Church
God commands us to forgive our debtors.
Posted on October 23rd, 2009
There is a phrase in The Lord’s Prayer that we may wonder if we really want to pray. “Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors”. The word “debt” is a good synonym for sin because it reminds us that each time we sin we incur a moral debt to God and that our sin debt is so great we could never repay it. (more…)
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
Posted on October 19th, 2009
There is more than one kind of debt we can owe. We are all familiar with the normal kind of debt which we can satisfy by paying the amount of money we owe. Also, the person we owe could forgive the debt we owe, take it off his books and clear our name. But there are also moral debts, which carry a much higher price. If we steal something that costs $10, simply paying the $10 will not satisfy our moral debt. It may cost us a large fine or time in jail.
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The Lord’s Prayer tells us how often to pray
Posted on October 11th, 2009
The Lord’s Prayer gives us a clue as to how often God wants us to pray. Jesus did not tell us to pray for our yearly bread, or our monthly bread, or even our weekly bread. The phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread” helps us understand that He wants us to pray at least once a day. Jesus doesn’t instruct us to pray once a day to strengthen His self esteem. He does not want us to pray once a day because he needs to hear from us, and would feel slighted if we did not pray. He tells us to pray once a day because he knows that is what is best for us.
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“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Posted on October 4th, 2009
When Jesus was teaching his followers the way in which they should pray, this was one of the phrases he taught that they should pray. This phrase really strikes at the heart of the Christian’s life. To be a follower of Jesus Christ means to be a person who tries their best to be an imitator of Jesus Christ. We are supposed to do our best to have the same attitudes and loves and behaviors and desires as Jesus did when he walked the earth. (more…)
What does it mean to pray “Thy kingdom come?”
Posted on September 22nd, 2009
When we come to the phrase in The Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” what is it we are praying for? Remember, Jesus told us not to be like a babbler who simply repeats some words he has memorized without knowing what those words mean. So when we pray “Thy kingdom come” what do we mean?
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The Lord’s Prayer addresses God as “Our Father”
Posted on September 16th, 2009
A Pastor’s Perspective
By Mike Salch, Pastor First Baptist Church
In Matthew 6 we have Jesus teaching how we should pray. He gave us a prayer to use as a model for our prayers. This model prayer is known as The Lord’s Prayer. Over the next weeks we will be looking at this model prayer so we can understand what it means and so we can better know how to pray. Today we will look at the first phrase.
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How do you say The Lord’s Prayer?
Posted on September 16th, 2009
A Pastor’s Perspective
By Mike Salch, Pastor First Baptist Church
Is it possible to say The Lord’s Prayer in the wrong way? Jesus began His teaching about prayer by teaching how not to pray (Matthew 6:5-8). We are not to pray like hypocrites. In Jesus’ day, the word hypocrite referred to actors. When they were acting, the things they were saying and doing were not real. They were just playing a part. There were people in Jesus’ day who put on a big show when they said prayers so that others would think of them as righteous – but they were not sincere. Jesus said we are not to pray like them.
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What is the Lord’s Prayer exactly?
Posted on August 27th, 2009
A Pastor’s Perspective" By Mike Salch
Pastor First Baptist Church of Orchard
The Lord’s Prayer. Almost everyone knows it and has said it. But was is it, exactly, and what do all those phrases mean? The Gospel of Luke, chapter 11 tells us The Lord’s Prayer was Jesus answer to the disciples when they asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
If you wanted to learn how to play the piano or sing or throw a football, wouldn’t you want to learn from the one who is the very best at those things? (more…)
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