 PRAYING FOR GOSPEL MINISTRY
To get the context read Romans 15:14-33. Now focus on verses 30-33. Discuss some or all of the following questions.
PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT PRAY OVER THE 5 REQUESTS ON THE FASTING AND PRAYER GUIDE
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 Read Philippians 1:1-11. Discuss some or all of the following questions.
 LIFE IN THE DESERT
LEARNING TO LAMENT Life in the desert is a theme in the Scriptures woven throughout. Moses lived in the Midian desert for 40 years as an outcast. God's people, the Israelites for 40 years as well. David runs from Saul in the desert. Jesus reenacts the desert journey by fasting for 40 days in the desert while he is tempted by the devil. Nowadays, the desert life we experience is often not physically a desert. It can be anything. A child who has left the faith, a difficult boss, consequences from your own sin. Often for us seemingly unanswered prayers are the deserts we walkthrough. God customizes each desert experience for each of us. And, The truth is that God takes everyone he loves through the desert. He did so with his own Son, Jesus, and he does the same for us. What is a desert? A desert is the gap between hope and reality. There is a way to find God in the desert. It's an old way, that is mostly forgotten. A Hebrew lament is a long-forgotten but deeply biblical way of praying! But the beauty of how God designed us for such kinds of prayers, Through lamenting...the desert becomes a window to the heart of God. A place of deep sanctification and a where we come to know, believe and experience God's rich presence. The only hope we have to live in the desert is to lament. To not lament leads to unbelief = reality wins and hope dies. A lament connects God's past promise with my present chaos HOPING FOR A BETTER FUTURE! Jesus's greatest desert was when he was hanging on the cross. He cries out and laments, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" "I thirst." and "Into your hand I commit my spirit." Jesus believes his Father can act, wants to act, and will act. There is nothing left to do and as death approaches, Jesus says, "It is finished." The Father answers the lament of Jesus with the Resurrection. Jesus is risen from the dead in a new glorified body and we are given a promise of eternal life for all who put their faith in the gospel of Christ. Lamenting works. Lamenting leads to life! Jesus is alive. By God’s grace, we too can lament and find life in the desert. READ ISAIAH 63:17 and 64:1-12
LAMENTING DOES 4 THINGS
Take some time to reflect on the current desert you may be in. How have you responded? Denial, Determination, or Despair? Have you complained to people instead of lamenting to God? If you have lamented what has that looked like? Have you invited others in to lament with you? In light of this passage and teaching on lamenting, what would it look like for you to take your problem to Him and put your faith in His character and promises? How does God want you to grow in lamenting? In what ways can your CG grow to lament together? Be prepared to share with the group. Break into gender-specific groups of men and women and pray for one another. PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT PRAY OVER THE 5 REQUESTS ON THE FASTING AND PRAYER GUIDE  LEAD US
PRAYER IS DEPENDENCE As we get to the last line of the Lord’s Prayer in Luke we’ll look at the corresponding text in Matthew 6:13 to get a better picture: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. At first glance, these final two petitions that bring The Lord’s Prayer to a close can seem counterintuitive. Why would we need to ask God to not lead us into temptation? Why would he ever lead us into temptation in the first place? This passage becomes more clear when we look at the two petitions in verse 13 together. The negative “lead us not” reinforces the positive “deliver us.” This verse can be summarized in this way: “Lead us, not into temptation, but away from it, into righteousness, into situations where, far from being tempted, we will be protected and therefore kept righteous. As the second clause of this petition expresses it, we will then be delivered from the evil one.” - D.A. Carson, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount The point of this petition is to acknowledge our dependence upon God, not just for the provision of physical needs, but for our spiritual well-being as well. The Bible makes it very clear that there is a war for souls continuously being fought. A war between good and evil. Peter exhorts us in 1 Peter 5:8 to be ready and watchful, because, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We cannot underestimate the desire of the enemy (i.e. “the evil one”) to steer us away from obedience to God and into sin. Peter warns us of this reality because he personally experienced it. In Luke 22:31, Jesus warns Peter that the devil desires him and wants to destroy him. This was in reference to Peter’s faith and whether or not he would be able to withstand temptation. As we see from reading the rest of Peter’s story in Luke, Peter did fail. He denied Jesus because of his fear. But, he later repented and turned back, and his faith was strengthened. His exhortation for us to be ready and watchful is a heartfelt warning from a man who knows how hard it can be to withstand temptation. These two petitions should raise awareness of the battle we are in. Temptation is real and it is all around us. But, we do not and cannot face it alone. We see in other places in Scripture that we will face temptations until we are rescued ultimately from this world of sin and the sinfulness of our hearts (1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:13—15). But, as Jesus exhorts us to pray here in Matthew 6:13, we are not in bondage to evil. Our struggle with sin is not a fight we are destined to lose. As our Father, God is involved in our struggle. He is with us in our struggle. And, he tells us to pray for deliverance. Don’t resign yourself to the lie that you will never see victories over sin in your life. No, you will never reach a state of sinless perfection here in this life. But, your life does not have to be a life of bondage. Take God at his word. Heed Jesus’ exhortation to bring God into your struggle. Pray for God to deliver you from evil and trust him to do so. READ LUKE 11:1-13 FOCUSING ON VERSE 4c
Take some time to reflect on what are your three greatest temptations that you face on a regular basis and write them below:
Now, take time to write out a prayer asking for deliverance from each one. In each prayer address these realities:
Be prepared to share one of these with the group. Break into gender-specific groups of men and women and pray for one another. PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT PRAY OVER THE 5 REQUESTS ON THE FASTING AND PRAYER GUIDE 
As a follow-up, what step(s) would God have you take toward reconciliation with this person?  FORGIVE US
LIVING A LIFE OF REPENTANCE “Forgiveness from God and our forgiving others are tied together by Jesus. This jars our Christian sensibilities, but that is precisely why Jesus says it as he does: we need to hear how connected our forgiveness and God’s forgiveness are—not so we will go about trying to earn our forgiveness by forgiving others but so we will see the utter importance of being people who forgive.” -Scott McKnight in The Story of God Bible Commentary The petition, “forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” can cause Christians to question whether God’s forgiveness is freely offered because of the work of Jesus, or if it is earned by our good works—specifically the good work of forgiving others who have wronged us. It is important to remember that Jesus is not giving us a thorough explanation of forgiveness and the basis on which God forgives. Rather, he is simply emphasizing two realities that we must embrace. First, this petition is a reminder of our need for forgiveness. If we ever forget the immensity of the debt that our sins have created, we will lose sight of God’s grace, we will begin to think that God owes us, and we will lack grace and forgiveness for those who sin against us. This is the reason Paul begins many of his letters by reminding us of the condition we were in before Christ forgave us and cleansed us (e.g. Ephesians 2:1—10; Romans 1—2). He wants us to never forget the lengths God went through to eliminate our debt and reconcile us to himself. Second, this petition, and the follow-up discussion Jesus adds in 6:14—15, reveals the fact that forgiven people will forgive people. Rather than see this passage as a formula for how to be forgiven, we should see it as a portrait of what it looks like to be forgiven. Jesus illustrates this point later in Matthew 18:23—35. He tells the story of a man who was forgiven an immense amount of debt but was unwilling to forgive someone who owed him a few dollars. The point of the story is not to present us with a formula, but to highlight the attitude one should display if he understands the forgiveness he has received. In the story, the man’s unwillingness to forgive displays the fact that he had never repented. He did not see the forgiveness he received as grace. He either thought it was owed to him, or he didn’t believe he had truly been forgiven. This petition should lead us to the cross. When Jesus goes to the cross, he accomplishes the forgiveness that we all need. When we understand the debt of sin that we have been forgiven, we will be people who are quick to forgive. This is a demonstration of the reality that, because of the blood of Jesus, we are a forgiven people. READ LUKE 11:1-13 FOCUSING ON VERSE 4
Meditate on the gospel and God’s pardon for your sin. Pray for God to grant you a heart that desires to pursue and grant forgiveness to this person. What is your next step? Pray as a group over those steps. PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT PRAY OVER THE 5 REQUESTS ON THE FASTING AND PRAYER GUIDE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER IN YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP  DAILY BREAD
ASK GOD FOR OUR NEEDS “Daily needs and desires point beyond themselves, to God’s promise of the kingdom in which death and sorrow will be no more. But that means, too, that the promise of the kingdom includes those needs, and doesn’t look down on them sneeringly as somehow second-rate.” ~N.T. Wright, The Lord and His Prayer. This petition marks a shift in the Lord’s Prayer. The first few petitions are directed at God and center on his glory, kingdom, and will becoming a greater reality in this world and in our lives. The next few petitions, beginning with this request for daily bread, are petitions to God on behalf of ourselves and others. The petition for daily bread is a petition for daily provision. It is a recognition that God is trustworthy and reliable to supply what we need to live each and every day. It is a reminder that we do not need to worry about how we will survive a year from now. We can trust God with our future and rest in his daily provision. This petition would have resonated with Jesus’ initial audience more than it likely does to many of us today. In their world, kitchens didn’t have refrigerators, freezers, and pantries, where food could be stored for long periods of time. In addition to this, most laborers in Jesus’ day were paid very poorly, and they were paid each day for the work they performed that day. So, the pay they received each day was used to purchase the food that they needed for that day. This petition was more than a theological principle to apply; it was a reality they faced each and every day. Even though we may not struggle with daily provision in the same ways they did, we should not skip over these words. In our culture of prosperity, we can quickly forget that it is God who ultimately provides what we have, as well as what we need. As we are often reminded throughout the Scriptures, it is God who provides the rain and the sunshine, which enables crops to grow; it is God who has given us able bodies and creative minds, with which we are able to provide for our needs. Whether you have more money in a savings account than you know what to do with, or you live paycheck to paycheck, or disability check to disability check—it is God who supplies your needs. This petition should cause us to be grateful when we have plenty and be confident when we lack, because, as children of God, we have a Father who knows our needs and is able to provide. He is good and he is trustworthy. He cares about our biggest needs, and he cares about our basic needs, so we can confidently ask him to meet all our needs. Whatever situation you find yourself in, know that your Father longs to provide for you, and he is able to do so. READ LUKE 11:1-13 FOCUSING ON VERSE 3
As God’s children, we should bring all of our needs (physical, emotional, spiritual) before God because he loves us. As Paul Miller says, asking God to fulfill our mundane needs will often lead us to seek His help more for our soul needs. Take ten minutes to slow down and think about your desires, fears, anxieties, and dreams. Write them down and ask God for wisdom and direction in these areas of your life. Practice “asking boldly and surrendering completely.” Expect God to answer your prayers. Some of you may experience answered prayer quickly. If so, share this with your group. As you think about what it looks like to pray for your needs, there are a couple of practical ways to help you do that. One is to keep a prayer log. This tool helps you keep track of what you are asking God for, and it allows you to easily see when and how he has met your needs. Another idea comes from chapter 27 of Paul Miller’s, A Praying Life. He suggests using prayer cards to help you keep track of how to pray for people, but this could just as easily be used to pray for ongoing areas of personal need. He offers the following guidelines to help create prayer cards:
PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT PRAY OVER THE 5 REQUESTS ON THE FASTING AND PRAYER GUIDE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER IN YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP Our church family is embarking on a time of prayer-filled fasting October 7th through the 11th. Here are the points of focus for each day.
October 7 | Prayerful dependence
Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! ► Matthew 6:7-15 | And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. October 8 | Missional living
► Acts 1:8 | But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ► Romans 12:1-2 | I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. October 9 | Weekly gatherings
► Matthew 20:28 | even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ► Acts 2:42 | And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. October 10 | Wise stewardship
► 2 Corinthians 8:9 | For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. ► Matthew 6:21, 33 | For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also … seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ► 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 | The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. October 11 | United in Christ
► Galatians 6:1-2,9-10 | Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. … And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. ► 1 Corinthians 11:1 | Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. YOUR KINGDOM COME
PRAY FOR GOD’S SOVEREIGN RULE NOW Just the mention of God’s kingdom and God’s will can bring about a variety of thoughts and emotions. Many Christians view God’s kingdom as a distant, future reality and God’s will as something we search for spend our lives chasing. But, Jesus doesn’t present these concepts in such elusive ways. The kingdom of God is simply the rule and reign of God. It is the reality that God, as the Sovereign over all things, has broken into our world with his redemptive authority, in order to establish his rule and restore things to the way they ought to be. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, this is the message he proclaimed (Matthew 4:23). Jesus has inaugurated his kingdom. He is reigning now. And, his kingdom will be fully realized when he returns again to judge sin and redeem those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28). This petition in the Lord’s prayer is twofold: First, it is a request for the authority of God to take a tighter grip on our hearts and lives right now. Second, it is a request for the fullness of God’s kingdom to finally come in an ultimate and complete sense. As God’s children, our heart’s desire should be to reflect the character of our Heavenly Father. Everywhere we turn, we are confronted with the reality that this world is in desperate need of the restoration that will come God’s kingdom. As people who have been commissioned to declare and demonstrate the redemptive realities of his kingdom, this petition reminds us where our hope is found. What this world needs is not for our own kingdoms to flourish or for our own wills and desires to be obeyed. We need the kingdom and will of God to become a reality in this broken world. As we pray this prayer, we should be reminded of the futility of our own kingdoms. This prayer should lift our eyes to the greater realities and greater needs that only God can fulfill. Our only hope is in God’s kingdom and will be coming to full fruition. This is a reality that our hearts should long to see. “When we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ are we praying for heaven to come to earth? In a sense we are praying for this; but heaven is an object of desire only because the reign of God is to be more perfectly realized than it is now. Apart from the reign of God, heaven is meaningless. Therefore, what we pray for is, ‘Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ This prayer is a petition for God to reign, to manifest his kingly sovereignty and power, to put to flight every enemy of righteousness and of His divine rule, that God alone may be King over all the world.”-Ladd, E. George, The Gospel of the Kingdom READ LUKE 11:1-13 FOCUSING ON VERSE 2c
Take some time to pray that God’s kingdom would be a greater reality in your world. Begin by praying for yourself—if the kingdom of God does not reign in your own life and your soul is not being nourished through communion with God, then you can’t pray for anyone else. Richard Lovelace says, “The most crucial battle for the kingdom is won every time a human being repents, believes, and submits to the lordship of the Messiah, becoming a new center of the reordering of life on earth as it is in heaven. Repentance is the most dynamic inrush of the kingdom in ordinary history. When we repent we enter the kingdom, and the kingdom enters history in a little larger measure.” PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT. PRAY OVER THE 5 REQUESTS ON THE FASTING AND PRAYER GUIDE. PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER IN YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP. We capped off our "You Can Change" sermon series with an open mic time. Individuals from our church shared how God has worked in their lives in this season to transform their hearts and behaviors. We clapped, cried, and cheered hearing about how God's been moving. He has comforted, convicted, and conformed us into his image. Go, God!!
The stories shared included:
Praise God for his POWER to change our church. Know that when you present yourself to him in humility, he will ACT! I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. |
God's Story in KCGod is working & moving in Kansas City! This is the journey from our perspective. |
RIVER MARKET COMMUNITY CHURCH
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River Market Community Church
Gathering: 140 Walnut St, Kansas City, MO 64106 Mailing: P.O. Box 411662, Kansas City, MO 64141 rmcchurchkc@gmail.com | Facebook | (816) 533-5907 |