Discover what God’s name represents
Friday, August 24, 2012, Part 2
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name’” (Matthew 6:9).
IDEA: “Hallowed be your name” is not a request that God be made holy, but that we will be able to reflect His holiness in the way we pray and the way we live.
PURPOSE: To help listeners pray this petition with meaning.
Risky Business
As the worldwide financial crisis deepened in 2010, executives of a global banking firm were investigated for deceiving their customers about the risk involved in certain investments they were selling. While promising a high rate of return, the banking firm knew that the investments were destined to fail, leaving those who purchased them with nothing.
Green Pasture
By Debra Ayis, Nigeria “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.” —Psalm 23:1-3 You promised to lead me to green pasture New land flowing with [...]
What does it mean to “hallow” God’s name?
Thursday, August 23, 2012, Part 1
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name’” (Matthew 6:9).
IDEA: “Hallowed be your name” is not a request that God be made holy, but that we will be able to reflect His holiness in the way we pray and the way we live.
PURPOSE: To help listeners pray this petition with meaning.
A Picture Of Him
One day my son uncapped an orange marker and drew a picture of his father. His toddler’s rendering featured eyes, a nose, and a mouth, all inside of a circle on top of two long sticks (he informed me that those were the legs). Although my little boy scored high marks for effort, his picture didn’t quite capture the specifics that would have created a close likeness to my husband: blue eyes, a confident smile, and silver-flecked hair.
Who God is, and how we can relate to Him
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name’” (Matthew 6:9).
IDEA: God, whom we address as Abba, is also our Father in heaven.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize who their heavenly Father really is.
Theory Of Everything
Scientists have been looking for the “Theory of Everything.” One person who thinks he found it is physicist Brian Greene, who wrote The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. Greene’s “string theory” is a complicated concept suggesting that at its tiniest level everything consists of combinations of vibrating strands, or strings. He has described his theory as “a framework with the capacity to explain every fundamental feature upon which the world is constructed.”
Service before self
By Joanna Hor, Singapore Five cold showers. Six hours of sleep per night. Eight days. Nine hours of manual labor under the hot sun. Thirty-six Cambodian families. Countless insects. The list could go on to describe my recent mission trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I even have a bruise and a couple of insect bites [...]
Let’s examine the characteristics of our heavenly Father, by looking at the Son, Jesus!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012, Part 4
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matthew 6:9).
IDEA: Speaking to God as Father, as Jesus taught us, reveals a great deal about our relationship with God.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize what it signifies when we can speak to God as Father.
Sharpening One Another
Social networks on the Internet are on the rise. Even when separated by great distance, people are still able to gain insights and a listening ear from peers on-line. Blogs, Twitter, e-mail, and Web links add to the ways we can receive and give spiritual guidance.
How God defines Himself as father, and how this influences our relationship with Him
Monday, August 20, 2012, Part 3
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matthew 6:9).
IDEA: Speaking to God as Father, as Jesus taught us, reveals a great deal about our relationship with God.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize what it signifies when we can speak to God as Father.
Unrewarded
Most of us look to friends and colleagues for rewards: a slap on the back, a hero’s medal, applause, a sincere compliment. But according to Jesus, the more important rewards await us after death. It’s possible that the most significant human acts of all are carried out in secret, seen by no one but God. In a nutshell, the message of the kingdom is this: Live for God and not other people.
It just takes five minutes
By Christie Weakly, USA After I made myself a really awesome maxi skirt last night, I decided to go back to the fabric store with my mom for material to make more clothes since the first one turned out pretty well. After gathering all my desired materials at the store, we waited for our turn [...]
Heman’s Honesty
I marvel at Heman, the poet who wrote Psalm 88. His lot in life was unrelieved distress. “My soul is full of troubles,” he lamented (v.3). He was fed up with suffering!
Living In Community
Texas Ranger baseball player Josh Hamilton has battled the demons of drug and alcohol addiction. So when his team won their playoff series in 2010, Hamilton was concerned about the postgame celebration. He admitted that it’s not good for a recovering alcoholic to be in the midst of a “rainstorm” of champagne. But something beautiful happened. Instead of champagne, his teammates stocked the locker room with ginger ale so that Hamilton could be included in the celebration. What a great picture of community and putting others’ needs above your own.
