“Our Father Which Art in Heaven”   

An Invitation To A Relationship of Intimacy and Awe

 

“Jesus introduces us to God through the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer.”  (p. 29)

 

God’s Sovereignty:     What relational feelings do we get about God in this frame of reference?  What happens if we swing too far in the opposite direction? 

 

In the 400-year period before the birth of Jesus, there was a lull in the direct touch of God with humanity. 

What are some things that developed as a result?

Humankind wants and needs a relationship with God!

 

There must be a balance between intimacy & awe and approachability & mystery.

 

“FATHER” – The first word in the Greek prayer.

-          intimacy of the Father-child relationship

-          Covenant promise and relationship

-          Covenant faithfulness – with compassion

-          Hos. 11:8 – quotes God speaking to rebellious Israel

-          O.T. – God called Father only 14 times

-          N.T. – new dimension to this relationship – WHY?        

-          Father – more than the subject of the first sentence ?

-          Obedience – John 14:10 & John 17:21-23

-          What areas of your life reflect obedience?   What areas do not?

-          What would it mean to you to learn obedience through suffering? Ready?

-          Jesus obedient because He trusts the Father’s covenant faithfulness, tender mercy, and great compassion

 

A Revolution in the meaning of “Father”

-          Not our human concept of “father” as the model

-          All of biblical history must be taken into account to even get a glimpse

-          The Atonement – Father gave His only Son for us!

-          Jesus, the Son, invites us to join Him in this special quality of relationship with the Father – Only through Jesus!

-          “He is the ‘Father in Heaven’ whose resources are endless and eternal” (p. 31)

-          Consider the petitions we are about to ask of Him – we must know Him as that kind of Father to meet the need.

 

"OUR” – The second word in the Greek prayer – a sense of belonging

-          Why did Jesus teach His disciples to pray in plural form?

-          Our Creator – Our source of grace – Our source of salvation – Our source of guidance & direction – Our source of everything

-          Have you ever met a Christian stranger, maybe even from a different culture?  How did you feel toward them?  Why?

-          Heb. 11 – talks about all these heroes of faith – Then, how does Heb. 12 begin?  (Read Heb. 12:1a) – We are all included!  We belong to the same family of faith.

-          “We have access to this privilege of approaching God only because of what God has first done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (p. 32)

 

“IN HEAVEN” –  final phrase of the invocation

-          intimacy balanced by mystery and awe

-          God is creator – “maker of Heaven and Earth” – the Apostles Creed

-          God has a location! – “in Heaven”

-          We can pray at a universal level

-          God rules from above and over all

-          We endure setbacks & sufferings because we are part of a bigger picture

-          Balance of intimacy and mystery – pray as we live and live as we pray – bikers say: Live to Ride – Ride to Live

-          How do YOU nurture awe and mystery in prayer?

 

“As we daily acknowledge Him as our Father in Heaven, we place ourselves in a context to be molded by grace.”  (p. 33)

 

Principle 6:  “Spiritual Formation Is Learning To Listen To The Wisdom.”

 

 

Homework:    1 – “covenant” – look up in a Theological dictionary or encyclopedia

                        2 – List in your journal – A-Z and a descriptive word for God for each letter

                        3 – Write a paragraph in your journal about your sense of belonging and worth

 

Scripture References:  All passages taken from:  The Holy Bible – NIV – Zondervan, Inc.

Hos 11:8

How can I give you up, Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?

My heart is changed within me; …

John 14:10

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

John 17:21-23

21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved.

John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Heb 10:20

… by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, …

Heb 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Covenant: A compact or agreement between two parties binding them mutually to undertakings on each other's behalf. Theologically (used of relations between God and people) it denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for the benefit and blessing of humankind, and specifically of those people who by faith receive the promises and commit themselves to the obligations which this undertaking involves. (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament in One Volume - Kittel)