A Study of the Lord's Prayer

All materials in these studies that are not otherwise attributed are © 1999 by Mark Vitalis Hoffman. Expressed permission is hereby granted to download and print these materials for personal use only. If you wish to use any of these materials for a group or other purposes, please contact me (orders@crossmarks.com) for permissions. In all cases, include my copyright notice and email address with any versions of the material. Thank you.

For Openers:

• If you were a king or queen, what would be your first decree?
• Would you rather be known as strong-willed or easy-going?
• In order to get my way when I was a child, I sometimes would... 

For Your Information:

• "Let your kingdom come"
  What is the "kingdom of God"? Read the following passages and record one thing we learn about the kingdom from each of them.
  Mark 1.15
  Mark 4.30-32
  Mark 10.13-16
  Luke 6.20
  Luke 9.62
  Luke 17.20-21
  John 3.3-8
  Romans 14.17
  1 Corinthians 4.20
  1 Corinthians 15.50
  
  When does the kingdom of God come? Describe what each of the following passages indicate.
  Mark 1.15
  Mark 9.1
  Mark 12.34
  Mark 14.25
  Luke 10.8-11
  Luke 11.20
• Read Luther's explanations to the 2nd Petition of the Lord's Prayer.
• "Let your will happen"
  What is the will of God? Describe what each of these passages indicates about God’s will.
  Luke 12.32
  Ephesians 1.3-6
  1 Timothy 2.3-4
• Read Matthew 26.39-42. What model does Jesus provide for contrasting a person’s will with God’s will?
• "Heaven and earth": In one way, this combination simply denotes the totality of the universe. (See Matthew 5.18; 11.25; 24.35; etc.) In another way, however, there is also the indication that what happens in heaven is what is more true or real or ultimate. (See Matthew 16.19; John 3.31; Hebrews 12.25.)
• Read Luther's explanations to the 3rd Petition of the Lord's Prayer.
  

  	Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6.33

For Your Consideration:

1. When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, is there anything we are doing to make it come more quickly? Or are we simply praying that God should make it come?
2. When you think about the "kingdom of God," do you think about a place or a state of being?
3. How can the kingdom of God be both someone that is among us now and yet is also something in the future whose fullness we still only anticipate?
4. If the kingdom of God came to you today, how would you know?
5. How are God’s kingdom and God’s will different from earthly kingdoms and human wills?
6. Isn’t God’s will always done? What’s the point of praying that it should be done?
7. If someone is sick, for example, is it right to pray for their healing or should you simply pray that God’s will be done?
8. How can you know what is God’s will for your life?
9. Have you ever been able to tell when your life has not been ordered according to God’s will? What did it take to get you back on track?
10. What are some specific things you have done that you are certain were according to God’s will?
11. What are some specific things you will plan to do that you are certain are according to God’s will?

For Later:

• As you read the newspaper or watch the TV news, reflect on the difference between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God.
• Pray the Lord’s Prayer when you first awake, sometime during the day, and just before you go to sleep.
• Parents: teach the Lord’s Prayer to your children. Godparents: remember that you promised to teach the Lord’s Prayer to your godchild when s/he was baptized.