Today, we had a great worship Gathering in the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts.  The band killed it, as usual, doing the following songs:

• O Praise Him (Crowder)
• You Are Holy (Mars Hill)
• Be Merciful to Me (Caedmon's Call)
• How Deep the Father's Love for Us (Townend)
• The Lord Will Provide (new tune by Matthew Smith)
• A Prayer for Faith (Mars Hill)

I preached from Luke 11:1-13 on the "Lord's Prayer," or, better, as I said this morning, the "Disciples' Prayer."  I felt like it went well and God blessed.  The outline I shared is below.  The big idea is that we tend to lack dependence upon God and confidence in His concern, both of which are addressed in these verses.

Prayer, A Marginalized Issue 1. Why don't we do it?  We think we can do it on our own.  We are not dependent. 2. Why do we give up?  We doubt if He really cares for us.  We are not confident. Jesus, Our Praying Teacher (Luke 11:1-13) 1. How To Pray (vv. 2-4) a) Exalt (v. 2) b) Reign (v. 2) c) Provide (v. 3) d) Forgive (v. 4) e) Protect (v. 4) What Christ's Prayer Teaches Us 1. Prayer expresses complete dependence upon the Lord. 2. Prayer points to God's glory as the goal.

2. Why To Pray (vv. 5-13) a) God desires to answer us (vv. 5-10) b) God delights to bless us (vv. 11-13)

What Christ's Reasons Teach Us 1. Prayer should have confidence in the Lord's love for us. 2. That confidence springs from the truth that He is our Father.