We continue in our study of I Thessalonians, a letter written by Paul to encourage the church to stay strong. I Thess 2:13-16 emphasizes Paul’s appreciation that the church recognizes that the Word of God is Truth, and as a result they accept it, as much of their world rejects it. We are reminded through the Bible that Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone that the builders reject. As Christians, we live in a broken world today much like the time of Jesus. Paul continues to encourage the church to be mindful as “imitators of the Early Church”. Just as Paul poured into the Thessalonians, we are to pour into others, carrying with us the Gospel of Jesus. Where are your Thessalonians?

How we do what we do matters. How leaders love their people matters. The world is watching and wondering if followers of Jesus will practice what they preach. This is the issue at the heart of Paul's message in the second chapter of his letter to the Thessalonian church. In this sermon we'll explore issues of people-pleasing, identity, and community all while unpacking the principle that "how" matters.

This message kicks off our series in 1 Thessalonians. How do we stay strong in the midst of difficulty? Paul writes to a young community under attack in order to thank God for their faithfulness and to remind them to stay faithful. Just like them, we can get discouraged and feel like giving up when trouble comes. Just like them, we need prayer and encouragement pointing us to a better tomorrow in spite of a difficult today.

Who are we and where are we going? These questions are explored in light of an extensive report compiled this year by our friend Jim Pace on behalf of the Ecclesia Network (ecclesianet.org). Pastor Adam shares some insights about and some next steps for TNC as we look ahead to the next season of following Jesus together for God’s kingdom in our neighborhood.

Let's face it -- we're not very good at waiting. But waiting is a part of our life. We wait for a next step, a decision, some clarity, or some thing beyond our control. What are you waiting for? How do we wait well? This is a message for you as an individual and for TNC as a church. We'll look at the apostles' example of expectancy without clarity and unity in prayer.

In July 2018, The Neighborhood Church sent a team of 15 to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. We partnered with our friends at Iglesia Ancla (www.iglesiaancla.com), serving alongside their missions team in the work they do each month. These are some of the stories and reflections from our incredible time with our brothers and sisters in Mexico. You'll hear from Adam Wood, Lynette Kaniatobe, Robert Vaughan, Jason & Becky Knight, and Tobi Brooks. Where do you sense an invitation to step out of your comfort zone and serve others?

We continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer as we look at Matthew 6:13, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.”

Jesus invites us into a deeper look at this Scripture. Being given the vocation of announcing to the world God’s new kingdom, Jesus was constantly criticized and treated poorly. Tempted in the wilderness by Satan -- Jesus used prayer, submission, and obedience to God for defeating evil. Knowing that the disciples who followed him would be treated unfairly as he was, Jesus taught them to pray his prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is given to us; it is our birthright as Christians. We, as disciples, are following the path of our Master Teacher, Jesus, and must immerse our lives in prayer to live a life devoted to God.

We continue in our study of The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:12. Forgiveness is something that we recognize that we need from God. It is important to have a clean slate. But it is always important to recognize that we are to be pro-active when it comes to our forgiving others. We not only need forgiveness for ourselves, but also our world. And we, as the people who pray this prayer for the world, are called to be the people who live in this way ourselves.

Request is fundamental to prayer. Asking God for things is the first way we learn to pray. But what should we ask for? How should we be asking? How can we make sense of the confusion, doubt, and pain when it appears we don't get what we asked for? These are the questions we're exploring here and we look to Jesus to teach us how to turn our needs into requests when we ask for what we need when we need it.

SLIDES/NOTES:

-- SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Matthew 6.7-13; Luke 11.5-13

-- Prayer is the means of growing in relationship and partnership with God.

-- BIG IDEA // Jesus taught us to turn our needs into requests.

-- Why turn our needs into requests? 1. God is delighted by our asking // 2. We are formed in our asking

-- "Prayer is the means by which we get everything in our lives out in the open before God." // EUGENE PETERSON

-- "In praying for daily bread we are praying for daily presence of God among us ... A more accurate translation of this word 'daily' might be sufficient or enough.To pray for more would tempt us to try to live as if we were other than those who live only by the will and working of a gracious God. When manna was given in the wilderness, the Hebrews were permitted to gather only as much as they needed for each day (Exodus 16.16). Daily we must reach out to the God who daily reaches out to us." // WILL WILLIMON & STANLEY HAUERWAS, Lord, Teach Us

-- We are free to ask God when we are humble enough to trust him.

-- "The bread that is spoiling in your house belongs to the hungry. The shoes that are mildewing under your bed belong to those who have none. The clothes stored away in your trunk belong to those who are naked. The money that depreciates in your treasury belongs to the poor!" // ST. BASIL THE GREAT

-- When we talk with God about what we're doing together, we enter into some mystery... Mysteries of God's time // Mysteries of other wills // Mysteries of our asking // Mysteries of unseen answers

-- When it appears that God hasn't given us all that we asked for, remember that God has given you himself.

Jesus taught us to pray for God's "Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." What do we mean when we ask for the kingdom to come? What do we surrender when we ask for God's will to be done? And what about this business of heaven and earth? We'll explore these questions as well as this transformational prayer in the third week of our series, "Lord, Teach Us to Pray."

--SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- Prayer is the means of growing in relationship and partnership with God.

-- The kingdom of God is wherever what God wants done is done

-- When we pray for and live in God's kingdom, we are inviting God to be in charge of our wants, ways, and world.

-- Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

--ISAIAH 52.7 (NIV) // How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

-- MARK 1.14-15 (NIV) // Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said.“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

-- Heaven and earth are 2 interlocking, overlapping spheres // Heaven = God's space, where God's will reigns now and where God's future is waiting to break in // Earth = Our space, where everyone has a will to surrender or not

-- What it looks like when the kingdom comes...Broken healed // Captives delivered // Violence ceased // Lost found // Lives transformed // Outcasts embraced // Sinners forgiven // Needs fulfilled //

-- "Let your kingdom come and your will be done in __________ as it is in heaven"

-- MATTHEW 26.39 (NIV) // Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed,“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

-- We pray believing God can, asking that God will, and trusting that he loves us no matter what.

-- Move from, "Why God?!"

to "What, God are you forming in me and in this situation?"

-- "In the beginning we are indeed the subject and center of our prayers. But in God's time and in God's way a Copernican revolution takes place in our heart. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, there is a shift in our center of gravity. We pass from thinking of God as part of our life to the realization that we are part of his life. Wondrously and mysteriously God moves from the periphery of our prayer experience to the center. A conversion of the heart takes place, a transformation of the spirit." // RICHARD FOSTER, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home