Sermon Tone Analysis
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Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.
— Soren Kierkegaard
INTRO - What are your beliefs about how we go about praying?
Well, in this day of technological accomplishments you can send your prayers to God via a website.
INTRO - You can now send your prayers to God via a website.
You can now send your prayers to God via a website.
Newprayer.com
says, “Simply click on the Pray button and transmit your prayer to the only known location of God.”
The site claims it can send prayers via a radio transmitter to God’s last known location: the star cluster M13, believed to be one of the oldest in the universe.
Crandall Stone, fifty, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, engineer and freelance consultant, set up the site after a winter’s night of sipping brandy and philosophizing with friends in Vermont.
The conversation turned to Big Bang theories of creation.
Someone suggested that if everything was in one place at the time of the explosion, God must have been there too.
“It’s the one place where we could be sure he was,” Stone said.
“We thought that if we could find that location and had a radio transmitter, we could send a message to God.”
After consulting with NASA scientists, the friends settled on M13 as the likely location.
They chipped in about $20,000 to build a radio wave-transmitting website.
Newprayer.com
transmits about 50,000 prayers a week from seekers around the globe.
Note: Newprayer.com is no longer operational.
—Judith Gaines, “Tapping into God,” Denver Rocky Mountain News (March 13, 2000)
TRANS - Well, I don’t know about all that.
I’ll have to get back to you about beaming prayers via radio wave.
But, I can tell you what God does say about prayer.
In today’s passage we visit the subject of pray.
In it we see how God is clear about our need for forgiveness and our need to forgive others.
God tells us how He expects us to pray to Him about our vital need of His forgiveness.
Has someone offended you?
Anyone “done you wrong?”
Are you holding a grudge?
Are you waiting on someone else to forgive first?
Hopefully not, but if so, God wants to help you with that today.
Also, this message reminds us how blessed we are.
None of us need to hold on to bitterness.
All of us can qualify for God’s forgiveness.
And, all of us are blessed when reminded of the great gift of confession.
PRAY
What does it say?
What does it mean?
First, Know the Correct Approach
• What was the cultural significance of standing for prayer?
Mark 11:25 Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 34b: Mark 8:27–16:20
• How does Jesus link our forgiveness of others with God’s forgiveness of us?
Mark 11:22–25 Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Mark
• Does Mark 11:26 belong in the Bible?
Some manuscripts have it, and others do not.
Mark 11:26 The New American Commentary: Mark
Apply
Preaching Theme: Prayer
Jesus encouraged and modeled prayer.
In this story, His description of prayer included our forgiveness of others.
As we confess our sins to God in prayer, let us also examine our hearts for any forgiveness that we might be withholding from others.
Preaching Theme: Forgiveness
In this story, Jesus made a connection between God’s forgiveness of our sins and our forgiveness of others.
Let us generously offer forgiveness to others in light of the far-greater forgiveness we’ve received because of Jesus Christ.
Share
Preaching Theme: Prayer
Worship Service Idea: Consider inviting the congregation to pray the Lord’s Prayer together, with special emphasis on “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Preaching Theme: Forgiveness
Worship Service Idea: Consider distributing note cards and inviting members to write down the names of those to whom they need to offer forgiveness.
What was the cultural significance of standing for prayer?
We know from the Bible that standing while praying was a common posture.
Jer
BAK - We know of one interesting synagogue prayer, “Eighteen,” or, “Eighteen Benedictions,” is, also, called, the Amida, that is, the “Standing.”
An interesting fact
APP - Throughout the Bible we see that God has rules, ways, methods, and expectations from us.
God is clear about the condition of our heart.
God is clear about our need to forgive.
And, God is clearly teaching us His approach, for us, when we talk to Him.
Most especially, because you and I, everyone, needs God’s forgiveness.
Second, Know the Correct Condition
How does Jesus link our forgiveness of others with God’s forgiveness of us?
Do you want to be forgiven?
Then, you must forgive those who have offended you.
Today we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
Today I want you to give special attention to this parallel passage which is frequently used in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper:
Additionally, I want you to recall the opening of the Lord’s Prayer:
Then in v.12
and lastly vv.14-15
Our Father wants to forgive us, but here we see there is a condition: you must forgive others.
Forgiving by God and forgiving others go hand in hand.
Sometimes forgiving other happens first:
Lk
Sometimes if follows God’s forgiving us:
Sometimes its simultaneous:
Clearly the two can’t be separated:
For the Christian, in light of God’s forgiveness of us, forgiving others should be easy.
If today you continue to hold unforgiveness in your heart, I want you to know the this passages teaches forgiveness is not an option.
According to God, you must forgive.
Failing to forgive is rebellion and disobedience unto God.
You must forgive or live outside God’s direct command to forgive others.
ILL - I know a most wonderful man.
Actually, he’s related to me.
My memories of this family member are mostly fun ones.
There is time with his family and mine, time eating wonderful meals including Thanksgiving turkey, and I recall many days of shared laughter.
Sadly, when it comes to matters of faith, he’s one terribly angry person.
He won’t take about it and will even make use of bad language to describe his disdain for Christianity.
In the past few years he’s lost a wife, a daughter, and a son.
Sadly, he never did get things right with his son.
He said the worst things about him.
However, his son was not like that.
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