January -- What to expect from the Stewardship Minute for 2012 | February – Learning to Pray
March - Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer: Treasuring our Sonship! | April -- 1st Petition: Cherishing His name |
May -- 2nd Petition: Living in the Kingdom of God | June -- 3rd Petition: Free Will? Depending on God’s Will!!
July -- 4th Petition: Acknowledge and give thanks to God who provides our daily bread.
August -- 5th Petition: Forgiveness – a FREE gift! | September -- 6th Petition: The struggle and the fight
October -- 7th Petition: The Lord’s deliverance | November -- Conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer: Submitting to the Creator of the Universe | December – The Holy Spirit prays on our behalf.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen

Jesus used the Lord’s Prayer for teaching purposes. In Matthew 6 Jesus says, “This then is how you should pray.” And in Luke 11 the disciples say to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them “When you pray, say….” The Lord’s Prayer is pedagogical in nature.

The question is often asked, do Christians need to learn how to pray. In some respects praying is a natural part of the Christian life. In the scriptures we learn that Christians have a connection with the Lord through prayer that other people do not possess. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7) This passage means that the positive answering of a prayer is dependant upon the Word of God in a person’s life. If God’s Word is present and active then what a person prays for changes. God’s word subjects a person’s will to God’s will. Unless a prayer is consistent with God’s will it will not be answered in the affirmative.

In this life we are weak according to the flesh. The reality is that we often do not know how to pray. We can confuse our own will with that of God’s and pray for things according to the flesh rather than according to the Spirit. When this happens God’s answer will be ‘no’. His will is what governs God’s responses to our prayers.

The Lord’s Prayer demonstrates how to pray according to God’s will.
Our Father who art in heaven:
God wants us to call upon him.
Hallowed be thy name:
God wants us to recognize and honor his name in our lives – for where he puts his names is where he makes himself present.
Thy Kingdom Come:
God wants to bring us into his Kingdom now and in eternity
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven:
God wants us to submit to his will and believe that he has our best interests in his hand.
Give us this day our daily bread:
God wants to and will provide for our daily needs.
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us:
God wants to forgive our sins and he wants us to be forgiving.
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
God wants to preserve us from the temptations that lead to sin and promises to always give us a way out.

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1Co 10:13 ESV)

As we pray for these things we know that we are praying according to God’s will and that our prayers will be answered in the affirmative.

It is good to pray the Lord’s Prayer exactly as it is written. We can pray these petitions and know that God will answer this prayer with a resounding “Yes.” There is no doubt. It is also good to use these petitions as the basis for many prayers. Indeed, each petition could be prayed upon for much time -- as we will see in the coming months.

As of January 17th, actual contributions totaled $438,790. With those receipts, we’ve completely repaid all of our debts and, consistent with campaign planning, have applied remaining receipts to special projects - Phase I church kitchen remodel, school roof repair, and repair of the school gym blocks have all been completed. Two special projects remain (that were not part of the original campaign planning). One is required fire code updates (fire doors and exit signs) at the church (anticipated cost $40,000). The second is church kitchen Phase 2 updates (approved by the Voter's Assembly in April), with a portion of the funding ($37,000) to come from this campaign. The total amount for those projects from campaign funds is $77,000. We've received just over $61,000, so an additional $16,000 is needed. The Voter's also decided to extend the campaign for an additional year (through June 2012) to allow additional time for contributions to be made. To date, campaign expenses are at $2,861, well below the budgeted $5,000. Thanks be to God for the blessings bestowed on this campaign and thanks to everyone for their continued support.