Parkwood Baptist Church

Our Father who art in heaven?
Hallowed be Thy name?
Thy Kingdom come?
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
Give us this day our daily bread?

On this Good Friday we remember that horrible day when Jesus was beaten and brutally executed on a cross.   This event highlights the cruelty of humankind and the great love of God at the same time.  That is why I have put question marks at the end of these familiar phrases that we have been praying over the last 43 days.  The darkness and suffering of the cross was the answer to this prayer…but how?  Let’s look at these phrases.

Our Father who art in heaven?  Our Father came down from heaven and “became flesh and dwelt among us”.  Jesus was the Father in the flesh.  The Father paid the price for us on the cross.  The Father came to take away our sin “while we were yet sinners”.

Hallowed be Thy name?  Is this how the name of God is lifted up?  Is this how it is glorified?  Yes, the cross shines the glory of God.  Greater love has no one than this, “that he lay down his life for his friend”.  Jesus said, “If I be lifted up I will draw all men to myself”.  This was referring to the crucifixion.

Thy Kingdom come?  The cross is God’s Kingdom coming and triumphing over the kingdoms of this world.  Facing the mortality of this world and defeating death that eternity could be experienced.  Yes, the cross is His Kingdom coming.  The veil in the temple that separated the common man from the presence of God was torn into and all are allowed to enter.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?  This was the answer to Jesus’ prayer in the garden.  “Thy will be done”.  It was God’s will for the deliverance to come through the suffering of the cross.  He who was holy became sin that we might become holy.

Give us this day our daily bread?  This is what we needed.  This is the salvation that gives us life.  This is the forgiveness that we long for.  We were lost but now we are found!  We were dead in our sins but now we can experience life as we were intended.  It is exactly what we needed.

So, today as we meditate on the sadness of the death of Jesus let us also thank the Lord for answering our prayers for a redeemer…a deliverer…a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

“A new command I give to you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

Today is Maundy Thursday.  This marks the night of the last supper.  This was the Passover meal that Jesus and His disciples observed in the upper room on the night that He was betrayed.  That night Jesus prayed several times.  During the meal He blessed the different elements of the Seder meal.  John 17 also records His prayer for His disciples and you and I who would come later and believe.  After the meal we know that He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed intensely to the Father about the upcoming suffering.  Jesus was a man of prayer.  We never heard Him pray the words of the Lord’s prayer specifically but I am sure that in each of His prayers He approached with the same attitude in mind.

For us, as well, the model of the Lord’s prayer can have an effect on all of our prayers.  It is a prayer that brings us into the proper frame of mind when we come before the Father.  Whether we are praying over our meal or praying about a family crisis we can apply the lesson we learn from this pattern that Jesus gave us.

The name “Maundy Thursday” comes from the Latin word for “command” or “covenant”.  In English we get the word “mandate” from the same source.  Some say that is where the traditional name for Maundy Thursday comes from.  It was in the upper room on that Thursday when Jesus gave the new “Commandment” which is referenced above.  The Scripture also talks about the new “covenant” represented by the blood of Jesus commemorated in the Lord’s Supper.  So, Christians observe this day as a day of commitment or re-commitment to Christ.

Today you can take this opportunity to renew your covenant with the Father by praying through the Lord’s prayer and allowing it to focus your heart on His work of grace through Jesus Christ.

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen”

“Father, the hour has come.  Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him.  Now this is eternal life; that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” – Jesus (John 17:1-3)

The Bible talks a lot about “Forever”.   In every story in Scripture there is an eternal aspect or perspective.  It is seeing things from God’s point of view.  He looks at everything in terms of eternity.   Everything is evaluated on the basis of the long term impact.  This is the perspective of Jesus when He gives us the Lord’s prayer.  It does address the here and now of our daily living but… also keeps our eyes on the eternal impact of our existence.  All parts of the prayer have an eternal aspect to them and this ending to the prayer reminds us of that.

This eternal perspective is the source of our hope in a world of the temporary…a world of change…a world that is broken…a world that is here today and gone tomorrow…a world that is full of separations and good byes…a world of funerals and grief.  This hope in an eternity is something that God has implanted in each of us when He created us.  An awareness deep within that says there is something more than this world.  This is not the end.  The Good News is that the darkness that we see in the world around us is not forever and that the things of the Kingdom of God are!

The Lord’s prayer directs us to pray for our needs of today (God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, His leading and protection) in the light of eternity (Thy name, Thy Kingdom, Thy will, Thy power and glory).  To pray this prayer is to bring our thoughts into harmony with God’s thoughts.  It is seeing our requests and desires in light of the greater light of “forever”.  Each request is set in the light of it’s eternal significance.  When we begin to pray from this perspective our requests change.  We begin to pray more like Jesus prayed.  Temporary comforts and quick relief answers become less important as we bring to the Lord the things that can change lives forever.

What are you praying for today?  Temporary relief to the pains of this world or heartfelt requests for that will impact the world “forever and ever.  Amen”?

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen”

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore glorify God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.” (Galatians 1:3-5)

To give God glory begins with acknowledging that God exists.  To look at the marvels of creation and give God the credit as the Master Designer.  We are also called into a relationship with the God who created us.  When we decide to follow Jesus and give our lives over to Him we become the bearers of His Name.  This means that the things that we say and do reflect on Him.  Therefore, we have a responsibility to bring glory to God through our lives.  The Apostle Paul reminds us above that, as believers, we are the “temple” of the Holy Spirit.  God Himself has taken up residence in us.  Paul was letting the Corinthian believers know that it was at great cost that God made this miraculous relationship possible.

During the Lenten season we are meditating on the sacrifice of Jesus…the One who “gave Himself for our sins”.  We have the honor of being a living illustration of God’s redeeming grace!  Some might say, “But I am a terrible example.  I struggle with the Christian life and often fail.”…and God forgives you…picks you up…brushes you off and you continue to grow.  That IS the story of grace.  God takes imperfect, struggling, weak people like you and me and pulls us close to Him.  Like the rest of creation He created us for His glory.  We are His unique project that tells the world that He is a God who redeems…a God who rescues…a God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life!

Today, we must take to heart our calling, as followers of Jesus, to bring glory to His name.  When we pray “For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory” we realize that we have a part in pointing people to Jesus.

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen”

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3)

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” (Psalm 57:5)

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

When we pray “to God be the glory” we are acknowledging that God is the Master Designer of it all.  To give Him glory is to give Him the credit.  It is looking at the world around us and seeing His hand.  To give God glory starts with simply believing in God.  In order to not believe we must look at the evidence around us and come up with an alternative explanation…we have to give the “credit” to someone or something else.  The Scripture tells us that to deny God this glory is to deny His existence.  To look at the wonders of this world and say that it is an accident or that we are the result of a random cosmic collision is to take away from the glory of God.

The Psalm above states that the creation itself declares that there is a God!  God has proclaimed His existence throughout all the earth.  We see it in a sunrise or in the blooming flowers of Spring.  When you think about the mysteries of the stars in the heavens or hold a new born baby in your arms…we hear the “language” of the Divine…we clearly see the evidence of the Almighty Architect.  This is a worldwide message…THERE IS A GOD!

To give God the glory is to believe that there is a God who has created it all and also that He continues to be a part of it.  In other words, it is acknowledging His existence…AND…His presence today!  Do you believe that today?  It is the beginning of giving God all the glory that is His.  Praying the Lord’s prayer is believing that there is a God and that He is here and active in the world and in our lives.  So…

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the GLORY”

“Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory
Forever and ever. Amen”

“They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!’  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?'” (Matthew 21:7-10)

Happy Palm Sunday as we celebrate the sixth Sabbath of our Lenten journey.  It is a Sunday that commemorates the arrival of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem on the final week before His crucifixion and resurrection.  The Gospels record this grand entrance as one marked with a “red carpet” treatment.  Crowds are cheering and singing.  Some wave palms and others lay their cloaks in the road in honor of the coming of Jesus the Christ.  It is a fulfillment of thousands of years of prophesy.  Even the donkey that He was riding and the songs they were singing were foretold long before.  It was the plan all along.  God had ordained it.  It was why He had come.  Jesus had told His disciples over and over that this was what He must do.

Jerusalem was the last place that Satan wanted Jesus to be.  He had tried many times in the days prior to distract Jesus from this place.  He had even used Peter to try to talk Jesus out of it but Jesus would not be moved from His purpose.  The entry of Jesus into the city was the beginning of the victory.  He was now in the right place at the right time to accomplish the mission of redeeming a lost world to Himself.

Don’t miss this.  The Devil was not happy that Jesus was in Jerusalem.  It was not his plan that Jesus would die for the sins of the world.  It was God’s plan.  Palm Sunday was just another example that nothing and nobody can keep the love of God from us.

Today, let us sing with the children and lift up our hands in praise that Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem and ignored all the distractions in order to show His love for us and provide the forgiveness of our sins.

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen”

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one having authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” (Matthew 7:28, 29)

“No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” (John 10:18)

“Pilate said, ‘Don’t you realize that I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’  Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.'” (John 19:10, 11)

Yesterday we thought about that truth that God CAN do anything.  He is all powerful and there is nothing that He cannot do.  Today we want to see that God’s power reigns supreme.  He is the Sovereign God.  Not only CAN He do anything…there is nothing that happens that He doesn’t know about and, ultimately takes care of.

In the words of Jesus referenced above, He reminds His disciples and Pilate that He is in control.  He did not create this world…set it spinning…and walk away.  God is here and there is nothing that comes into your life that He cannot use to His glory.  Even your worst failures are not final with God.  He takes all circumstances…good and bad…and uses them to His glory and your growth.  That is what Paul is saying in the well known verse to the Romans,

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

This is not saying that all things are good.  It is not saying that only good things will happen to those who love the Lord.  It is saying that God is all powerful and takes all things…good and bad…brings good (glory and growth) out of it.

Please remember today that our Father has all the power.  As the children’s prayer says, “God is great, God is good…”  He can…He does…and He is Good.  Whatever you are going through He can help you and He will help you.  Come to Him all you who are weak and heavy laden and He will give you rest!

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

“But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” -Request of the father of a sick boy (Mark 9:22)

“If you can?” said Jesus, “Everything is possible for him who believes” (Mark 9:23)

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20)

How big is your God?  Do you believe in a God who can do anything?  This part of the final phrase of the Lord’s prayer reminds us that the God of Scripture…the Creator of the universe…the source of all life is ALL powerful!  He makes the impossible possible!  The big theological word is “Omnipotent”.  Do you believe this?

The story in the Gospel of Mark referenced above is of a desperate father whose son was very sick.  When he met Jesus he asked for help.  He began his plea with “If you can…”  Jesus made a point of letting him know that there is no “IF” when it comes to the possibilities for those who believe in God!  There are no limitations.  How big is your God?  Unfortunately, many of us begin our prayers like the father in the story.  “God, if you can will you do such and such?”  When we pray for God to provide us our “daily bread”, do we believe that He can?  When we pray for the forgiveness of our sins, do we believe that He can?  When we ask Him to “deliver us from evil” do we believe that He can?

I sometimes get asked, “Do you really believe that God did all those miracles in the Bible?” I usually respond with the question, “Do you believe God could do that if He wanted?”  The answer is most often…”Of course!”  Then why not believe it!  I believe in a God who can do anything!  I need a God like that!  How about you?  I want a God who I can go to with any issue…any problem…any challenge and KNOW that He can take care of it.  As the verse above says, a God who can do more than we can possibly imagine.  That is the God of Scripture.  That is the God who revealed Himself through Jesus.

Today, I ask you…How big is your God?  I want you to know that there is no problem, no pain or no predicament that He cannot handle in your life today.  You can approach Him with confidence because…

“Thine is the Kingdom and the power…”

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen”

“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Jesus (Matthew 6:33)

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.'” (John 3:3)

“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His Son He loves, in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13, 14)

There is a Kingdom beyond the kingdoms of this world.  It is The Kingdom of God.  It is the eternal Kingdom where God reigns supreme in His holiness.  It is where His will is done without question and without delay.  I am not talking about any kingdom of this world.  There is a Kingdom that is God’s Kingdom.  This place where God rules is taught throughout Scripture and Jesus reminds us of that Truth here in the ending statement of the Lord’s Prayer…  “For Thine is the Kingdom”

The amazing…Good News of the Gospel is that we are invited to be a part of this Kingdom.  We are encouraged to “seek” it.  We are given the process of getting into it or “seeing” it.  We must be “born again,” Jesus said!  It is a new beginning when there is a death to the old self…the reign of the old kingdom and a new start as citizens of a new Kingdom.  We are even told of how that is possible…through the forgiveness of sins available in Jesus Christ!

We need to be reminded everyday of this Kingdom of God.  This knowledge should be a source of hope for all believers as we walk in this world around us.  It should change our perspective and the way we relate to those around us.

We also need to be reminded that this is a “Kingdom”.  God is King.  Heaven is not a democracy.  Those who are part of that Kingdom submit themselves to the Lordship of the King…Jesus.  This phrase in the prayer points us back to every phrase we have prayed to this point.  Each focuses on the authority of God and our humble submission to His Will.  It is the recognition that it is about His Kingdom not ours.  It is about lining up our thoughts and actions and words with His.

As you pray the prayer today, think about being willing to go where He leads…do what He asks…say what He would…and be an effective ambassador of His Kingdom.

“Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil”

A Call for Deliverance from the Cross

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him; ‘Aren’t you the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!’  But the other criminal rebuked him.  ‘Don’t you fear God’, he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong.’  Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’  Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'” (Luke 23:39-43)

When we pray the different phrases of the Lord’s prayer we can find ourselves using our own words to reach out to our Father.  Each phrase can trigger us to pray specifically as it applies to our lives.  In the Scripture above there is a famous example of someone praying a prayer of deliverance.  He is not quoting Scripture or even a written prayer.  He is not at an altar in a church or kneeling at his bedside.  He is in the process of being executed by crucifixion…nailed to a cross…along with two others.

Those around the cross of Jesus were mocking Him and casting insults upon Him continuously.  Shouts and challenges for Him to “deliver” Himself were soaked with sarcasm.  “If you are the Messiah then deliver yourself!”  We are told that even one of the other criminals being crucified joined in.  From the other side of Jesus the other criminal addresses the first.  “What do you think your doing?”  “We deserve this.  He is innocent.”

Then, amidst the noise and ridicule…like a small light in the darkness…a voice is heard…

“Jesus”.

It is the thief.  The one who has confessed that he was being “justly” punished.  He is now talking to Jesus.  Among the shouting and the hatred being thrown at our Savior there is a word spoken by a dying man…

“Jesus”

Oh, how did that sound in the ears of our suffering Lord?  To hear His name being spoken from a desperate soul in need of a deliverer.  Can you imagine with me the compassion of Jesus as He turned His head against the cross to look toward this condemned soul…and in the moment when He was becoming the deliverer for us all…He became the deliverer of one.

“Today, you will be with me…”

Some are content to be condemned to die in the very presence of their deliverer.  They do not cry out like this thief and experience it personally.  Today, as you pray the part of the prayer about deliverance, make it personal.

“Jesus…remember me”