Advent Prayer Guide, Week One

As a part of our engaging in the season of Advent, we are inviting everyone at Park Church to join us in prayer on Wednesdays (Dec. 6, 13, 20) during the lunch hour in our sanctuary to pray. If you can’t join us physically, we hope you can join in personally or even get together with others and pray through the prayer guide offered below! Throughout these prayer times we will be focusing on particular phrases and petitions within the Lord’s Prayer.

What is the Lord’s Prayer and why are we praying it?

One of the main markers of Jesus’ life was not merely His powerful ministry, but also the intentional space Jesus made to get alone and pray to the Father. One might even say that prayer and dependence on His Father was the precise reason His ministry was so effective! He knew that apart from doing what His Father was doing, He could do nothing. From the beginning of His public ministry to the end of it, prayer was a centerpiece in the life of Jesus. When asked by His disciples how to pray, He taught them what is now known as “The Lord’s Prayer” and is found in Matthew 6:9-13:

Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day 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 evil.

This prayer is short (only 52 words in the ESV!), and yet it is rich in depth… It begins with an address and then gives us 7 petitions. We’ll be focusing in and praying through the address and the first petition today.

The Address

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” -A.W. Tozer

Close your eyes for moment. Picture yourself walking into the throne room of God in order to speak with Him. As you come closer to His throne, what immediately comes to your mind? What does God’s face look like? Does he have a scowl or a grin? Is He busy and bothered, or caring and loving? Do you have part of His attention or the whole of it? For Jesus’ disciples to have a healthy prayer life, He knew they’d have to think rightly about God, so He intentionally starts with this address.

Jesus teaches us that we must see God rightly when we come to Him! Jesus calls Him Abba Father. First and foremost, God is our Father. We don’t come to God as distant servants, but as cherished sons and daughters who through the work and blood of Jesus have been adopted into God’s very own family. Not only is God our Father, but He is our Father in heaven. Our Father isn’t some weak powerless dad who can’t stand up for us, but rather is the King of the universe with unlimited power at His disposal. There is nothing impossible for Him, and there is no request too great!

Let’s begin by worshipping our Father in heaven! Let’s start by praising Him in prayer… Think about God’s attributes and actions toward you, particularly as a Father. Meditate on those things, express gratitude for each one! Let’s take also take a moment to pray that Park would be a church that prays regularly because they know of their identity as children of God! Pray that God wouldn’t be a theoretically good Father to those at Park, but rather a Father whom they know intimately and walk with through His Spirit.

Song Ideas For This Prayer Section: Good Good Father, In Tenderness, Before The Throne

Petition #1: Hallowed be Your name

The first petition Jesus teaches us to ask our heavenly Father for is that His name would be “hallowed.” God reveals Himself throughout Scripture as the God who is thrice holy. If God is already holy, why would we need to pray that God’s name would be hallowed? Jesus wants the name of God to be the most important name in His disciples’ lives! What’s in a name? In Bible times, names got at the heart of who someone was. A name was tied to a person; to an identity and an essence. To pray for God’s name to be “hallowed” means to pray that His name would be set apart in our lives from every other name. That His name would be uncontested in our hearts! That we would honor God’s name, revere it, and ultimately treasure His name above any other name, even our very own names!

Take a moment to think about your own life. What are you treasuring most? What things are you honoring and seeking? In all of those pursuits, where does the pursuit of God lie? Is He chief among all pursuits or one among many? Or is He not even on your radar? Let’s take time to pray that God’s name would be:

  • Treasured in our lives first and foremost.
  • Esteemed by our friends and families.
  • Known and loved by our co-workers, neighbors, and those who don’t yet know Him!
  • Lifted up in Denver above all names! That Jesus would be the name that resounds the loudest throughout the city.

Song Ideas For This Prayer Section: Be Thou My Vision, Set A Fire, Forever Reign, Be Lifted Up (Josh Baldwin)

Resources

in Blog • Joel Limpic

December 3, 2017

This is the first week of Advent, the season that includes the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Advent is a season of waiting and longing, designed to help us cultivate awareness of God’s actions—past, present, and future. While we hear the Messianic prophecies of old and reflect that we have seen them fulfilled in Christ’s first coming, we also hear the prophecies of His second coming and cry out from our hearts for His return! Our series for Advent is called Your Kingdom Come: Gospel Promises from Isaiah. Here’s how you can prepare for week one:

1. Read through our text, Isaiah 11:1–11.

The season of Advent can help Christians to cultivate stale desires and reorient misguided desires. Through promises made in Isaiah—kept through Christ—we want our hearts stirred to long for Jesus above all other things.

2. Read, pray and sing through the service:

CALL TO WORSHIP: From Matthew 6:9–13

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (John Neale, Henry Coffin, arr. Chichi Agorom, The Christian Year)
Come Thou Fount (Robert Robinson, John Wyeth)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From Scotty Smith’s Every Season Prayers

Dear heavenly Father, as we begin the season of Advent,
we rejoice in the gift of Your Son, Jesus—
Immanuel, God with us and God for us.
Even as we trust in His finished work,
we long for the fullness of Jesus’ kingdom.
Until that day, grant us power to grow in the love of Christ.
For we are weak and foolishly prone
to look to people, places, and things to fill us up.
Grant us grace to mature in the likeness of Jesus.
For we are broken, and we cannot change our hearts,
left to our own resources.
Grant us joy in living to the praise of Your glory.
For we are deceived, and we spend too much energy
living for comfort and the approval of people.
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on me.
In Jesus’ loving and trustworthy name we pray.
Amen.

Lord I Need You (Carson, Maher, Nockels, Reeves, Stanfill)

Oh Praise The Name (Anástasis) (Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson, Dean Ussher)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 Corinthians 1:4–9

GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Charles Wesley)
Build My Life (Younker, Martin, Kable, Redman, Barrett)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

November 26, 2017

This is the third and final week of The Spirit and the Church, a follow-up series to The Book of Acts: You Will Be My Witnesses. We’re exploring the role of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the Church—here’s how you can prepare:

1. Read through our text, 1 Corinthians 14:1–33.

All of the gifts of the Spirit found in the New Testament are to be earnestly desired by every believer and in turn exercised lovingly, intelligibly, and in an orderly fashion. When we faithfully follow the guidelines Paul gives us pertaining to the gifts, the gathered church is naturally built up and those outside the church say, “Surely God is among them!”

2. Read, pray and sing through the service:

CALL TO WORSHIP: From Psalm 100

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas Obediah Chisholm, William Marion Runyan)
Fall Afresh (Jeremy Riddle)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook

Triune God,
we praise You as the God of love and life.
Though Jesus prayed that we would be one,
we confess that we fail to live in unity
with each other and with You.
We break our communion through hostile words and unkind actions.
We long for Your Spirit to heal us and to correct us.
We long for You to help us experience communion
with You and with each other
as we gather around Your Word and table.
Even now, dependent on Your grace,
we commit ourselves to live more fully in the unity You desire.
Through Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Give Us Clean Hands (Charlie Hall)

How Marvelous (I Stand Amazed) (Charles H. Gabriel)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Hebrews 4:11–13

GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Martin Luther)
Doxology (Louis Bourgeois, Thomas Ken)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

November 19, 2017

We’re in week two of The Spirit and the Church, our three-week follow-up to The Book of Acts: You Will Be My Witnesses where we’re discussing the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s mission. Here’s how you can prepare for this week:

1. Read through our text, 1 Corinthians 12–13.

The text teaches us that Jesus gives His church diverse gifts of the Spirit so that we can embody the love of God for the good of all people.

2. Read, pray and sing through the service:

CALL TO WORSHIP: From James 1:16–18

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Matt Boswell, Martin Luther)
O Praise The Name (Anástasis) (Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson, Dean Ussher)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook

Almighty God,
who sent the promised power of the Holy Spirit
to fill disciples with willing faith:
We confess that we resist the force of Your Spirit among us,
that we are slow to serve You
and reluctant to spread the good news of Your love.
God, have mercy on us.
Forgive our divisions
and by Your Spirit draw us together.
Inflame us with a desire to do Your will
and be Your faithful people
for the sake of Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:14–17

No Longer Slaves (Joel Case, Jonathan David Hesler, Brian Johnson)
Revive Us Again (Charlie Hall, John J. Husband, William P. Mackay, Dustin Ragland)

GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer

Fall Afresh (Jeremy Riddle)
Set A Fire (Will Reagan)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

November 12, 2017

After completing The Book of Acts: You Will Be My Witnesses last week at Park, we’ll take the next three weeks to build and expand on Acts with an exploration of The Spirit and the Church before getting into Advent. Here’s how you can prepare this week:

1. Spend some time reviewing the work of the Spirit in the book of Acts.

The Holy Spirit is a powerful and central actor throughout the book of Acts. We see Him do many clear and otherwise-inexplicable works, from navigating Paul on his journey to raising dead people. Who is He, the Holy Ghost? What is His role in the Church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated in the book of Acts?

2. Read, pray and sing through the service:

CALL TO WORSHIP: From Joel 2:28–29; 32

God The Spirit (Matt Boswell, Samuel John Stone)
Doxology (Amen) (Louis Bourgeois, Thomas Ken, Phil Wickham)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook

Gracious God,
who pours out freely the gift of Your Holy Spirit:
we confess before You and to each other
that we have failed to recognize this most precious gift.
We have been satisfied with ordinary things,
suspicious of unfamiliar things,
and blind to spiritual things.
Cleanse us, O God, with Your celestial fire.
Burn away our presumptuous self-sufficiency,
and open us in faith to receive the renewing touch of Your hand.
Amen.

Lord I Need You (Carson, Maher, Nockels, Reeves, Stanfill)

Jesus We Love You (Kalley Heiligenthal, Hannah McClure, Paul McClure)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:1–2; 11

GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer

Breath Of God (Caroline Cobb)
Revive Us Again (Charlie Hall, John J. Husband, William P. Mackay, Dustin Ragland)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

Barnabas Piper

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Our guest is Barnabas Piper. He’s the author of The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity, Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt Is Not the Enemy of Faith, and The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life.

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Show Notes

2:30 – Who Barnabas Piper is, and what he does 9:15 – Assumptions that people make about pastor’s kids 14:15 – How pastor’s kids would be treated in an ideal world 16:25 – What led him to write a book titled “Help My Unbelief” 20:40 – What Jacob wrestling with God teaches us about life 24:55 – Why Christian curiosity is vital 30:00 – Why humility and curiosity are inextricably linked 32:00 – Favorite TV show as of late 33:00 – Favorite book as as of late 38:00 – Best hot chicken in Nashville (and where it came from) 39:40 – Where he would put a billboard, and what it would say

Links

in James Lepine • Park Church Podcast