Here's Sunday's message if you missed our broadcast on Sunday (For the foreseeable future, we be running our Sunday morning services digitally. Please go to our website on Sundays at 10:30 to join in)
“Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)
As we pray, God wants to speak to us about how we can be the answer to other’s prayers. As you pray, be open to the Holy Spirit working through you. Maybe you can provide others’ ‘daily bread’. John writes,
‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’ (1 John 3:16-18)
This is how we know what love is - Jesus!
Jesus both prays and acts on our behalf. Jesus ‘laid down his life for us'. He became poor to make us rich as He took our sin upon Himself in death (2 Cor. 8:9).
Jesus is the definition of love. Therefore, to pray for people without being prepared to act is not loving. I say ‘prepared to act’ because, of course, we cannot meet everyone’s needs, but we must be open to being led by the Spirit to serve some.
As you pray, listen
So, as you pray, ‘give us today our daily bread’ let’s listen to the Spirit. How is He prompting you and wanting to work through us in service to others?
As you pray for ‘us’, please also Pray for the provision of this local church. We’ve postponed our gift day; our finances will be hit massively by the Corona Virus. I’m tempted to worry. Let’s all pray for the church. Let’s also be prepared to be used by God to meet the needs of this church. (If you are a member of a different church, pray correspondingly).
So, every day in every thing pray and give thanks. As you do so, let’s watch and see how our faithful Father will meet our needs and work through us to meet the needs of others.
RESPONSE
Take a moment to ask the Father how He wants to use you to provide for other’s ‘daily bread’: financial, relational, prayer, encouragement, showing appreciation…
During this series, let's aim to memorise and meditate on The Lord's Prayer.
COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY – EVERY DAY IN EVERY THING PRAY AND GIVE THANKS.
Opener
Have you ever had a need that God has met?
Introduction - please read in your group
This week we have come to the phrase, ‘Give us today our daily bread’. The title of the message on Sunday was, ‘Every day in every thing pray and give thanks’.
We can often pray and give thanks for the big things in life whilst neglecting to pray and give thanks for ‘daily bread’. We are to come to the Father daily with particular focus on the day that's in front of us. Today, this day, God promises to meet our needs.
It’s also very important to notice that Jesus uses the term ‘give us…’. We are to be in close community so as to know and pray for one another’s needs.
Read The Lord’s Prayer
“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (“…For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”) (Matthew 6:9-13)
Discuss/share together
i) Give us…
To make this a reality, we all need to be close enough to people so as to know and pray for one another. No Christian should be isolated from God or their brothers and sister.
Discuss: How can you deepen relationships through this current crisis?
ii) Today…Daily
Our relationship with God is to be like old-style shopping where one acquired what was needed each day. Jesus promises “your heavenly Father knows what you need” but we are still taught to pray this every day. The Father wants us to come to Him every each day and not just in a crisis!
Discuss: Do you ask and give thanks about all your needs? How could you make prayer and thanksgiving a natural part of your lifestyle?
Pray together
Go around your group, each one sharing what they would like prayer for at the moment. Pray for each person in turn. In particular, what are your 'daily bread' needs at the moment?
Notices
Please share from this week’s Church News.
In addition:
Please use the devotional every day for daily encouragement and important messages.
If you can, please share and promote our on-line Sunday service on whatever social media platform that you use.
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