FAITH CONNECTION – FARMERSVILLE UMC
Ministry Updates for Friday, August 21st, 2020
Facebook Live Worship—Sunday, August 23rd, at 9:30 a.m.
Please join us as we again worship through Facebook Live. Use this link to watch the service. And please consider passing it along.
https://www.facebook.com/events/591819924816536
Thank you to everyone who has donated scissors for the Valley View School District students. We have received over 300 pairs of scissors! Your generosity is heartfelt. We are still accepting donations through Monday, August 24.
Reflection – Jesus Teaches His Followers to Pray
For such a short prayer, the prayer Jesus taught his followers to pray covers a lot of ground. Because it covers a lot of ground, it is hard for me feel sincere about every line as I pray it. I once confessed this to a friend in ministry, and she said, ‘Well, I have never been able to be sincere about the whole thing either. I just pray it, and then try to pay attention to where God is meeting me in this prayer today.’
I have found her guidance to be tremendously helpful. Typically, one line of the prayer will stand out. If ‘Your kingdom come’ stands out, then maybe I am worried about the future, and will reflect on that. If ‘forgive us our debts’ catches my attention, then I am likely feeling guilt over something and need to get more specific.
By the way, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ for me means reading scripture. Jesus reminded us that people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I have a stocked pantry and have never in my life had to pray for today’s meal to appear, so to me ‘daily bread’ means God’s Word. I am literally praying for God to lead me to the Bible, the Word that nourishes our souls.
So, with those things in mind, see if it works for you to pray this prayer, seeking to sense where God is meeting you in it today.
Scripture – Matthew 6:9-13
Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
* This is what Matthew told us Jesus taught, and not the full traditional ‘Lord’s Prayer’.