One of the most commonly lifted prayers has undoubtedly begun with the words, “Our Father.” One of the itinerant dangers of commonality is that our prayer morphs into a mechanical and thoughtless utterance. In this message we look at “fatherhood” as well as what it means to pray “our Father.” Once we begin to understand these words, as well as who can pray them without presumption, we are less likely to address our Heavenly Father in a mechanical and thoughtless way.

In our first talk, we focused on our approach to prayer. In this message we begin to focus on the actual exercise of prayer. And here we are reminded once again of how important theology is. In this message we see how our prayer life will be a reflection of who we believe God is.

The words of the title, “When You Pray,” are found in one of Jesus’ most famous sermons--the Sermon on the Mount. Unfortunately, this sermon is about as misunderstood as it is famous. In the first part of this message we examine how this sermon is to be applied. There we discover the application is two-fold: 1) to convict us of sin 2) to direct those in Christ in living out their faith as God’s “Peculiar People.” From there we sit at Jesus’ feet to learn how we should approach the Lord in prayer.

Unbelief is not something that exists outside of the church, it is alive and well inside the church. There are many important doctrines that are simply explained away in unbelief by many sectors of the church. In this message we take up one of those doctrines known as “judicial hardening” as we develop what the Holy Spirit is teaching us in John 12:37-40.

There is an important phrase in our text this morning, namely, “Sons of God.” In this message we look at this phrase to discover that a believer is not someone who believes in a few loose facts or creeds. A believer is someone who has been profoundly changed by God.

In recent weeks we have been looking at the anguish of soul Jesus suffered on our behalf even before He went to the cross. As I have said, in verse 27, the horrors of Jesus’ assignment and His perfect love for the Father meet. What we learn from there is the most important thing for Jesus was the glorification of the Father. It was more important than sparing His life upon the cross! And this is the case because Jesus loves the Father more than anything else. In this message, we drink from the Father’s words in verse 28 in order to transform our own lives into loving the glory of the Father so that we will reject our sinful preoccupation with our own personal glory in favor of living and breathing for the glory of the Father.

In our text this morning we find a collision between the horror of Jesus’ assignment and His love for the Father. Knowing what carrying out the will of the Father was going to cost Him, Jesus cried out, “Save Me from this hour.” But knowing it was for this purpose that He came, Jesus’ love for the Father overcame His inner anguish. In these verses we get some light on where Jesus found the strength to carry out the Father’s will and in doing so we find incredible strength to carry our own cross.

Our passage this morning graphically reveals how out of step much of 21st century American Christianity is with that revealed in Scripture. In this passage Jesus shows the way to life is death--death to self. The way to life is not mere mental assent to a couple of vaguely understood precepts, but through a saving faith that follows Jesus in self denial.

They hailed Him as King but He was not the kind of King they were looking for. In this message we look at what the church has historically called the Triumphal Entry. Jesus comes down the Mount of Olives and reveals Himself to be the King of the Kingdom of God. Not a King on a war horse who conquers and rules externally. But a King who brings the kind of peace no king or kingdom could ever accomplish.

In this message we take a look at Mary’s beautiful act of devotion toward Jesus. In this act of devotion we truly see what we call Gospel Motivation. The true believer is not motivated externally by the threat of punishment but internally by deep, loving, gatituted for who Jesus is and what He has done.