Pray Like Jesus Leader Guide: Rediscovering the Lord's Prayer - Softcover

Underwood, Don

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501831070 ISBN 13: 9781501831072

Publisher: Abingdon Press, 2017

Synopsis

A History of Preaching brings together narrative history and primary sources to provide the most comprehensive guide available to the story of the church's ministry of proclamation. Bringing together an impressive array of familiar and lesser-known figures, Edwards paints a detailed, compelling picture of what it has meant to preach the gospel. Pastors, scholars, and students of homiletics will find here many opportunities to enrich their understanding and practice of preaching. Volume 1 contains Edwards's magisterial retelling of the story of Christian preaching's development from its Hellenistic and Jewish roots in the New Testament, through the late-twentieth century's discontent with outdated forms and emphasis on new modes of preaching such as narrative. Along the way the author introduces us to the complexities and contributions of preachers, both with whom we are already acquainted, and to whom we will be introduced here for the first time. Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine, Bernard, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, Rauschenbusch, Barth; all of their distinctive contributions receive careful attention. Yet lesser-known figures and developments also appear, from the ninth-century reform of preaching championed by Hrabanus Maurus, to the reference books developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the mendicant orders to assist their members' preaching, to Howell Harris and Daniel Rowlands, preachers of the eighteenth-century Welsh revival, to Helen Kenyon, speaking as a layperson at the 1950 Yale Beecher lectures about the view of preaching from the pe

About this title

About the Author

Don Underwood served 37 years as Senior Minister of Christ United in Plano, Texas, and is now serving as Pastor Emeritus-Director of Donor Relations. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and his Master of Theology from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Texas. Rev. Underwood and his wife Bobby have two children, Adam and Joshua. Don enjoys quarter horses, hunting. and is an instrument-rated private pilot.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Pray Like Jesus Leader Guide

Rediscovering the Lord's Prayer

By Don Underwood

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-3107-2

Contents

To the Leader, 
1. On Our Knees, 
2. What Would Jesus Do?, 
3. Daily Food, 
4. How Can God Forgive Us?, 
5. The Unforgiven, 
6. Tempted by What?, 

CHAPTER 1

On Our Knees

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to:

• explore the proper relationship between us and the sustaining and creating God;

• encounter the transcendent God who cares for us and our loved ones;

• practice an attitude of thanksgiving for the Creator of the universe.

Biblical Foundation

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

— The Lord's Prayer

Special Preparation

• On a large sheet of paper or a board, print the following terms: spiritual discipline and spiritual practice.

• Also display the Lord's Prayer as printed at the beginning of the study on a large sheet of paper or a board. Alternatively, plan to project it, highlighting the line covered in Session 1. You will need to use the posted or projected copy of the prayer in the remaining sessions.

• Head one large sheet of paper or location on a board with the following: "Either God is or God isn't" and another with "If God is, God is a lot bigger than we thought."

• Decide if you will do any of the optional activities. If you decide to have the group make a creation montage, gather magazines with pictures of the natural world. Alternatively, download and print photos of the natural world from an Internet site with free images. Also obtain one or more sheets of posterboard (depending on the size of your group), glue, and colored markers.

• While most participants who were raised in the church have likely memorized the Lord's Prayer, those new to the church may be less familiar with it. Those raised in a tradition other than your denomination's may also have memorized the prayer in a slightly different form. Posting the prayer in its entirety enables everyone to recite it with confidence.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

As participants arrive, welcome them to the study. If there is someone who did not bring a notebook or an electronic device for journaling, provide a notebook or paper, along with pen or pencil.

Gather together. If participants are not familiar with one another, provide nametags and make introductions.

Invite the group to reflect on their first memories of the Lord's Prayer. Ask:

• When do you remember first hearing the prayer? Was it in worship? From your parents? From a Sunday school teacher?

• Who taught you the prayer?

If you have participants who are new to the church, ask them to describe what they know about the prayer.

Call attention to the two terms you posted — spiritual discipline and spiritual practice — both of which are ways of describing how people live out their spiritual lives. Invite participants to recall or quickly scan the Introduction to the study. Discuss:

• Which of the two phrases does the author prefer? Why? How do you respond?

Point out that in the study the author will offer suggestions for how participants can use contemplative images and metaphors to "stretch" the Lord's Prayer, as well as how the Lord's Prayer can guide them in deepening their devotional life. In this first session, they will explore the first phrase of the prayer.

Opening Prayer

Pray together, using the following prayer or one of your own choosing:

Holy God, we praise and honor your name. Guide us as we embark on this study, that we may encounter you more fully through the prayer your Son, Jesus, taught his disciples then, and to which we are called to commit ourselves more wholeheartedly now. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Learning Together

Book Study and Discussion

Explore the Prayer's Context

Invite a volunteer to read aloud Matthew 6:5-9, which is also included in Chapter 1 of the study book. Point out that Jesus taught this prayer to the disciples in the context of teaching them about humility. Discuss some of the following:

• It would be wrong to interpret this passage as a prohibition against public prayer. What is Jesus warning against, and to whom is that warning directed?

• In what ways could we say that Jesus' teaching of this prayer is literally an act of liberation and empowerment for all the people of his day and ours?

• Have you ever observed what you can identify as self-serving public prayer? Under what circumstances?

Encounter God's Transcendence

Ask someone to read aloud the first phrase of the Lord's Prayer. The author observes that this phrase has the ability to transport us out of everyday life into the serene presence of a magnificent Creator God. Invite participants to reflect for a moment on the following open-ended prompt:

• When I think of heaven, I picture ...

Ask them to describe how they imagine heaven to be — where it may be located and what might be visual images, emotions evoked, or inhabitants. Encourage them to consider whether their ideas of heaven are literal or more metaphorical. Then discuss:

• Why is the author attracted to the image of heaven as a place "up there?"

• What does your picture of heaven convey to you about a transcendent God?

• The author recalls images of the Grand Canyon in conveying to him a transcendent, Creator God — the God to whom the first phrase of the Lord's Prayer speaks. What images communicate most powerfully to you of God's reality?

Explore Implications of Transcendence

Form pairs. Ask one person in each pair to read the information from Chapter 1 under the heading "Either God Is or God Isn't" and the other to read the information under the heading "Downsizing God." After reading their assigned material, ask each person in the pairs to summarize for his or her partner what the author has to say. In the total group, call attention to the two posted large sheets of paper (headed "Either God is or God Isn't" and "If God is, God is a lot bigger than we thought"). Invite participants to call out words and phrases that communicate what each topic has to say about a transcendent God. Jot these words and phrases on the appropriate sheets. Discuss some of the following:

• The author says the first phrase of the Lord's Prayer drives him to his knees in gratitude. What response does the phrase evoke from you?

• We have sometimes deemphasized God as a transcendent Creator and simply focused on the teachings of Jesus about being a good neighbor. What do you think is the relationship between the Creator God and those teachings? Which more accurately reflect your own feelings, and why?

• The author suggests that science not only confronts but also expands our concept of God. In what way? Do you agree? Why or why not?

• In what ways does the Lord's Prayer serve as an antidote to our selfie world?

Ask participants to jot down in their journals these questions posed by the author:

• Will this day belong to me, or will it belong to God?

• Will it be a selfie day, or will it be God's day?

• Will I live solely for myself, or will I live as a grateful servant of the One who created me?

Encourage them to reflect on the questions in the days before the next session.

Practice Experiencing Transcendence

Invite the group to read silently the information in the chapter under the heading "Spiritual Reflection: Experiencing Transcendence." Say that we spend most of our time in structures or vehicles created by human hands, somewhat removed from the creation. Ask participants to call out responses to the following:

• Imagine it is late at night and you have just stepped outside your door into the backyard. Name some things you see ... hear ... smell.

Now invite the group to imagine they are standing outside in the desert night, looking up at the stars with Abraham, as God instructed him to do in order to imagine how many descendants he was destined to have. Ask:

• How do you suppose what you can see, hear, or smell compares with what Abraham experienced about the magnificence of the Creator at night?

Spiritual practice is one of the ways we can redirect our attention to the Creator God. Discuss the following:

• The author recommends using what he calls the 20/20 rule. What is it?

• He suggests that engaging in spiritual practice is more a matter of persistence than of technique. How do you respond?

As a way of introducing a simple spiritual practice during group time, invite the group to join you in a centering exercise through the following steps:

1. Find a comfortable position for sitting. For some people, it is helpful to focus on centering the body, seeking to be aware of relaxing tense muscles, and systematically letting go of that tension. Others find it more helpful to focus on emptying the mind of emotions and thoughts. When these intrude, as they inevitably will, encourage participants to push them away gently, as they might push away a balloon.

2. Breathe deeply in and out, becoming attentive to respiration. It may be helpful to focus on breathing out distractions, worries, and random thoughts, and breathing in a sense of God's presence, peace, and love.

3. Continue to breathe deeply and slowly, gradually allowing yourself to be led into silence.

After allowing the group to rest in silence for a few minutes, say, "Amen." Debrief the experience with the group:

• How did it feel to use breathing to relax and quiet your mind? Were you uncomfortable? Was it hard to sit still?

• Did you find your mind wandering, with many thoughts and emotions intruding?

• How did you respond to the minutes of silence?

Emphasize that centering in this way requires practice. Most people find it difficult at first. As participants continue to meditate, they may find their own rhythms and procedures. For example, some find darkness or closing the eyes helpful, while others want to focus on an image. Some find that walking enhances prayer.

More Activities (Optional)

Engage in a Guided Visual Meditation

For the author, calling to mind images of the Grand Canyon serves as a way to meditate on the creating, transcendent God. Invite participants to follow the steps above, and this time read aloud to them the first line of the Lord's Prayer several times. Encourage the group to focus on a sense of gratitude for the creation as they imagine the Grand Canyon or other images of God's transcendence. Afterward, sit in silence for a few moments.

Create a Montage

Offer participants an array of images of the created world, including photos of a variety of people. Depending on the size of your group, provide one sheet of posterboard or several sheets for small group work. Have them head the sheet with the first phrase in the Lord's Prayer. Invite each participant to choose one or more images that speak to them of God's creating and sustaining power, and together to create a montage of images. If participants have trouble finding an image that is compelling, encourage them to add words or phrases that evoke gratitude to God. When the montage is finished, display it in your space as a tool for meditating on the phrase.

Research Scientists and Faith

The author writes that we should view science as not only confronting but also expanding our concept of God. Invite participants to do some Internet search on scientists who are people of faith. One site that includes interviews with scientists of faith is www.CloserToTruth.com. After doing research, invite volunteers to report on their findings.

Wrapping Up

Invite participants to try a devotional time at home. This week, encourage them to consider images that show God's magnificence, then to recall those images as they repeat the first line of the Lord's Prayer, giving thanks for the sustaining creating power of the loving God. They may want to close their time of devotion each day by praying the entire Lord's Prayer aloud.

Suggest that the group consider another activity for the coming week. Ask participants to choose a different image of God's transcendence each day and post it as a temporary status on their Facebook page. Invite other members of the group to like and share the image as a way of affirming each day as God's day, not a selfie day.

Remind the group to read Chapter 2 before the next session.

Closing Activity

Tell the group that the first phrase of the Lord's Prayer has the ability to transport us out of the routine of everyday life and into the serene presence of a magnificent Creator God who loves us and sustains us.

Invite participants to meditate once again as you read aloud the first phrase, inviting them to sense the near presence of God. Invite them to call out words or phrases that come to mind that express a creating and sustaining activity of God for which they are particularly grateful in this moment.

Allow for a few moments of silence. Then pray the following prayer or one of your own.

Closing Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Help us to discern more clearly your sustaining and creating presence in our lives. Open us to gratitude as we express our deepest affirmations of your care. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

CHAPTER 2

What Would Jesus Do?

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to:

• explore what we mean by God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven;

• encounter the implications of the vision implicit in the Lord's Prayer for our own personal mission;

• practice discerning a call to action.

Biblical Foundation

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

— The Lord's Prayer

Special Preparation

• Again display or project the Lord's Prayer, highlighting the part for Session 2.

• On one large sheet of paper, print "My God, what is this world coming to?" On another, print "My God, what was this world coming to?" Post both sheets.

• Get large self-stick notes or index cards and tape, as well as pens or markers.

• On a large sheet of paper or a board, print the following:

* Vision statement: An inspiring and motivating statement that answers the questions: "Where do we want to be? What is our future?"

* Mission statement: A statement that speaks of the present leading to the future. It addresses how you will get where you want to be and answers the questions, "What do we do? What makes us different?"

• Decide if you will do any of the optional activities. For the activity examining your congregation's vision and mission statements, make copies for participants or locate them on the church's website and plan to have adults use their smartphones to access the site. For creating a vision of God's kingdom, adults will need access to smartphones, one or more sheets of posterboard, and art materials such as colored markers, scissors, magazines with pictures, and glue.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

Greet participants as they arrive, and introduce any newcomers who were not present for the first session. Provide a notebook or paper and pen or pencil for anyone who did not bring a journal.

Gather together. Call attention to the first posted phrase ("My God, what is this world coming to?"). Distribute blank self-stick notes (or index cards and tape) as well as pens or markers. Point out that if we read the posted phrase carefully, we can think of different ways and contexts in which this anguished question might be asked.

Invite participants to print on their self-stick notes an issue or problem suggested by the question that they believe is critical to our life nationally or globally and attach their notes to the posted sheet of paper under the heading "My God, what is this world coming to?" When everyone has had a chance to place their contributions on the sheet, read them aloud.

Call attention to the second posted phrase ("My God, what was this world coming to?"). Invite participants to quickly scan the Chapter 2 section called "Life in Jesus' Time," then write on their self-stick notes a phrase describing some aspect of life for Jews at that time. Ask them to attach their notes to the second posted sheet of paper.

Invite the group to call out similarities and differences between phrases on the two sheets.

Given the harsh realities of life in first-century Palestine under Roman rule, Jesus' mention of the kingdom in the second part of the Lord's Prayer surely got the attention of his hearers. Tell participants that in this session, they will explore a different vision of what God's kingdom is like.

Opening Prayer

Pray together, using the following prayer or one of your own choosing:

Our God, when we consider the events and problems of our time, we often wring our hands and wonder what this world is coming to. Guide us as we explore more deeply an understanding of what it means to pray that your kingdom come, your will be done. In the name of the One who taught us to pray, your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Learning Together

Book Study and Discussion

Explore a Radical Understanding of Kingdom

Remind participants who were in attendance for Session 1 that they responded to an open-ended prompt:

• When I think of heaven, I picture ...

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Pray Like Jesus Leader Guide by Don Underwood. Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1501831070
• ISBN 13: 9781501831072
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64