"Hallowed" isn't a word that we hear too often in our culture. Most might think of "Halloween" or "Hallowed Ground." So what might Jesus mean when he teaches us to pray "Hallowed" be God's name? When we elevate God's name to it's rightful place -- honoring who he is and what he does with reverence -- everything else falls into it's proper place. We live as we pray. Join us as we continue our series exploring the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- SERIES BIG IDEA // Prayer is the means of growing in relationship and partnership with God.

-- TONIGHT'S BIG IDEA // We live as we pray.

-- DALLAS WILLARD, The Divine Conspiracy // “This request is based on the deepest need of the human world. Human life is not about human life. Nothing will go right in it until the greatness and goodness of its source and governor is adequately grasped.His very name is then held in the highest possible regard. Until that is so, the human compass will always be pointing in the wrong direction, and individual lives as well as history as a whole will suffer from constant and fluctuating disorientation.

-- EXODUS 3.5 (NIV) // “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

-- EXODUS 3.13-15 (NIV) // Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever,

the name you shall call me from generation to generation."

-- Some ways to reorient us...

// How might you use Scripture as a "Lighter" to your own burning bush moment?

// How might you use breathing and stillness?

// How might you use different postures in prayer?

-- PRAYER FOR THE WEEK // Father, May I walk each step on hallowed ground aware of your presence and aligned with your purpose.

Prayer is mysterious, powerful, and essential. Prayer can also be a source of confusion, obligation, and frustration. It's as if we've been handed this incredible musical instrument capable of making music that can move us and the world but we're unsure how to play it. Fortunately, Jesus gives his followers some sheet music. When a disciple came to Jesus and said, "Lord, teach us to pray," what Jesus gave us was a prayer so simple a child could memorize it yet so expansive and so powerful it could change us and the whole world. And it's all rooted in the staggering opening "Our Father." What does it mean to pray that way? If God is our Father, what does that make us? This is the first message of the series.

SLIDES/RESOURCES --

-- SCRIPTURE FOCUS // Luke 11.1-4

-- TONIGHT'S BIG IDEA // Prayer is the means of growing in relationship and partnership with God.

-- "Don’t seek to develop a prayer life — seek a praying life. A “prayer life” is a segmented time for prayer. You’ll end feeling guilty that you don’t spend more time in prayer. Eventually you’ll probably feel defeated and give up. A “praying life” is a life that is saturated with prayerfulness — you seek to do all that you do with the Lord." // DALLAS WILLARD ON PRAYER

-- What does it mean to be a son or a daughter of the Father in heaven?

// To hold tight to our identity as beloved children before all else.

// To be apprentices learning God's work in the world.

-- The "Who" always influences the "What." Our being precedes our doing -- all we do springs out of who we are.

-- How this looked for Moses and Israel...“We aren't slaves, we're sons!” // SEE EXODUS 4.22-23

-- How this looks for Disciples of Jesus..."Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. // GALATIANS 4.6-7 (NIV)

-- "Saying 'our father' isn't just the boldness, the sheer cheek, of walking into the presence of the living and almighty God and saying 'Hi, Dad.' It is the boldness, the sheer total risk, of saying quietly 'Please may I, too, be considered an apprentice son.' It means signing on for the Kingdom of God." // N. T. WRIGHT, The Lord and His Prayer, p. 8

-- PRAYER // Abba, I belong to you.

Visiting the Holy Lands in pictures gives us images of where Jesus lived and his mission. Being baptized in the Jordon River was the beginning of his ministry on earth. And then he began calling men to “Follow Me”, inviting them into a life of learning the rhythms of Jesus. What does it mean to be a “disciple” of Jesus? Taking a look back in Biblical times, we see what it was like for a Jewish child being educated and perhaps being chosen to become an apprentice of a Rabbi (Teacher). When a student was chosen to be the apprentist of the Rabbi, he gave up everything else in his life to be like his Rabbi. Only the smartest young men were chosen to closely follow and be taught by the Rabbi. They were the best of the best of the best. Jesus was also a Teacher, but chose his disciples in a way that was an invitation to anyone, not just the elite. Jesus purposely chose men on the “B” Team to be his disciples. How does this story relate to us? What is our own challenge in becoming a Disciple of Jesus?

In our third and final week of our series called "Come and See" we take a look at a thriving multi-cultural church. It was thriving so much, in fact, that the first church sent Barnabas, a faithful leader to see what all the fuss was about. When Barnabas arrived "he saw the work that the grace of God had done" -- there was no denying that this community bore the unmistakable fingerprints of Jesus. The city of Antioch took notice, too. They even had to invent a new word to describe these disciples. What about us? Can our city come and see the Holy Spirit at work in our community? Do we bear the unmistakable fingerprints of Jesus in our life together?

SLIDES/RESOURCES //

-- SERIES FOCUS // In this series we'll see followers of Jesus inviting seekers and skeptics into a transformational encounter with Jesus

-- TONIGHT'S QUESTION // Can others come & see “what the grace of God has done” in our church?

-- TONIGHT'S INVITATION // The Holy Spirit is empowering us to be a church that bears the unmistakable fingerprints of Jesus.

-- WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE // The Antioch church leaned on the Holy Spirit to become a culture-crossing,disciple-making, and resource-sharing community of Christians.

-- When you follow Jesus closely, you hold onto your preferences loosely.

-- When a church is leaning on the Holy Spirit you see "great numbers" (verses 21, 24, 28...) brought to the Lord and blessed in Lord.

-- We learn the way of Jesus by watching the people of Jesus.

-- Is our community a healthy greenhouse for fruit-bearing branches to abide on the Vine?

-- The question for the Antioch Christians was not “How do I survive?” but “How can we provide?”

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION //

- What are some “Big Prayers” you’ve been hesitant to pray?

- What are places in your life now that you need to lean on the Holy Spirit?

- Who are you invited to “Find” and “Bring” into a discipleship relationship?

- In what ways are you called to share what God’s given you this month?

- Who are the people you’re led to encourage this week?

Listen to the revolutionary story of an unlikely encounter orchestrated by a divine invitation. The Holy Spirit invites us to invite others into the family of God. Even someone who was different ethnically, sexually, racially, economically, and culturally. The kingdom of God is working out into the world. Will we pay attention to its movement and participate? This teaching is based in Acts 8.26-40.

SLIDES --

-- SERIES // In this series we'll see followers of Jesus inviting seekers and skeptics into a transformational encounter with Jesus

-- FOCUS STATEMENT // The Holy Spirit invites us to invite others into the family of God.

-- FOCUS SCRIPTURE // Acts 8.26-40

-- ACTS 1.8 (NIV) // "...But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

-- Philip joins the work God has already started. Our responsibility is to pay attention and participate.

-- In what ways are Philip and the Eunuch different? Socio-economic status...Race...Ethnicity...Sexuality...Religion...Culture

-- In what ways do their differences matter to God when it comes to who is "In" and who is "Out"? Zero.

-- Observations about Philip's evangelism //

// He was tuned into the Spirit's invitations

// He crossed cultural barriers

// He was sensitive to the seeker's questions

// He asked questions (he was spiritually curious)

// He knew how to interpret Scripture

// He pointed to Jesus

-- DEUTERONOMY 23.1 (NIV) // No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.

-- Are we trying to keep out who the Spirit of God is trying to invite in?

-- ISAIAH 52.1 (NIV) // Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city.

The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.

-- ISAIAH 56.3-8 (CEB) // Don’t let the immigrant who has joined with the Lord say, “The Lord will exclude me from the people.” And don’t let the eunuch say, “I’m just a dry tree.” The Lord says: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, choose what I desire, and remain loyal to my covenant.

In my temple and courts, I will give them a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.

I will give to them an enduring name that won’t be removed.

The immigrants who have joined me, serving me and loving my name, becoming my servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure, and those who hold fast to my covenant:

I will bring them to my holy mountain, and bring them joy in my house of prayer.

I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar.

My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples, says the Lord God, who gathers Israel’s outcasts.

I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.

-- The Eunuch's question: "What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

-- The Eunuch's REAL-TALK question: "If what you're saying about Jesus is true...am I "IN" or am I "OUT"?!

-- The work of the Spirit is to break down walls and bring outsiders in.

-- ACTS 28.31 (NIV) // He (Paul) proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION --

// Who are the outsiders in our neighborhood hoping to be “in”?

// What is “standing in the way” between you and others?

// What is “standing in the way” of your life now and fullness of life in Jesus?

// Where and to whom might the Spirit lead you this week?

Think about your favorite TV show, book, or movie. Haven't you encouraged others to check it out? That's because we share what we're passionate about with hope that our friends can experience it, too. In this series we'll see followers of Jesus inviting seekers and skeptics into a transformational encounter with Jesus. In John 1.35-51, one disciple after another encounters Jesus and has a transformational experience that leads him to tell others so that they too will "Come & See" the Messiah and follow him. In this message we'll get insights into how we might invite others to follow Jesus, too.

SLIDES --

-- In this series we'll see followers of Jesus inviting seekers and skeptics into a transformational encounter with Jesus.

-- One disciple after another encounters Jesus and has a transformational experience that leads him to tell others so that they too will "Come & See" the Messiah and follow him.

-- RHYTHM OF DISCIPLESHIP // follow... come & see... remain...

-- How do we invite others into a transformational encounter?

1. Know where they are, what they seek, how they doubt...

2. Ask heart questions

3. Invite them to take a next step (in discipleship or understanding)

4. Create space for a transformational encounter with Jesus to happen

-- Jesus & questions in the Gospels...

// 307 = Questions by Jesus

// 183 = Questions asked of Jesus

// 8 = Questions answered by Jesus

-- JESUS' QUESTION IN JOHN 1.38 (CEB) // “What are you looking for?”

-- MOVEMENT FROM "RABBI" TO "ANOINTED ONE" // (1.38) They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?” ... (1.41-2) He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ). He led him to Jesus.

-- BRUXY CAVEY'S QUESTION TO ECCLESIA // If you aren't talking about Jesus with people close to you, why?

-- INVITING "ON RAMPS" // That reminds me of...

// a story Jesus told

// a teaching of Jesus

// something Jesus did

// something the Bible says about Jesus

// something I heard at church

// something I read in a book

-- Do what you can and let God do what you can't.

-- Belief is meant to be lived.

-- There are no lost causes in the kingdom of God. And if someone is "lost" it must mean this person is valuable to God and worth finding.

Guest preacher Dr. Kurtley Knight from Epiphany Church in Dallas, TX

Following the Resurrection, we find the disciples fishing in John 21:1-14 when Jesus appeared to them. Why were they fishing following all the events leading up to Easter? Why did Jesus again appear to them? There was much more the Master had to teach his followers and he wanted to extend an invitation to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Were the disciples listening? Did they recognize Jesus and his voice? Discovering our own ability to “make space for God” is essential to be able to hear him. Amy Sinclair shares with us her story of hearing God’s voice and learning the rhythms of Jesus during Holy Week.

In matters of faith and life, some people simply have to see it to believe it. There are nearly a billion in the world today who believe that Jesus is alive and Lord of all. Not one of them were at the tomb that first Easter morning. Not one of them were in the room with the fearful disciples that first Easter evening. Yet we've heard the good news, we've experienced the great love, and we've come away believing. Listen to the story of Thomas the week after the resurrection. Will he believe? What about others who haven't seen with their own eyes? We'll see that the risen Jesus surprises us in our struggle and sends us in his Spirit.

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- What we'll see and (hopefully) believe tonight...

1. The risen Jesus surprises us in our struggle.

2. The risen Jesus sends us in his Spirit.

-- FOCUS SCRIPTURE // JOHN 20.19-31 / 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

-- In John's Gospel there is an unavoidable connection between seeing and believing. In one encounter after another people are left with a choice to see Jesus for who he is...or not. "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1.12, NIV)."

-- JOHN 1.14 (NIV) // The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

-- JOHN 1.18 (NIV) // No one has ever seen God,but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

-- How do we stay engaged with the Thomas' in our life?

• Love

• Listen

• Pray

• Share

-- N.T. WRIGHT, LENT FOR EVERYONE, 194 // "The truth of Easter is not just that Jesus himself was raised from the dead by the power of God. The truth of Easter is that that same power is now unleashed into the lives of all who believe in Jesus, all who follow him, so that he can continue his work -- through them.

-- John records 3 of Jesus' appearances in chapter 20.

1. Jesus surprises Mary in her grief and sends her in joy

2. Jesus surprises the disciples in their fear and sends them in joy

3. Jesus surprises Thomas in his doubt and sends him in belief

-- N.T. WRIGHT, LENT FOR EVERYONE, 194 // "We go out, then, as Easter people, with the message both of forgiveness and warning, of faith that confronts and conquers doubt, and of hope that overcomes fear (verse 19). We go out, in fact, as people of new creation: John emphasizes in verse 19, as he had done in the first verse of the chapter, that this was 'the first day of the week.' It was the beginning of God's new world. We new creation people are to fill our lungs with Jesus' powerful breath, to fill our minds with the truth of his resurrection, to fill our hearts with love for him and his world, and to go out, not knowing where we shall go or what we shall do, but only that a new day has begun which will never end. We are to remind ourselves, again and again, that the love which was shown on the cross (revealed once more here in the mark of the nails, verse 20) is the same powerful love that will carry us forward, through all the suffering and sorrow that we too will meet, to the point where not only we, but a great company that nobody could count, will say 'My Lord and my God.' There are, as John says, many other things that he could have written in this book. But this is enough: enough for us, and for the world, to believe, to find life. Easter life. Here and now."

// N.T. WRIGHT, LENT FOR EVERYONE, 194

In a world marked by death and darkness, Easter reminds us that in Jesus Christ, God really is making all things new. In our Easter Sunday Celebration, Pastor Adam shares two stories about two Mary's and one Lord who brings life and light where there was death and darkness. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. The one who believes in me will live, through they die." We believe that death doesn't get the final word. Jesus' question for us today is, "Do you believe this?"

HANDOUT --

--In a world marked by death and darkness, Easter reminds us that in Jesus Christ, God really is making all things new.

-- SCRIPTURE FOCUS: // John 11.17-45 and John 20.1-16

--JOHN 11.25-26 (NIV) // Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die;

and whoever lives believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

--FOCUS STATEMENTS

// Each step you take with Jesus in the darkness is a step closer to the light.

// More than just a doctrine and a hope, the Resurrection and the Life is a person to trust – even in the face of death and darkness.

// Jesus is the resurrection and the life – it’s who He is and what He gives.

--N. T. WRIGHT // “Lazarus came back into a world where death threats still mattered. Jesus had gone on, through death and out into a new world, a new creation, a new life beyond, where death itself had been defeated and life, sheer life, life in all its fullness, could begin at last.”

--Jesus invites us to put our trust in Him, no matter where we’ve been, what we’ve done, who we are, or what we’re facing. When you believe that Jesus is Lord and you enter into a relationship with Him, His life, love, and Spirit abides in you. Because He lives, you will live. Not even death and darkness can separate you.