Do you know God as Abba Father? Jesus said it is the starting place for authentic conversation with God (aka prayer). Continuing in our Life in the Kingdom series, we begin looking at the famous Lord’s prayer and the incredible reality that Jesus teaches us to begin our conversation with God with the childlike trust “Our Father.”
If you want a study tool to go along with the podcast, see Lift Notes here:
Life in the Kingdom: The Lord’s Prayer-Our Father
February 16th, 2014 by Kasey Crawford
Today’s Passages:
Matthew 6:7-13, 7:9-11, Gal 4:6, Luke 12:32, I John 4:8,18
In the “Lord’s Prayer”, Jesus is addressing a fundamental question of the disciples: “_______ do we pray?”
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus is teaching a simple, yet very deep _______________ for understanding how to approach ______ of life with God in prayer.
7“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9Pray then like this: “Our Father…” Matthew 7:7-9
Prayer’s of the time were more of a calculated ___________ in which an aloof, temperamental and fairly disinterested deity would have to be wooed into attention based on an impressive display of long words or ______________ phrases.
Jesus comes along in that setting and says, You have a divine parent, a heavenly father who _________ so much about you he already knows your _________ before you ask them, so you should begin by saying “Our Father.”
To come to God as a divine parent was strikingly more ________________ than what was expected.
Even further, the word Abba is an Aramaic term for father with a connotation of endearment and intimacy, used by _____________, like the ________ word a child would use to address their father.
Because you are children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6
As spiritual children, one of our ________ _______________ words, if you will, is that our souls cry out to God, “Abba.”
For most of us its not difficult to believe that we need and want God to be this close, its harder to believe that God really __________ that way about ____.
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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 good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9–11
Jesus is trying to reveal the heart of the father and destroy _______ that we all carry. The message is so simple and pure: God is full of ____________ towards you, like a perfect father. He wants us in the deepest, most childlike, most vulnerable place of our heart, to believe and feel and know that God is good.
Fear not little flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
As a child when your parents are in a good mood, how do you feel?
When your parents are in a bad mood, how do you feel? ___________
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18
As we are perfected in the experience of the Abba Father’s good love, fear is driven ________, and we can _____________ God’s good mood.
Living as a Disciple in the Kingdom…
What is God saying to you?
What are you going to do about it?
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