11. Small groups exhibit Christ in the home to our children, neighbors and friends. Acts 2:47, they were “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” Our singles small group used to meet on our back patio on warm summer evenings. We sang praises to God accompanied by a guitar. To be honest, I was a bit self-conscious, concerned that we might be disturbing the neighbors. On the contrary, our neighbors loved the fact that these young people were singing praises to God! Also, over many years of leading small groups, our children watched, participated and took it all in. Today they are leading, participating in and understand the importance of small groups because of what we modeled for them.

12. Small groups demonstrate that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! Two Small groups raised over $10,000 to dig a well in Uganda and in the process impacted hundreds of people. Their efforts even made the evening news on television! [Read more →]

6. Small groups help fulfill Christ’s design for us to be part of His family. We read about that in Ephesians 2:19-21. We can be a part of a large church, but we may not experience family unless we’re part of a small group.

7. Small groups follow Jesus’ example with His twelve disciples! Jesus chose twelve men…that they might be with Him…(Mark 3:14)Jesus spent time with many others too, but he focused on the twelve. There is a limit to the number of people we can impact deeply with our lives. Small groups provide a great environment in which to influence and impact a few deeply. [Read more →]

We now come to our final request in the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” At first glance, the phrase, “Lead us not into temptation,” seems a bit strange or out of place. The reason for this is that God would never tempt us (James 1:13). Some have a distorted view of God and think that He’s waiting to trip us up or expose us to sin’s lures. But that is not God’s way with us. He may test us through hardship, but he does not tempt us with sin.

In the Lord’s Prayer we are asking Him for strength to resist temptation. The New Living Translation renders it, “And don’t let us yield to temptation.” Another way to put it might be, “Lord, please lead me out of and away from the things that tempt me!” Jesus warned His disciples on the night He was betrayed, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) As we’ve seen elsewhere in this prayer, we are dependent on our heavenly Father and in this case, we’re dependent on His strength to resist temptation. [Read more →]

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) By debts, Jesus is not referring to financial indebtedness, but our sins. The New Living Translation renders this verse, “And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Just prior to modeling this prayer, Jesus reminded His listeners, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) If God knows what we need before we ask Him, then why ask? We ask God because it’s fitting to do so.

As we read or pray this prayer, it would be easy for us to see our “daily bread” or the “forgiveness of our debts” as the focal things, but they aren’t. The focal thing in this prayer is God and our relationship with Him. When we express our need to Him for bread and for forgiveness, we interact with Him in a way that cultivates our relationship with Him and acknowledges who He is. God is not merely the “bread-Giver” or “Forgiver,” He is our Father. “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 good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11) [Read more →]

As the Lord’s Prayer continues, we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Very simply, we are declaring God’s kingship in our lives. We are praying, “You, Lord, are my God and my King. I invite Your reign in my life and long for Your reign in this world.”

Imagine God’s kingdom, a kingdom in which there is no sin, evil or anything wicked. Our world today is polluted and permeated with sin and evil. God will one day renew the earth and set up His eternal rule. The apostle John, seeing and hearing a preview of God’s coming kingdom, writes, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4) [Read more →]

The Lord’s Prayer continues, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….”Our Father in heaven—our God— is holy. He is pure and unblemished. He is not only free from any hint of evil, but He is infinite love, goodness and righteousness through and through. In the heavenly scene in Revelation, the angels cry out before Him, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

When we pray to God, “Hallowed be your name,” we both declare that God is holy and that we desire our lives to honor Him as holy. We profane Him when we ascribe attributes or works to Him that are not holy or are inconsistent with His character. Paul warns in this regard, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:21-23) [Read more →]

Let’s continue our discussion of the Lord’s Prayer. In a previous blog, we looked at the context of Matthew’s account of this prayer. Now we’ll turn our attention to the context of Luke’s account. The Lord’s Prayer in Luke’s Gospel is flanked on the front end by an incident and on the tail end by two parables. The incident on the front end has to do with two women who had invited Jesus and his disciples to be their guests.

With all these men in the house, Martha was busy and distracted “with much serving.” Mary, however, was captivated by Jesus and the things he was teaching. She sat at Jesus’ feet and listened intently to him. Mary’s sister, Martha became so angry at her sister for not helping her that she scolded Jesus for allowing Mary to sit there, while she (Martha) did all the work. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40) Jesus responded to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) [Read more →]

Lord Jesus, You are God, the One and Only; the beginning and the end. You were before all things and You created all things; by Your power all things exist. In You, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. You are all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords. We worship You, humble ourselves before You, and give You all glory and honor and praise!
 
Lord Jesus, at Your appointed time You came to earth, humbling Yourself as Almighty God to become a helpless baby. You were tempted in every way, yet You did not sin. You lived a holy, righteous and blameless life. You accepted mockery, torture and a cruel death for our sakes. You died for us—for me—bearing our sin and shame! How can we thank You for taking our place? We praise You and worship You! [Read more →]

When Paul was being held prisoner in Caesarea under the rule of Governor Felix, Felix and his Jewish wife, Drusilla, would invite Paul to speak with them. We’re told that Felix “was well acquainted with the Way.” (Acts 24:22) The “Way” was a first-century term used to describe those who trusted Christ for salvation and lived their lives according to His ways, teaching and character.

On one occasion we read that Felix, “Sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’”  (Acts 24:24-25 NIV) [Read more →]