THE MAIN IDEA FROM OUR DISCUSSION ON WEDNESDAY (10/23)
- Tonight, Creekside church starts into our 24 hours of prayer event. Our students tonight listened to a quick talk about prayer and then spent the rest of the evening participating and praying together in the prayer service.
- Here are the highlights from our discussion on prayer...
- When you talk about a person’s prayer life essentially, you’re talking about their relationship with God. Our relationships with one another and with God, are closely tied in with our communication with one another. You can’t have a relationship without communication! By the same token… You show me all of the people that you communicate best with. The people that you could tell anything. The people that you have an ongoing text conversation with even now. Those are the people that you have the closest relationships with. Right?! The way we communicate with one another, (Or don’t) is a clear indicator as to the health of the relationship.
- So I want to talk tonight briefly about prayer, because our prayer lives are an indicator of our spiritual health. Here’s some of what Jesus had to say on the subject
- Matthew 6:5-8 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
- So let’s look at it… First of all, I want you to notice the beginning of verse 5, verse 6, & verse 7. Do you notice how they all begin? “And when you pray”. There is an assumption that you pray!
- Jesus starts off by saying, “you must not be like the hypocrites’. This word used here in the Greek is ’Hypo-krites’ which was used to describe a theatre production. An actor that wears a mask. The thought being that our prayers shouldn’t be a production! It’s not supposed to be about who sees us, who hears us, or the words that we say… it’s supposed to be about the heart behind the prayer! It’s supposed to be about an authentic relationship between you and the father. My heart connecting to God’s heart!
- God isn’t interested in phonies! And again, in verse 8 Jesus repeats himself on this. Do not be like them!!!
- Matthew 6:8-9a- “Do not be like them… Pray then like this…”
- Do you see how once again Jesus is contrasting the phony from the authentic? He says, “Don’t be like this. Be like this!”
- And then Jesus proceeded to pray the Lord’s prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13) And, typically we treat the Lord’s prayer like it’s a template to pray by…
- “Our father, who art if heaven hallowed be thy name”- (This is instruction on how we open our prayers. With awe and respect, praising God for his goodness.)
- “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”- (This is where we pray for Gods will in our world and for our will to match God’s will.)
- “Give us this day our daily bread”- (This is where call out to God for His provision… This is where we make our requests known…)
- “And forgive us our debts”- (This is a time of confession.)
- Etc. You see…
- And so we use the Lord’s prayer as a template to help us choose our own words. And that’s all good stuff. There’s value in that. We use His words to guide our words! Good stuff! I will always seek to do that! But the irony is this…the point of the entire passage is that ITS NOT ABOUT THE WORDS! It’s about the heart! Our heart connecting to God’s heart! This is at the center of our relationship with God! And God doesn’t need us to approach him with flowery language like a theatre production. He desires that we would come to him as a humble child!
- Discussion Questions-
- Who is the person that you feel most comfortable talking with? Who is the person that you can be the most ‘yourself’ and can tell anything to?
- Do you agree that ‘how you communicate’ and ‘how often you communicate’ is a good indicator of the health of a relationship? Why or why not?
- Jesus mentioned 3 different times… “When you pray”… (Matt. 6:5,6, &7) Is prayer a regular part of your life or is prayer mostly just something you say before dinner? Talk about your prayer habits outside of grace before dinner.
- Do you find prayer to be easy or difficult? Explain.
-BECOME A STUDENT MINISTRIES LEADER:
We are ALWAYS in need of adult student leaders. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few! If you've got a heart for kids and a heart for Christ, we would love to give you a place to serve! We need you!
We are ALWAYS in need of adult student leaders. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few! If you've got a heart for kids and a heart for Christ, we would love to give you a place to serve! We need you!
-BECOME A PARENT PARTNER:
Our Parent Partners are simply a group of committed parents that want to help out whenever possible.
"I can bring snacks", "I can give rides", "I can be a chaperone", "Just let me know what you need and I'll see if I can help!"
Our Parent Partners are simply a group of committed parents that want to help out whenever possible.
"I can bring snacks", "I can give rides", "I can be a chaperone", "Just let me know what you need and I'll see if I can help!"
-JOIN THE SNACK SQUAD:
We are blessed with a growing youth group and we all know those teens love snacks! Sign up to bring a snack for youth group on one or more Wednesday nights this year!
We are blessed with a growing youth group and we all know those teens love snacks! Sign up to bring a snack for youth group on one or more Wednesday nights this year!
It has been such a joy beginning the process of getting to know your students here at Creekside and I am humbled to be entrusted with the task of pointing them towards Jesus. I realize when a church hires a new youth pastor, there is a natural tendency to think that they are here to work with the teens. Whereas that is certainly a part of my role, mom’s & dad’s, I want you to know that I’m also here for YOU! Parenting is no easy task, and as parents you will absolutely be the number one influence on your children and upon their spiritual formation! As you seek to point your kids towards Jesus, please know that you aren’t in this alone! If there is anything at all that I can do to support you as you shepherd your children, my door is always open!
Contact Pastor Chris at the church (907) 376-5576 or chris.vansiegman@creeksideak.com
Follow Creekside Youth on Facebook and Instagram
Follow Creekside Youth on Facebook and Instagram
PARENTAL CONSENT FORM:
In order for students to participate in various youth activities throughout the year, we need to have a parental waiver on file for your student. You can fill out the parental consent form here for your convenience.
Click HERE to access.
In order for students to participate in various youth activities throughout the year, we need to have a parental waiver on file for your student. You can fill out the parental consent form here for your convenience.
Click HERE to access.