Worship and Prayer

In one paragraph

Brian was away for avalanche training, so Lissa Hunter led the congregation through a morning built around worship, prayer, and communion rather than a traditional sermon. People shared, confessed, and prayed aloud together, and the whole gathering moved through the Lord's Prayer line by line. What came out of the room was less a preached message than a collective reckoning with unforgiveness, sin...

Read together

1. John 17:18-21 read aloud by a congregation member as a daily scripture sent by a friend, about being sent into the world and unity among believers
2. James 5:16 cited after Nancy's public confession, affirming that confessing sins before one another and the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective
3. Romans 5:17 read aloud to support the point that believers are meant to reign in life through Jesus Christ
4. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 read aloud as a list of sins that exclude people from the kingdom of God, used to prompt self-examination about whether unaddressed sin is blocking someone from reigning in life
5. Luke 11:1-10 read aloud as Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray, including the parable of the friend knocking at midnight
6. Matthew 6:9-13 read from the screen as the Matthew version of the Lord's Prayer, used line by line as a framework for corporate prayer

What was said

• Pick one line from the Lord's Prayer and sit with it for a few minutes each morning this week, asking God to show you what it means in your own life right now.
• Ask God directly if there is someone you have not forgiven, and if a name comes to mind, bring it to him and ask for the grace to let it go.
• If there is a pattern of sin you already know about, tell God you are done with it and ask him to show you one practical step you can take this week to partner with him in breaking it.
• Pay attention this week to the moments when confusion or a swirling feeling of shame shows up, and try pausing to ask whether that is the enemy at work rather than something you need to wrestle through on your own.
• If God puts a word, a picture, or a scripture on your heart for someone, practice saying it out loud to them rather than keeping it to yourself.

Talk about it

1. Lissa said that when we worship, the problems don't disappear but they fade in comparison to God's glory. When has fixing your attention on who God is actually changed how you felt about something you were carrying?
2. Several people shared that God speaks to them through nature, music, other people, and everyday situations. How do you personally tend to hear from God most clearly, and are there ways you think you might be missing him?
3. Nancy confessed publicly that years of words spoken against her sister had created a tangled mess in that relationship. What does it look like in practice to take ownership of your part in a broken relationship, even when the other person has also done wrong?
4. Tim shared that the norm for a believer is to reign in life, not to feel like the little guy constantly getting knocked around. Do you actually experience your life that way, and if not, what do you think is getting in the way?
5. Jay talked about partnering with God rather than just waiting for him to fix a sin pattern, putting skin in the game. What does that partnership look like in your own life right now, and where have you been waiting passively for God to do something he may be waiting for you to do with him?