May 31, 2026 - 5th Sunday Prayer - Matthew 6

When Jesus taught the disciples to pray He gave us a way to align our hearts with His. Join us this Sunday as we practice praying together. You can do this on your own or with a group.

Transcript

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Welcome in everyone. My name is Jason, and I'm one of the pastors of the Highland Christian Church. On behalf of our team, I just wanted to say thanks for taking some time to journey with us through the scripture. Our hope is that these words would cause you to think carefully about this Jesus would proclaim and that you would choose to trust him in your day-to-day. As always, if you're in the Asheville area, whether you live here or you're visiting, we'd love for you to come join us at the corner of Livingston and Depot Street in person at the Dr. Wesley Grant Senior South Side Center. Our prayer is that God's words would equip you for every good work that He's prepared for you to do today. So Fifth Sundays. Fifth Sundays are opportunities for us to pray together, to worship a little bit longer together, and do this. And so if you're new, congratulations. Uh welcome in. And it's just a part of what uh followers of Jesus do. And so we're gonna pray together. And the prayer we're actually gonna work through is the prayer Jesus told us to work through. It's the one he said to do. And so I figure you can't go wrong if you're if you're praying what Jesus asks you to pray. This is traditionally called the Lord's Prayer. Uh, I think it's misnamed because the Lord's prayer is actually in John 15, 16, 17, and so on. The disciples' prayer, what we are supposed to pray, is what Jesus taught the church to pray. So it's what we're gonna do. And so Jesus actually prefaces this prayer in Matthew chapter six with a few words. Ryan, can you throw that verse up there? So if you don't know how to pray, and I know we love to use the excuse, I just don't know what to say, I don't know how to pray, and we and we kind of stop before we even start. Jesus gives some instructions. He says, when you pray, and I love that he assumes you're gonna pray. He doesn't say if you pray, he says when you pray. All right, and he says it three times, which is our emboldened for you. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your father in private. Then your father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don't babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, for your father knows exactly what you need, even before you ask him. So he he starts with what not to do, and then he says, pray like this. And he intros this little prayer. We're gonna go through our prayer time together based on what Jesus says to do. So we all kind of start with our father in heaven, but I want us to pay attention to something, two things about this phrase: our and Father in Heaven. Jesus doesn't say start with my father in heaven, does he? This is one of the most communal acts believers can do. Our. Jesus does not let you go. This is a personal, privatized, religious experience. No, this is our father in heaven. He's changing your view of what God is like by encouraging and inviting us to call God Father. Our father in heaven. And I know we live in a society in a world that tries to make dads look ridiculous and men in general and all the different things, and we're trying to not have this. But but Jesus said, our father. In Jewish custom and culture, when you were to picture a father, you were to picture someone trustworthy who can provide. That's what Jesus is saying about God. And I know we all have our earthly father stories, we have all of our struggles, we have all of the images that we've seen on earth, but Jesus is inviting us to change, to have our view changed by saying, God, I trust you and you can provide. And then he moves into, may your name be kept holy, may your kingdom come soon, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, what we're gonna pray out of this portion of the prayer, uh, you can throw that up there real quick. This is just kind of a guide. And so we're gonna pray in our small groups together. What we're ultimately saying at this point is, God, I'm wanting to surrender my control and my ways. That's what I'm saying when I pray this prayer. God, I'm inviting your kingdom to change the world and to change us. That's what believers prayed. They believed that when they were saying your kingdom come, they were saying, all the other kingdoms on the earth, they're tough, they're doing their thing, but God, we want your kingdom. To say, God, I want your kingdom is to say I want my attitudes, thoughts, words, actions to reflect your kingdom, not the kingdoms of the earth. God, I want you essentially to change the world through changed people. That's what we're inviting God to do. So, however, in your groups you would like to pray, God, we're surrendering our control and our ways. God, we are inviting your kingdom to change the world and to change us. It's such a great thing to know that Jesus said, we and our bunches of times. We're gonna practice we and our right now. So go ahead, turn together, turn together. And if you're new to praying, here's how we do it at Island. If you don't want to pray, you just bow your head, close your eyes, don't look at anybody, and they'll assume you don't want to pray. But we also do this. You can, if you agree with what somebody next to you has said in their prayer, just go, yep, I agree. Yes, Lord. Amen. I believe that. Yes, what they said, uh-huh, right? You can be vocal in your prayer. It's okay. All right. But if you don't want to pray, you don't have to pray. But it I'd invite you to. Jesus just gave us some ways to pray. Invite him, talk to him, speak to him, just as Jesus said, He is your Father in heaven. Good. You invited us to ask, you've invited us to seek you, and you have helped us in our not knowing how to pray. Thank you that the disciples were clueless to prayer, and I thank you that we're clueless to prayer, but you've given us ways to access and come to you. So we we're doing that today. Would you be honored by it? So let's uh let's all say this together and it'll be on the screen. Um, and so we're just gonna quote this together. All right, so here we go. Ready? Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy, may your kingdom come soon, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, next part. This is where we typically rush, and I love that Jesus instructs us don't rush past being excited about God. It's really hard for a human heart to get excited about anything but ourselves. We live in a world that is just obsessed with us, with me. And the very first thing Jesus does is go, start with God. Just start with him. Even if you don't know what to say, start there. Thank him for who he is, be excited about who he is, pray that you'll be excited about what he's doing, invite his kingdom to come. Don't skip past that when you're praying. It's such an incredible shift in our perspective and the way we think about things. And then Jesus says, Give us today the food we need. We typically run to right here. And sometimes this is where we get hung up and we stay put here, right? Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. But it is a part of the prayer. Jesus does say give, right? Where we're saying, give us. I'm acknowledging God, I'm trusting you to be the one to provide these things. So when you're saying give, you're saying, God, you're big enough. You're powerful enough. You are able to provide for the thing that I have going on. But I also love that it says, give us. This should cause us great compassion for other people. To look around and be able to go, give us, not just me. There are people standing to my right and to my left, right here with you, that have great needs. You have great need, yes. But to the person to the right and to the left of you, chances are there is great need in their life as well. We often miss that. Jesus won't let us give us today the food we need. That food may not be physical, could be spiritual, could be anything. Jesus is pointing us to the to the one who's capable of providing what we need. So give us today the food we need. Uh, and here are some kind of some prompts, I guess, if you would, if you call them that, to pray these things together. Give, or God, we trust you to provide for us today. God, please provide. You fill in the blank. God, please provide for us. This is an opportunity for you to pray for one another, share your requests. What do you have need for? What is it that today you really need God to come through and provide for? And I know it's hard. You may not know these people. If you're like, I'd rather not say, but I do have some needs, you can do that. But if you'd be willing to just say to your brothers and sisters to your right and left and go, I have this need and I'd really love for God to provide it. This is an opportunity to do that. Jesus didn't say don't ask. No, he said ask. And so we're gonna ask together. It's humbling. It kind of keeps you like, oh man, this is it's weird feeling to bring a need to somebody else. But he said, give us today the food that we need. So take a minute, take some time. You can go around. And if you would like to say, this is where I'm at, and if you'd be willing to pray this for me, that'd be great. Or you can just pray together for the people to your right and to your left. And if you if they don't say anything, it's okay. You can just pray. So go ahead. That you are the one who provides. And I thank you that you hear us when we ask. And I do pray that you would change our hearts to understand that we are all needy, and there are people around us with needs as well. I thank you for the us and the we of this prayer. So let's uh let's say this together. You ready? Here we go. Give us today the food we need. Jesus moves on, and he says, and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. This is the part one of my pastor friends loves to talk about. Because we've just said, gimme, gimme, gimme, we get to say, take from me, take from me, take from me. Now we get to say, take from me. And the forgive us is ultimately all those attitudes, actions, words, thoughts, rebellious ideas of all the kingdoms of the world that we're like, I love that. I love all the hard stuff that I, you know, that comes from rebelling against you, God. We get to say, God, forgive us for those things. God, take from me the hardened heart. God, take from me the gossiping mouth. God, take from me the arrogant attitude. God, take from me. This is what we this is when we get to empty ourselves out. But what's amazing about this portion is it's not just and forgive us our sins. I don't know how long I've been reading this prayer, but the second half kills me. As we have forgiven. As we have forgiven, meaning we're seeking forgiveness from the Lord because we've already been actively forgiving others. Like, this is a completely, totally dependent trust prayer, except for this part. This is an action that we should be doing in the middle of all of this. Like, I think sometimes we just fly by this part. If you memorize this in some uh the King James Versions of forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are our debtors, right? We just fly by it. But Jesus' words assume that forgiveness is going to be a part of our lives in a way that is radical. So much so. That we're like, you know what, God? Because I'm forgiving people, man, I'm so glad you forgive me, right? The measure in which we are forgiving, Jesus says, like, uh, it's gonna be used against you. So when you're begging for God to forgive you, yet you're holding on to unforgiveness and you're holding on to hatred and anger and all of that stuff, Jesus is like, I don't know what to do with that. God has been so merciful to us that it inspires a strange mercy to others. This is a hard portion of the prayer. And so um, this is an opportunity for you to just do business with the Lord on your own. You don't actually have to turn and confess your deepest sins to each other if that's not what you're looking for today. I understand that. But there's a there's a rule I try and help people understand with the Lord, and it's keep your list short with him. Meaning, don't let your sin pile up so much so that it keeps you from running to him quickly. If this is a daily thing for us, bring it to him. Confess, right? Bring it to him. It says you'll be healed, right? But the other side of that is there may be some people you need to forgive or you need to seek out forgiveness from. And if the Lord brings those to mind, that's okay. It's not for your shame, it's for your freedom. So let's take some time just to be silent and maybe think of the things you would like the Lord to take from you as you confess to him, as you bring these things to him. Know that it's not for your shame, it's for your healing and it's for your freedom. But I also want to encourage you to be people who are active in going and forgiving. That level of chain bondage type stuff on us is just not good. So let's take some time. And if you need to sit or if you want to get on your knees or you want to do whatever you need to in this moment, there's some prompts here. But just consider, and maybe if you need to get out of phone, your phone and take notes, stay off the Instagram. But if you need to like write some stuff down, this is an opportunity to be silent before the Lord to let him know that he's aiming to bring freedom as we seek out forgiveness. So let's pray. That daily forgiveness and offering and extending forgiveness is a daily practice. Thank you that you know there's nothing we can hide from you. There's no reason to hide it from you. You said to bring it to you. So, Father, I ask that in these times when we are focusing on seeking your forgiveness and thanking you for your forgiveness. Like that's the cool part. You you promise to forgive. You promise to clean, you promise to make us new. Help us stand on that way more than we already do. Help us to know that, Jesus, you have forgiven. You've cast our sin as far as the east is from the west. And so make it our joy to keep surrendering the attitudes and the actions that reflect this world to you. Because we want your kingdom. We want it more than anything else. So let's say these words together. Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. The last portion of this prayer is, and don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Again, I love us and we language. It gives us compassion for other people's struggles. It gives us compassion and an awareness that we all have those things that we need God to step in and deliver us from. Whenever we think we're the only ones, we're in trouble, right? The enemy loves to isolate, the enemy loves to make you think you're the only one going through the exact thing you're going through. You're the only one who struggles with fear, you're the only one who struggles with doubt. You're the only one who No, we all are in a boat of struggle. But Jesus has said, and then don't let us yield to temptation. Jesus didn't say, Hey, don't let me be tried. Don't let me have temptation. He said, Don't let me yield to it. It's coming. Life is. That's how it works. It's all gonna be there. But the desire of the believer is to go, God, keep me from those kingdoms and ideas and authorities that would pit me against your kingdom for my life. That's what we're saying. We're saying, God, please step in and don't let me yield. Let me walk away. What that's actually saying is, God, please let me see you as greater than the lust that I might chase after. God, let me see you as more beautiful than the relationship I might chase after that could destroy me. God, let me see you as more glorious than that fat paycheck that I might be able to chase that could actually bind me up. That's what this is saying. God, please don't let me yield to those temptations. I want to be a guy or a gal who passes these tests that you throw my way because you're glorious. And then he says, but rescue us from the evil one. This is Jesus acknowledging there are active forces on the earth pushing against God's kingdom, God's will, and God's ways. Jesus is saying there are other active forces, other active kingdoms, and there is an opposition to what we prayed together at the very beginning. We want your kingdom, Lord. We do not want the plans that the enemy has for this place. And we know, God, that your kingdom's ultimate. It's coming, it's on its way. So would you be the one who delivers us, rescues us from the evil one? So uh here's some prompts that you guys can stand back up and pray together. All right, go ahead. I know you're up and down. I thought we were just gonna sit and listen. Not today, folks. Getting a workout. All right. So here's God help us see you are better than. There are those things that are good in your life. There are, right? Education, family, all these things. An idol is when we take something that's good and we make it ultimate. God is to be ultimate in our lives. So maybe there's some things that you can confess. Man, there's some good things that I like, but they could ultimately take control of my life if I let them. So God help me see you better than this, whatever it is. And God keep us from running to any of the other kingdoms at work on the earth. Guys, they just are. There's ideas, philosophies, principalities. Jesus, we talked about it last week. There are forces at work aiming to keep you from becoming what God has called us, you, me to be. And we're just like, God, please keep us from those things. So pray together on these things. And if you want to say, hey, I there's some good things I think that are ultimate, and these can sneaky, sneaky supersede my relationship with the Lord. So feel free to talk about that, pray about that, uh, and and have somebody pray for you on that. So go ahead. That we get to confess those things, that you are even aware of those things in our lives. And so much help comes when we confess and we recognize, Lord, we are easily swayed. Our minds, our hearts are easily drawn to things that are shiny and look good, but they they trap us. So, Lord, we want to be a people who stay free for the freedom that you have brought, the freedom you have paid for through the death and burial and resurrection of your son, the victory over sin, the victory over death that we now have inherited by faith by putting our trust in the Son of God. So let's say this together. Ready? Here we go. Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Now we're gonna say the whole thing together. All right. So both parts included, this is how Jesus told his disciples to pray. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy, may your kingdom come soon, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And do not let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Amen. We're gonna go into a time of communion now, and the band is gonna lead us as we close in worship. Uh, this is an opportunity for uh us and we moment. I'm thankful for us and we prayers, and I'm thankful for us and we moments around the table. We get to say, God, your kingdom, every time we take this meal. We get to say, God, your kingdom every time we take the body of Christ, the bread, and we dip it in that cup, and we say, Your kingdom, when we recognize the blood of Christ, forgives us of all unrighteousness, forgives us all our sin. And it was his good plan to bring many into glory. And it's a it's a celebration and it's a reminder. So this morning, while the band is playing um and your hearts are prepared, I would say take a moment. We just prayed through some bitty, pretty big things that Jesus said. Hey, this is how disciples should pray every day. When you pray, I mean, you can pray more than once a day. Did you know that? Did you know you can pray more than once a day? I had no idea. You know, it's one of those things. But Jesus was like, when you pray, he didn't say morning, evening, night, morning, whatever. When you pray, you can pray those things. You can bring those things to your Father in heaven who desires to hear from you. And so this table, he desires us to sit at. And he made it possible through the life, death, resurrection, and return of Christ. It will be a meal that we will eat at the marriage table, banquet, celebration of the groom, Christ at the table with us. Crazy to think about. And he bought that for you and for me through his own life. So this is a meal that celebrates that and confesses the death of Christ until he returns every time we take it. So if you have placed your trust in Christ, you said, yeah, he's he's it. He saved me, he's rescued me, he's redeemed me. I don't feel like it all the time, but I know he did it. It's an act of faith to take this meal. God, you really have fully and completely saved me. You're transforming me, you're making me into the person you want me to become. And I'm celebrating you today. And we're celebrating you together. Because not only are you gonna take this meal, but you're gonna take that tray and that cup, and you're gonna turn and offer it to the person behind you. Even if you've never done that here, even if you've never been to Highland before, but you call yourself a follower of Jesus by faith, you put your trust in him, you are invited to not only take this meal, but to extend it to someone behind you. Father, we thank you for your love for us, we thank you for your grace, we thank you that you have transformed what life actually is because of Jesus. Like everything changes because of the sun. Put on flesh, gave up his life, and made new life possible for us. Victory over sin for us, victory over those things that want to choke us out. God, you have broken the power of the devil. And we thank you for that this morning. Be honored as we celebrate you in this place. We just wanted to say thank you for listening to the Highland Christian Church podcast today. And if you ever want to connect with us, send prayer requests, ask questions, or for any other reason, you can visit our website, www.highlandchristian.com, or you can send us an email at info at highlandchristian.com. God bless you guys.