Lord’s Prayer: Enough for today (Matthew 6:11)

Sometimes context doesn’t seem to matter. Things seem clear at face value. Like a request for bread. What could be more simple? “Give me food today. (Please).” For the people hearing this model prayer from Jesus for the first time, the request was only partly about the future or about today. It had everything to […]

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Lord’s Prayer: Your kingdom (Matthew 6:10)

There are many debates about what the kingdom of heaven means in Matthew, about when it starts, about what Jesus means when he says “Repent because the Kingdom is at hand.” I wonder why we wonder so much? Why do we care so much about having exactly the right interpretation? Is it because we want […]

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A prayer for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

God- Some of us feel foolish all the time. We feel insecure and powerless and overwhelmed. We’re just looking for things to make sense. We’re just looking for someone to trust. We’re just looking for a sign from you. And you know we’d do just about anything to get your help. We’d do just about […]

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Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9)

For some people, the beginning of this prayer has to be rough. To start with “Our Father” brings horrible memories. And the thought, “if God is like that, then I’m not interested.” As I think about this beginning, however, I realize that Jesus knew. Jesus knew that some men would be hopelessly cruel to their […]

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