A Piece of the Prayer Pie for Those Who Persecute You
In continuing the sermons about prayer, Pastor Henry talked about how Jesus taught us to pray for those who persecute us. We read from
Matthew 5:43-48 and especially the part that says, "
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."Why should we do this? We should because this is what God has done for us. God sends grace like rain on the righteous and unrighteous alike, and we should do as He does. And this is what sets us apart as sons of our Father in Heaven.
The text ends with the verse, "Be perfect therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Pastor Henry told us that perfect here is used in the sense of being whole or complete. We should be whole or complete in the same way as how God pours out love on all people - by loving friend and enemy. This verse in The Message says,
"You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."Is God calling you to pray for anyone who has persecute you or wronged you in the past? I can't really say that I am being persecuted directly at this time. We live in a country where we have freedom to worship as we choose. When I think about how this verse can apply to this, I thought about how our values and the things we believe in are trashed by the media and popular culture. Therefore, it would be a good thing to pray for those who are against what we believe and hold dear.
Labels: Prayer
Who Do We Pray To?
Note: I missed last week because we were out of town... it was so great to be back today!!!
Today, Pastor Henry continued the series on Prayer by addressing the question, "Who do we pray to?" or "Who do we focus on?" When I was a kid, I pictured and old white haired man on a throne who was good, but it was all pretty hazy and I don't think I could connect very well. Pastor Henry read the following from Hebrew 4:14-16:
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.We talked about different situations where we ask someone for help, and agreed that we needed to ask someone who was sympathetic to our needs. And right here in this passage, we are reminded that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses - He knows what we're going through because He has been tempted in every way like us. It's easier to connect with someone who knows what we're going through. Verse 16 urges us to approach the throne of grace with confidence because of what Jesus did for us. The Message puts it like this: "
So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help." We read more in Hebrews about the role of a high priest:
1Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.[a]"[b] 6And he says in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."[c]
7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Because of Jesus' perfect obedience, suffering, and death, He became the source of eternal life and salvation for those who believe.
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Labels: Prayer
In Christ Alone
Today, we heard the
Easter story, the story where we hear of our ultimate hope if we believe: Jesus is risen. He has defeated sin and death! Pastor Henry began by talking about the different forms of betrayal we experience in life. If we look to things that don't last for life, we will be betrayed because only God can satisfy our souls.
One of the songs we opened up with today is a favorite of many at MCC:
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
A House of Prayer
I wondered today if we would continue talking about prayer in church since it was Palm Sunday, and wouldn't you know, there is a connection. Pastor Amy read the story of the Triumphal Entry from
Luke 19:28-46 and talked about how Jesus was trying to get his message to the people. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, He wept over the city and said,
If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
They weren't getting it. After Jesus enterred Jerusalem, He went in to the temple, drove out the money changers and told them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it into a den of robbers'" This actually comes from
Isaiah 56 where God tells Israel that even foreigners would find joy in His house of prayer for it would be a house of prayer for all nations. Israel was trying to fit into surrounding cultures, and then they went the opposite direction and closed themselves off from other nations. God told them through Isaiah that they still had it wrong - what is really important is that my house is to become a house of prayer
for all nations. What we can learn from this is that there is a way to live as God's people right in the middle of the culture we are in. Don't keep His message to yourself.
So what did you hear today that tugged at your heart? What I have been thinking about is what it means to be a
house of prayer for all nations. We have been talking a lot about prayer lately and I think prayer is a place where we recognize God's sovereignty and our place in our relationship with Him. Since the coming of the Holy Spirit, His temple is in our hearts, and so, we want our hearts and our attitudes to be such that we believe God is sovereign. We look to Him for our needs, our hurts and our wants, we confess to Him and we repent; and we thank Him for who He is and what He has done for us. Now, if all nations, all people believed this message, what a wonderful world it would be.
Labels: Prayer
