OFFICE ADDRESS: 4255 WADE GREEN RD. NW, SUITE 515, KENNESAW GA, 30144

The Lord's Prayer: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

July 19, 2015 Preacher: Series: The Lord's Prayer

Scripture: Matthew 6:11

Key Truth: God’s provision of our daily needs evidences His care for our lives and allows us to serve as ambassadors to His glory.

 

Introduction:

 

Q: Does God care about our day to day lives and associated needs?

“Petitions looking to God as the sole and omnicompetent source of supply of all human needs, down to the most mundane, are expressing truth, and as the denying of our own self-sufficiency humbles us, so the acknowledging of our dependence honors God.”

J.I. Packer, Praying the Lord’s Prayer

 

Fourth Petition: Part 1: Give us:

Matthew 6:11

“Luther sees a social dimension to this prayer as well. For all to get daily bread, there must be a thriving economy, good employment, and a just society. Therefore, to pray “give us- all the people of our land- daily bread” is to pray against “wanton exploitation” in business, trade, and labor, which “crushes the poor and deprives them of their daily bread.””

Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

Q: What is our responsibility to ensure that our brothers and sisters around the world have their basic daily needs met?

 

Part 2: This Day Our Daily Bread:

Matthew 6:11

“Two things I ask of you: deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of God.”

Proverbs 30:7-9

Q: What is the connection between our daily needs and our ability to glorify God?

 

Application:

“We do not ask that our daily bread may be given to us before we ask that we may be reconciled to God, as if the perishing food of the belly were to be considered more valuable than the eternal salvation of the soul: but we do so that we may ascend, as it were by steps, from earth to heaven. Since God condescends to nourish our bodies, there can be no doubt whatever, that he is far more careful of our spiritual life. This kind and gentle manner of treating us raises our confidence higher.”

John Calvin, Commentary on Matthew

 

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:11 that:

- God cares for our daily physical needs as a reflection of His care for our lives

- we are called to care for the daily physical needs of others as a reflection of our love of our neighbor’s lives

- the purpose of the provision of our daily physical needs is so that we may continue to serve as ambassadors of God’s glory

 

“When we receive Communion, the bread on the table is physical bread, but it also has a spiritual meaning. The bread is aftertaste of salvation. It reminds us of the body that was given for our sins on the cross. It is also a foretaste of the kingdom to come, when we will sit down with Jesus at his eternal banquet and eat the bread of heaven.”

Phillip Graham Ryken, When You Pray: Making the Lord’s Prayer Your Own

 

Communion

 

Benediction:

Psalm 37:39-40