christ — the eternal God-Man The humility of Christ in coming to earth and going to the cross The resurrection Salvation […]

What a Church Prays When Sending a Missionary

Missionaries don’t engage in missions because they decide to go. Missionaries engage in missions because they are sent by the church. Missionaries are chosen by the church, trained by the church, funded by the church, and sent by the church. The missions task is the responsibility of the church, which sends some of its best […]

Praying Daily for Your Daily Bread

When Jesus taught the Twelve disciples (and us) to pray daily for daily bread (Lk. 11:3), He is instructing us to pray for our daily need for food and our daily need for all the basics of life — the “staples” of life. He is teaching us to express our dependence on and trust in […]

“Give Us Our Daily Bread”

“Give Us Our Daily Bread”Luke 11:3August 23, 2026 One blistering hot day when they had guests for dinner, a mother asked her four-year old to give thanks for the meal. “But Mom, I don’t know what to say,” he protested. “Oh, just say what you’ve heard me say,” she told him. Obediently, he bowed his […]

“Your Kingdom Come”

“Your Kingdom Come”Luke 11:2bAugust 16, 2026 The coming of the King and the Kingdom of God are persistent themes in Scripture. Both the OT and NT are filled with verses that anticipate a coming King: Dt. 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your […]

How We Come to Christ in Prayer

“Hallowed Be Your Name”

“Hallowed Be Your Name”Luke 11:2August 9, 2026 G.K. Chesterton said about the spiritual life, “The spiritual life has not been tried and found difficult; it has been found difficult and left untried.” In that statement he is inferring something important about the spiritual life — it is simple, but hard. The spiritual life is not […]

If God is Your Father…

In teaching the disciples to pray, the first thing He taught was that if they belonged to Christ, then God is their Father. They could speak to Him as a “daddy” (Lk. 11:2; Mt. 6:9). What is the benefit of that relationship? Thomas Watson identifies at least 20 blessings for the one who has God […]

“Father…”

“Father…”Luke 11:1-2July 26, 2026 Some questions as we begin this morning: How many times did you pray last week — prayers at meals, at your children’s bedsides, with a co-worker, while you were driving, on your knees in the morning, with your disciple/friend…? How many times do you suppose you prayed last year? In your […]

Plan to Pray

Do you pray? Do you have intentional time in conversation with God each day? If you don’t pray, or if your prayer life is less than you desire, is it because you don’t plan to pray? When Jesus instructs His disciples about prayer in Matthew 6, He tells them to “go into your inner room, […]

When Prayer Becomes Joyless

It’s hard to pray. Sometimes we lack the discipline to pray. Sometimes we forget to pray. Or perhaps worse, we allow the pressures and burdens of less important but seemingly more urgent responsibilities push aside prayer. At times prayer is inhibited because of sinful indulgences — and those indulgences become more precious to us than […]

Do You Pray?

It has been said that whenever we teach, “we stand on the shoulders of others.” That is, we are dependent on the understanding and interpretation of Scripture by others, or we confirm our interpretations by the insights of others. Additionally, other writers and speakers will often have more compelling ways to say about biblical topics […]

He is Available

In the 1930s, famed physicist Albert Einstein fled the impending war in Europe and the Nazis and came to America, purchasing a home near Princeton University. While residing there, he frequently was visited by famed politicians and mathematicians. And a 10-year-old girl named Emmy. It seems she had heard he was something of a math […]

Teach Us to Pray

“Teach Us to Pray”Selected Scriptures in LukeJanuary 11, 2026 After quoting Luke 18:1, J. C. Ryle writes — I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, DO YOU PRAY? The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether […]