Sermon Notes Luke 11:1 (NIV) One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:2 (NIV) He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Luke 11:3-4a (NIV) Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Luke 11:4b (NIV) "And lead us not into temptation." The early church prayed the "Our Father" three times a day (morning, noon, and night). Luke 11:2 (NIV) "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. "Our Father. Familiar words, maybe so familiar that they are no longer real. Those words were not only real, but also revolutionary to the twelve disciples. Pagan philosophers such as Aristotle arrived at the existence of God via human reason and referred to Him in vague, impersonal terms: the uncaused cause, the immovable mover. The prophets of Israel revealed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in a warmer, more compassionate manner. But only Jesus revealed to an astonished Jewish community that God is truly Father." - Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God Luke 11:2 (NIV) "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Hallowed = (Ἁγιασθήτω/Hagiasthētō) = Holy Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) God's holiness means God does not see the world, our sins, and our problems the way we do. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. In this prayer, we see that God is both: 1) tough and tender. 2) intimate and infinite. 3) attentive and awesome. God desires both the intimacy of "Father" and the respect of "hallowed" Luke 11:5 (NIV) Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; - Luke 11:6 (NIV) a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' Luke 11:7 (NIV) And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' Luke 11:8 (NIV) I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. As a good Father, God delights in meeting all your needs. Luke 11:9 (NIV) "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:10 (NIV) For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:11-12 (NIV) "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Luke 11:13 (NIV) If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" "If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who have lived in the course of human history, all their goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength, and love and united all those qualities in a single person, that person's love would only be a faint shadow of the furious love and mercy in the heart of God the Father addressed to you and me at this moment." - Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God
