Lord, Teach Us to Pray

by | Aug 18, 2019

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

SERMON TEXT:  Luke 11:1-13

On another occasion, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’” He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine who is on a journey has come to me, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ And the one inside replies, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you.’ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his bold persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. “What father among you, if your son asks for bread, would give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, would give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

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Bible Readings

FIRST LESSON:  Genesis 18:20-32

So the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very flagrant, I will go down now and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has come to me. If not, I will know.” The two men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Abraham approached him and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep them away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? You would never do such a thing, killing the righteous along with the wicked, treating the righteous the same as the wicked. You would never do such a thing. The Judge of all the earth should do right, shouldn’t he?” The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people within the city of Sodom, then I will spare the entire place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “See now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it on myself to speak to my Lord. What if there are five fewer than fifty righteous? Will you destroy the entire city if the number is five short?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” He spoke to him yet again and said, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.” He said, “Please, do not be angry, my Lord, but I will speak again. What if thirty are found there?” He said, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “See now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to my Lord. What if there are twenty found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” He said, “Please, do not be angry, my Lord, but I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

SECOND LESSON:  Colossians 2:6-15

Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, while you overflow in faith with thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, which are in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world, but not in accord with Christ. For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ. And you have been brought to fullness in him. Christ is the head over every ruler and authority. You were also circumcised in him, with a circumcision not done by human hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, when you were buried with Christ in baptism. And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead. Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.

VERSE OF THE DAY:  John 6:68

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

GOSPEL: Luke 11:1-13

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