The Purity of Christ (December 30, 2018)

On Christmas Eve we lit the last candle in the advent wreath, the Christ candle. This candle often represents the light that Christ brings, and the white color symbolizes Christ’s purity. Today we are going to look at what the Bible has to say about purity.
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Purity is freedom from contaminates. For example, pure water is water that has no other substances in it. Just like pure gold that has been refined is free from all dross/impurities.

Purity is very important to God. God alone is completely pure. Habakkuk 1:13 says that God has pure eyes that cannot stand to look on evil. Psalm 12:6 says that “the words of the LORD are pure words.” God is pure, so what does this mean for us?  

Read Genesis 1:27.

Since we are created in God’s image what should we be? We should be pure like God is pure.

God created a good and pure world which was free from the impurity of sin and its consequences of death and decay (Genesis 1-2). Unfortunately, through the one man, Adam’s, sin the entire world was made impure (Romans 5:12) and all people born into it (Romans 3:23).

This is a huge problem. Read the following verses to find out why.

Psalm 24:3-4

Matthew 5:8

What do these two verses tell us about our relationship with God? Only those who have pure hearts can be in God’s presence and see God.

Read Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:21-23. Do we have pure hearts? No. Naturally, our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick causing us to think and do evil.

So, is there any way that his problem can be fixed? In the Old Testament God began the sacrificial system, in which an animal was sacrificed/killed to atone for a person’s or the nation of Israel’s sins. When the animal was sacrificed the blood of the animal would be sprinkled by the priest as a symbol of the sins being cleansed. This ritual was called purification.

Read the following verses about the requirements of the animals for sacrifice. Exodus 12:5, Leviticus 1:3, Leviticus 1:10, Leviticus 3:1, Leviticus 22:20. What kind of sacrifices had to be offered? Animals without blemish or defect, in other words, they were pure.

Why do you think the animals had to be pure?

You cannot wash away something impure with another something that is impure.

Think about it this way, if you are trying to wash a dirt stain out of something, will you use dirty water to do it or will you use clean pure water? If you use the dirty water, you will just be adding more dirt to the problem but if you use clean water you can wash the stain away.

Unfortunately, this sacrificial system was not a real solution. Hebrews 10:11 says that the animal sacrifices did not have the power to take away sins.  Thankfully, God provided us with a permanent solution to our problem through a final sacrifice, Christ who is called the lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:19).

Read Hebrews 9:13-14. Christ is the perfect sacrifice and only sacrifice that has the power to completely purify us, cleansing us from our sins.

A beautiful picture of this is found in Matthew 8 when Jesus cleanses a leper. Before going to Matthew, however, read Leviticus 13:45-46.

What did a person with leprosy have to do?

·       Wear torn clothes

·       Let the hair on his head hang loose

·       Cover his upper lip

·       Cry out “unclean, unclean”

·       Live alone outside the camp

Why do you think a leprous person had to do these things?

Leprosy is contagious, meaning other people could get it too by having contact with a person with leprosy. All these things a leprous person had to do were to stop the spread of the uncleanness. The person’s appearance and shouting “unclean, unclean” would warn other people not to come near them and living away from all other people would also help to stop the spread of the disease.

Now see what Jesus does in Matthew 8:1-3.

What did Jesus do and how did he do it? He made the leper clean by touching him.

Not only did Jesus make the leper clean, Jesus himself was not made unclean by touching the leprous man, as any other person would be. God is unchangeable and incorruptible by sin. This is also seen in Isaiah 6 when Isaiah dreams about entering the temple unclean which he knows should bring him death. Instead of Isaiah being destroyed, however, an angel takes a holy burning coal and touches it to Isaiah’s lips. Isaiah is made clean by God’s holiness instead of Isaiah making the temple unclean. 

Just as the hot coal made Isaiah clean, Jesus makes us spiritually clean. Hebrews 10:12-14 says that “Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins…[and] by [this] single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

This process of sanctification found in this verse is very important. Even though God sees believers as clean and without sin through Christ’s blood, we still sin. So, while we may be free from the eternal consequences of our sins, we are not free from sin and its consequences in this world. As Christian’s we should not want sin in our lives just as God does not want sin in our lives. Thankfully, God has a plan for dealing with the sin in our lives which is through our sanctification.

So how are we sanctified? Read John 17:17.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

We are sanctified by reading God’s word and obeying it.

So, what does God’s word tell us about purity and what does it mean for our lives?

Earlier in Psalm 12:6 we learned that God’s words are pure words, so this means that our words must be pure too. Ephesians 4:29 says “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

In Romans 12:1 it says, “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.” We also are to keep our bodies pure, meaning we do not use our bodies to do anything God has told us not to do.

Finally, we are to keep our hearts and thoughts pure. Philippians 4:8 says “brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

Advent: Peace Beyond Understanding (December 23, 2018)

This week is the fourth week of advent and the focus of our lesson today will be peace. We will discuss what peace is, the source of Christian peace, and how we can experience peace.  

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Read Isaiah 9:6.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Who is this verse talking about? Jesus

Why do you think Jesus was called the Prince of Peace? Jesus would bring peace.

What do you think the word “peace” means?

According to Oxford Dictionary peace is “freedom from disturbance; tranquility” or another definition says that it is “a state or period in which there is no war, or a war has ended.”

Based on these definitions, does it seem like Jesus has brought us peace? No. We still have wars and conflicts and people or circumstances can definitely make us feel less than tranquil.

If Jesus was supposed to bring us peace why don’t we have peace? The reason most people don’t see that Jesus has brought peace is because of their definition of peace. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for peace is “shalom.” The word “shalom” means more than just a lack of conflict and instead means to be complete or whole.

What in our lives is broken and needs to be restored to wholeness? 

What are these verses talking about? Our relationship with God. When we walk in darkness meaning our sins, we can’t have a relationship with God because God does not sin and cannot tolerate sin.

Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and Isaiah 59:2 says “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” This means everyone’s relationship is broken with God.

What is the consequence for not having a relationship with God because of our sin?

In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 we read that for “those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

This is clearly not something that we want for ourselves and it is not something that God wants for us either. God wants a relationship with us and for us to have life instead of death. 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

This is why He sent Jesus, so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Romans 5 says that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Most people would say that they want peace. How can they have this peace?

1 Thessalonians 5:23 say that God is the God of peace. This means that all peace comes from God, and specifically from having a relationship with God. We of course can only have this relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, fixing our broken relationship with God, is the first step to having peace but did you know that our peace can also grow?

Read 2 Peter 1:2.

How can our peace be multiplied? By growing in the knowledge of God.

How do we grow in the knowledge of God? By reading God’s word.

 So, believing in Jesus should always bring us peace. As followers of Christ, do you always feel like you have peace? What are things that can rob you of peace?

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

So, when we feel like we lose this peace because of fear or anxiousness what should we do?

Read Philippians 4:6-7.

What is the result of our praying?

We receive the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

This means that even in terrible circumstances, in which people who do not know God would not be able to have peace, we can have peace. 

Jesus being the Prince of Peace is good news for us and it something that God wants us to share with others.

In the Bible we are told many times to make peace with others. For example, Romans 12:18 says, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Then in Hebrews 12:14 we are told to “strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”  

We are also told to be imitators of Jesus. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace this means that we should also seek to make peace with others.

Read Matthew 5:9.

This verse shows that those who want to be called the sons of God need to seek peace.  

It can be easy to be at peace with people when they are good and kind towards us, but do we need to seek peace with people who are not; people who are our enemies?

Read 1 Peter 3:9-11 and Romans 12:17-21.

We must live peaceably with all people.

This might seem hard to do but just as we talked about last week, God has given us a helper to do the things he wants us to do. This helper is the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22 we read that peace is a fruit of the Spirit.

When we find it hard to make peace with others, we should remember the sacrifice that God made to make peace with us. Isaiah 53:5 says “but he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” 

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Going Deeper:

Make a list of things that take God’s peace away from you. Take time to pray to God about these things and receive the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

Praise God in Song: 

Advent: Joy in Jesus (December 16, 2018)

This week is the third week of advent and the focus of our lesson today will be joy. We will discuss what joy is, the source of Christian joy, and how we can experience joy.  
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Read Philippians 4:4.

What command are we given is this verse?

To rejoice always.

To obey this command, we need to know what joy is. What do you think “joy” means?

Many people think that joy is feeling of happiness. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary joy is “a state of happiness” or it is also described as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.”

 Based on these definitions there are many things that can bring us joy.

Think of something that brings you joy. Now think about if that something was taken away from you. Would you still feel joyful?

If we only find joy in things that can be taken away from us our joy can also be taken away from us.

So, is it wrong to take joy in temporary things like family, friends, good food, presents, etc.?

Read James 1:17.

What is the source of good things in our lives? God

Since God is the giver of these gifts it makes sense that He wants us to enjoy them, but more than that He wants us to enjoy Him, the giver of the gifts. Psalm 37: 4 tells us to “take delight in the Lord.” So, it is not wrong to take joy in blessings God has given us. If we recognize that God is the one who gives us the gifts when we take joy in those gifts, we are taking joy in God as well.

Read James 1:17 again. What does it say about God? God does not change.

If the source of our joy is God and trusting in His promises, then our joy cannot be taken away from us because God does not change. He is faithful.

Take Job for example. He was greatly blessed by God but then Satan accused Job.

Read Job 1:9-11. What did Satan think about Job? He thought that the only reason Job obeyed God and turned from evil was because God blessed him.

So, God allowed Satan to strike Job and take away his prosperity. How would you feel if you were Job?

Read Job 1:20-21. How did Job respond to his circumstance? He blessed the name of the Lord. He understood that God was the one who gave him all the good things in his life. Even though God had chosen to take these things away from him, he still trusted God.

Do you think that Job felt happy when his blessings were taken away? No.

Even though Job experienced the pain of loss, he displayed joy in the Lord at the same time.  

While God can choose to remove blessings from our lives, there is one blessing that He will never take away from us.

Read John 6:37-40.

What promise do we see in these verses?

When we believe in Christ and receive salvation, we will not be turned away. One day we will be raised with Christ, receiving the gift of eternal salvation.

This gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, which cannot be taken away is the greatest source of Christian joy.

Read Luke 2:10-11.

The angels announced that salvation in Jesus is joyful news for the whole world.

Joy is often connected with salvation throughout the Bible.

Read Psalm 13:5, Psalm 35:9, Psalm 40:16, Habakkuk 3:18.

Understanding this how can we be more joyful in all circumstances?

Read Philippians 4:4-6.

In the same passage we are commanded to be joyful always, we are given a tool for doing so. What does this passage say we should do?

Being anxious is certainly something that can steal our joy, but when we are troubled God wants us to cast all our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7). By doing so we can take joy in Him, knowing that he hears us and loves us.  

Prayer also allows us to enter in to God presence which fills us with joy. Psalm 16:11 says “you will fill me with joy in your presence. 

Read John 15:9-11.

In this passage we see two things that can bring us joy.  

One, is obedience to God. The second is God’s word.

In Psalm 19:8 David says that “the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.” As Christians, loving God and demonstrating this through our obedience and desire to know God more, should be a great source of joy in our lives.

It’s easy being joyful when things are going well in your life, but being joyful all the time probably still seems pretty impossible, right?

This is something that we cannot do on our own and thankfully we don’t have to because God has sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).  Joy is actually a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). As such, we can only have joy in all circumstances when we choose to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Read John 16:22.   

Though we have sorrow, one day we will see Jesus either because of our death or his second coming. On this day we will be in his presence always, meaning we will always have joy. When we focus on this, it is easier to be joyful in all circumstances because we know that any suffering we face is temporary.

You will likely still struggle with experiencing joy during certain times in your life, but the important thing is to always keep your eyes on Jesus the source of our joy.

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Going Deeper:

Read Psalm 98. Reflect on God's goodness and enjoy His presence as you praise Him through prayer. 

Praise God in Song: 

Though this is traditionally sung as a Christmas song, Joy to the World describes the glorious second coming of Christ that we look forward to. 

 

Advent: Love Expressed (December 9, 2018)

This week is the second week of advent. We discussed last week that the word advent means coming. As we celebrate advent today, we will be looking at the reason for the coming of the Messiah.

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Our church’s purpose statement is “Love God, Love Others, For His Glory.”  

Where do we get this from?

Read Matthew 22:34-40.

So, Jesus said, that loving God and loving your neighbor are the most important commandments. Does this mean that the other commandments don’t matter?

No, vs. 40 says that all the other commandments depend on these two.  Instead, of lessening the importance of the other commandments, these verses simply show what our motivation should be for obeying all of God’s commandments which is our love for God. 

According to these verses who are we supposed to love?

1.   God- Matthew 22:37 also says “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

2.   We are also to love our neighbor.

Who does God consider as our neighbor?

Ephesians 5:1 says that we should be imitators of Christ. So, to answer this question we can look at who God loves.

Read John 3:16.

Who does God love? Everyone

Read Romans 5:8-10. 

Who do these verses say God loved?

God loved us when we were sinners and his enemies. 

This is why, as imitators of Christ we are told in Matthew 5:44 to “love [our] enemies and pray for those who persecute [us].”

Read Romans 3:10-12.

This is man’s nature from birth. We do not do good and we do not seek God.

Does this sound like we deserve God’s love?

No. But God loves us because God is love.

What does this mean for us as believers?

We should love others even if it seems like they don’t deserve it.

So, what did Jesus mean when he said we are to love?

According to Oxford Dictionary love is “an intense feeling of deep affection” or “a great interest and pleasure in something.”

By these definitions we can use the word “love” to describe our feelings toward many things. We love our parents. We love music. We love dancing. We love chocolate. 

Clearly, we don’t love all these different types of things in the same way and our love for these things can change. Our English word for love can be confusing because it isn’t very specific.

Bible authors, however, did not use English when writing the Bible. They used Hebrew and Greek. In these languages they could use different words to describe different kinds of love. For example, Romans 12:10 says “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (NIV). The Greek word used here for love is “phileo” which describes a brotherly love. This is why in some translations of the Bible the verse says, “love one another with brotherly affection” (ESV). So “phileo” love is the type of love you will have for your friends.

“Phileo” love, however, is not the kind of love that Jesus had in 

mind in Matthew 23: 34-40 when Jesus tells us to love God and love others. In these verses the original Greek word used here for “love” is “agape.” Agape love describes an unconditional, steadfast love that delights in giving. Agape love is more than a feeling. It requires action.  

Let’s take a look at a few verses to see what types of actions show agape love to others.

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

What actions towards others show that we apapao them?

·       We show them patience and kindness

·       We don’t envy them or boast to them

·       We are not arrogant or rude to them

·       We don’t have to have things our way

·       We are not irritable or resentful

·       We do not accept and applaud the things they or we do that are sinful

·       We share in their burdens

·       Our love for them does not end

It is important to note that showing love toward someone does not mean we should never correct them if there is sin in their lives. Hebrews 12:10 says that God himself disciplines us for our good and in Galatians 6:1 we are told  that “if anyone is caught in any transgression” we “should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” This means we have to make them aware of the sin so that they can repent and be restored.

Read Lamentations 3:22-23 and Romans 8:38-39.

What do you notice about “agape” love?

It is steadfast meaning it lasts forever. It never changes.

1 Corinthians 13:13 says “now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

One day we will no longer need faith and hope because we will see Jesus who we have believed in without seeing and we will receive the eternal life that we now hope for. Love, however, will still remain.

Read 1 John 5:3.

What else does agape love require?

We must obey God’s commands to show our love for him and others, just as Jesus was obedient to the Father even to the point of death (Philippians 2:8). 

Read John 15:13.

According to this verse what is the greatest expression of love?

Agape love is a sacrificial love. This means you will put someone else’s needs and wants above your own, even to the point of your death.

Have you experienced this type of love?

Every believer understands that Jesus has shown this love towards them.

Read 1 John 4:9.

God sent Jesus into the world to pay the penalty for our sins. Romans 6:23 says “for the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Jesus received the death we deserved for our sins and in return we receive eternal life.

This wonderful gift is free for anyone to take but each person has to make the choice to take it.

Read John 3:36.

What do you have to do to receive the gift of eternal life that God has offered us because He loves us?

You must believe in the Son, Jesus, meaning you must believe what Jesus has said and do what he commands.

 Jesus says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

How can we, as believers, love like God loves us?

We can’t do it alone. We can only love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). God is the source of all love (1 John 4:7).

Read Galatians 5:22-23.

Love is a fruit of the Spirit. In order to love others, the way God wants us to, we must have the Holy Spirit which is given to every believer (Acts 5:32). 

As we look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior, we should remember the great love that God showed in sending us Jesus and in response, as believers, our lives should be characterized by love. In John 13:35, Jesus said, “by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for on another.” 

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Going Deeper:

Take some time to think about how you might show agape love to someone this week and then do it.

Praise God in Song: 

Love Came Down at Christmas

Advent: Hope: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (December 2, 2018)

This week is the first week of advent. The word advent means coming. As we celebrate advent today, we will be looking at the long hoped for coming of the Messiah. Each week we will light a different candle on the advent wreath. Each candle has a different meaning. Today we will be starting with the “hope” candle.

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According to Oxford Dictionary hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.” We all have things that we hope for. For example, you might hope that you will get good grades in school or you may hope that you will get a certain present for Christmas. It is not wrong to have such hopes, but this type of hope is much different than the Biblical hope we will be studying today. Think about something that you hope for. Are you sure that it will happen, or do you just wish that it will happen?

Often when we use the word hope we are uncertain of the outcome. Biblical hope, however, is not simply wishful thinking. Biblical hope is a confident expectation that what we are waiting for will come about. There is no doubt that it will happen.  
In the Old Testament we find many examples of people who had biblical hope.

Take for example, Abraham. In Genesis 12, God promises Abraham that He will make Abraham a great nation, that He will bless him and make his name great so that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abraham hoped that this promise would be fulfilled.

Read Romans 4:18-22 to find out about Abraham’s hope.

It says in hope he believed against hope. What do you think this means?

Abraham was very old, and Sarah was well past the age that women normally have children. According to human wisdom and reasoning the promise that God made to Abraham would not be able to be fulfilled. Despite this, Abraham still believed.

Why do you think Abraham still had hope?

He believed God’s words spoken to him. God made him a promise and Abraham knew without a doubt that God desired and had the power to keep that promise.

From this we can see that biblical hope is more than just a feeling. It is hope based on the sure foundation of God’s word. Romans 15:4 says “Whatever was written in former times was written for our instruction that by the endurance and encouragement of the scripture we might have hope.”

We see this same biblical hope in David. David was also made promises by God and he believed that they would be fulfilled. In 2 Samuel 7, God promises David that from his offspring, He would establish an everlasting kingdom.

Read 2 Samuel 7:28-29 to see David’s response to this promise.

David believed God’s words were true which is why he could write in Psalm 25:5 “you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

As we read through the Old Testament, however, we can see that this promise to David would not be fulfilled by the earthly line of kings that descended from him. The kings of Israel repeatedly failed to follow God, and this always brought ruin and destruction. Those who believed God would fulfill his promise to establish David’s kingdom forever, were forced to continue to look forward in the hope that God would raise an obedient son of David who would take the throne as the prophet Jeremiah told them would happen. Jeremiah 23:5-6 states, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.'"

We learn in the New Testament who this branch would be. 

Read Acts 13: 13-41.

Who was the seed of David who fulfilled the Old Testament hope of a king and savior for Israel? Jesus

So, in the Old Testament we see that Israel was hoping for the first advent or coming of Christ. Now that this has come to pass, Christians have a new hope.

Read Titus 2:12-13.

What do Christians expectantly wait for now? The second advent or coming of Christ.

Why should the second coming of Christ be something that we are looking forward to?

As much as there are good things in the life that God has blessed us with to enjoy, there is still suffering and death here. When Christ returns this will no longer be the case.

When Christ returns, he will make everything new (Revelation 21:5) and Revelation 21:4 says “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

When will this second coming occur?

Read Matthew 24:26-51.

We do not know exactly when Jesus is coming back but Jesus himself says “behold, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:7) and we are told that it will happen in the “twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52). 

So, as we wait with great anticipation for Christ’s glorious return what should Christian’s be doing?

Read 1 John 3: 2-6.

All those who hope in Jesus’ return need to be seeking to live a life of purity, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This means repenting of sin in our lives and working toward greater obedience to God’s commands.

As we look for Christ’s return, which could happen at any time, this also should create an urgency for us to share the gospel news with others. When you do this there will be some who will accept the good news gladly but there will be others who hate you for it. When this happens remember God’s promise in 1 Peter 3:14-17 which says, but even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” Every trial we face we can count it all joy (James 1:2) because of the hope we have within us.

As we celebrate advent today, we look back and rejoice in Christ’s first coming, but we also look forward eagerly awaiting our King’s return. 

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Going Deeper: 

Think about what you are looking forward to about Christ’s return, then say the Lord’s Prayer. Notice verse 10. When we pray “your kingdom come” we are praying for Christ’s return.

Matthew 6:9-13 English Standard Version (ESV)

9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

10 Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

12 and forgive us our debts,

    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from evil.

Praise God in Song: