Posts tagged “Lord’s Prayer”

[Sermo Dei] Rogate: Praying with Jesus (John 16:23-33)

Posted on May 5th, 2013

“In the world you will have tribulation.” Hardly surprising information to anyone who has lived a little while in this broken, fallen world. Yet there is comfort in acknowledging it: “In the world you will have tribulation.” If Jesus says this to His holy Apostles, should we expect things for us to be smooth sailing, success and perfection? In the world you will have tribulation – and thus we find tribulation, trouble and turmoil, everywhere we turn. And wherever the Gospel of Jesus is preached, there especially will be tribulation. The longer we follow Jesus as a disciple, the closer we draw near to Him, the greater the tribulation in our own heart, in our own mind, in our own flesh, in our own…

Categories: Sermons

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[Sermo Dei] Invocabit (Lent I): The Lord’s Battle (1 Samuel 17:40-51)

Posted on February 21st, 2013

I get slightly nervous when I see a group of teenage boys unsupervised. That’s because I remember being a teenage boy, an exhilarating combination of strength and recklessness, intelligence without experience, testosterone über alles.   David’s confident stride onto the battlefield to face the Philistine champion Goliath would seem to be just such adolescent recklessness. David is strong, having worked in the fields as a shepherd. David is courageous, having hunted lions and bears raiding his father’s sheep. But David is still a boy. He has come to this battle simply to bring food for his older brothers in the army, and a gift of cheese to their commander. And there David hears what has happened. The champion of the Philistines, a magnificent, enormous…

Categories: Sermons

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Clinging like a little child

Posted on January 8th, 2013

Luther on praying to “Our Father”: If, like everyone else on this earth, I feel that I cannot call God “Our Father” with all my heart, when saying this prayer (if we could, we would be saints), all I can do instead is to try my best and, like a little child, cling to Him as if he were my father. If my faith is lacking, there is no use pretending, nor do I want to say no to the Father. And if I cannot play this game as it should be played, then preserve me from playing the exact opposite to this game, because that really would be from the Devil. -Luther Brevier, p19

Categories: Theology

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Pray not to enter into a test

Posted on March 15th, 2011

I’m working on Luke’s passion narrative this morning, and had a strange thought concerning these words: Προσεύχεσθε μὴ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς πειρασμόν  (Pray not to enter into test/temptation) – Luke 22:40 My thoughts centered around the word πειρασμόν, which can be translated either test or temptation. What if Jesus has in mind here not general temptation of the coming time, but is thinking specifically of His own passion, the great πειρασμόν which He is about to undergo? Could He be exhorting His disciples to pray that they not be included in His great test, because He knows they will fail? The lack of an article before πειρασμόν makes me think this is not good exegesis, but I don’t think I know enough Greek grammar to be certain if that matters. Another crazy…

Categories: Theology

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Lectio Divina

Posted on August 31st, 2009

The story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath is very familiar, as it occurs in the lectionary every year (Trinity 15 and 16). Today’s OT reading in the TDP (1 Kings 16:29–17:24) cast a different light on that story for me this morning. Before Elijah goes to the Widow of Zarephath and asks her for water and bread, Elijah had been in hiding by the brook Cherith. During the divinely-imposed drought, Elijah received his water from the brook, and food was brought to him by ravens each morning and evening. As the ancient Israelites received their manna at the appointed time, so Elijah received his food. In all of this, they were learning through experience the petition, “Give us this day our daily…

Categories: Theology

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Simple Prayers Every Christian Should Know

Posted on April 21st, 2009

I want to make a list for adult catechumens of simple prayers they should know by heart. I want it to be a short list, but I think what I have so far is too short: Simple Prayers Every Christian Should Know: Our Father Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”) Kyrie (“Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!”) Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers What am I missing? Other prayers that have been very helpful to me are the Collect for Grace, the Collect for Peace, and the prayers at the end of Compline in Lutheran Service Book; however, I fear those might be too overwhelming for the kind of list I want to make.…

Categories: Theology

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