Monday, October 1, 2012

The Lord's Prayer Part I - Talking to the Father about the Father, Part 41 of 50

TEXT: "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:9).

IDEA: To think of the implication of the kingdom of heaven in our lives, it might help to think of life without it.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize how important the kingdom of heaven is to life on earth.

How evil is the world in which we live?

I. Do you think that most people recognize the evil in the world? If so, how do they cope with it?

Many people are satisfied to curse the darkness and wish things could be different.

Many people believe the world is evil, but are content if it doesn’t drastically affect them.

Many people put their hope in political parties or political systems to deal with evil.

Many people believe that evil lies in other people, not in themselves.

II. How can Christians cope with evil in the world?

They realize that evil is not an abstraction or only in the culture, but evil is inside them.

They should also believe that they are part of another realm that takes evil seriously, and their King has done something about it in them and expects that in His power they stand against it in their society (Ephesians 6:10-12). Why don’t we?