Message from Last Sunday, Feb 27, 2011 - The Lord's Prayer, a Recipe for Prayer

At one point in his teaching, Jesus gave clear and direct instructions on prayer. He said, "When you pray, pray like this..." Then he gave his disciples what we know today as, "The Lord's Prayer." But what does it mean? Why do we pray, "Thy kingdom come"? Can anyone stop God's kingdom from coming? Explore the Lord's Prayer with Pastor John from Journey of Life Lutheran Church in Orlando, Florida.

Audio:

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Luke 6:17-19 reading and brief reflection

In this passage, we see Jesus healing many people of all sorts of sicknesses. This shows us two things. First, Jesus verified that he was the messiah by fulfilling Old Testament prophecies of miraculous healings. He didn't just claim to be the messiah and speak eloquently. Second, God sometimes does choose to heal us in response to our prayers.

Luke 6:12-16 reading and brief reflection

In this reading Jesus spends a night in prayer and then designates twelve of his disciples to be apostles. From this account we learn to bath big decisions in prayer and to rejoice in diversity rather than seeking uniformity in the church.

In this reading, some religious leaders are looking for a way to accuse Jesus. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus openly heals a man on the Sabbath right before their eyes. In doing this, Jesus illustrates again the proper place of rules an traditions in the life of a person of faith.

Luke 6:1-5 reading and reflection

In this reading, Jesus' disciples are questioned by the pharisees for picking grain and eating it on the Sabbath. Jesus reminds us that he is Lord of the Sabbath (and, via another Gospel, that the Sabbath is there to serve us not master us)

Luke 5:33-39 reading and brief reflection

Message: Foundation of Prayer - the Inescapable Presence of God

Awareness of God's presence — Christian mindfulness — is essential to a life that grows in living out the scripture's invitation to "pray without ceasing."

Streaming audio:


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Video:

Luke 5:27-26 reading and brief reflection (Jesus heals a paralytic)

Luke 5:12-16 Jesus Heals a Leper (brief reading and reflection)

Luke 5:1-11 reading and brief reflection

Reflect briefly with Pastor John on this episode in Jesus' life when he calls his first disciples to leave their fishing boats behind and follow him.

Audio - Prayer (first in a series) - from Feb 6, 2011

This sermon on prayer grows out of the observation that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray. Prayer is a vital part of the life of faith. We will be exploring prayer for the next few Sundays. In this lesson, Pastor John reads three back-to-back sections in Luke 18, two parables and an instance when the disciples tried to stop people from bringing children to him. Prayer lessons that can be derived from these three sections are: pray persistently, pray humbly and pray trustingly.

Links to message audio (video posted separately):

Download: http://journeymedia.sermon.net/da/2602665

Playback: http://journeymedia.sermon.net/da/2602665/play

Video - Prayer (first in a series) - message from Feb 6, 2011

New Message Series begins Sunday, Feb 6, 2011 - PRAYER

Last week's message (Jan 30, 2011) dealt with the inner peace in which Jesus lived, a peace so complete that he could sleep in the back of a boat during a storm that made seasoned sailors afraid for their lives. We looked at the habits of Jesus' life, one of which was solitary prayer.

I had decided that this Sunday we would explore solitary prayer a bit further. As I was preparing the message and praying about it, I decided that the subject of prayer was worth a series instead of a one-off message.

So, beginning this week and continuing for the next few weeks, the Sunday messages at Journey of Life Lutheran Church will focus on prayer. Some questions we will explore, not in any particular order, are:

• Why should I pray?
• What can I expect in and through my prayers?
• What should I pray for?
• Is there a right way to pray?
• Is there a wrong way to pray?
• Can I pray for whatever is important to me? Or will that make God mad at me?
• Is there such a thing as "prayer techniques"?

This Sunday you will also have a chance to submit your own questions about prayer and have them addressed as part of this series.

Hope to see you Sunday. Or, if you aren't in the area, be sure to listen to or watch the digital recordings of the messages. They will be posted here for your convenience.

God bless! (and may you recognize it as such when God does!)

PJ

Isaiah 58:3-9 reading and brief reflection

Reading and brief reflection (video)