Pastor’s Page | July 30th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read Matthew 6:9-14)
If someone asked us right now, “How is your prayer life going?” very few of us would be happy for the question and confident in our response. To be honest, prayer is something that most of us struggle with. You ought to see the horror on some people’s faces when they are called upon to pray in public. The worry is always the same: What words do I say, do I sound spiritual or stupid, am I exciting enough or are my prayers dull sounding, am I too casual or too formal? It’s not just public prayers. Our private prayers are a struggle as well. We don’t know what to pray, so we often end up repeating the same thing each time along with a laundry list of requests of things we want and people to bless.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had someone to teach us how to pray? Could you imagine if the world’s greatest prayer warrior were to give you a class on how to pray? What would you be willing to sacrifice for that? Well, the good news is that the best prayer warrior is Jesus Himself and He has taught us how to pray. Beginning this Sunday, we are going to be starting a series looking at the Lord’s Prayer where we will go phrase by phrase and see how we ought to be praying.
This Sunday we will be focusing on the prayer as a whole and how we approach God as our Father in Heaven. What does it mean to call God “Father” and how is that even possible? Is there a danger in us becoming so casual and too familiar in our prayers that we become irreverant? At the same time, what are the dangers of losing sight of the intimacy in our prayers. There is so much to that first phrase. And let’s not forget the impact that there are no personal pronouns in this prayer. That word “Our” is important. God is not just our Father, but we have a family as well. His family.
The first request we make in this prayer is the one request that actually dictates all the other requests. We are asking for God’s name to be hallowed. What does that mean? How do we hallow God’s name and what does this request look like in our prayers.
I am looking forward to going through this prayer each Sunday during the month of August. In your bulletin on Sunday will be a devotional guide with a prayer guide to help you each day as we go through this. Prayer is a priority in our church, and so I want to encourage you this month to truly make it a priority. Each Wednesday at 9 am we have a group that meets to pray in our prayer room (yes, we have an entire room devoted entirely to prayer). If you can’t make it to the prayer meeting, I invite you to take time each day to pray, and to specifically use the Lord’s prayer as a guide for your prayer. This week, focus on what it means to know God as Father, where God is, and what it means for us to Hallow His Name.
June Sermon Series
Teach Me To Pray
08/02 - Our Father Who Are in Heaven, Hallowed Be Thy Name - Matthew 5:9-14
08/09 - Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven - Matthew 5:9-14
08/16 - Give Us this Day our Daily Bread - Matthew 5:9-14
08/23 - Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors - Matthew 5:9-14
08/30 - Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil - Matthew 5:9-14
Updates, Thoughts and More
I am super excited about something we are going to be doing on August 5th. As a Methodist congregation, we have a rich history that traces back to the roots of John and Charles Wesley. On August 5th at 5 pm in the White Chapel, we will be celebrating this history by having a worship service that comes from "The Sunday Service of the Methodist in North America" written by John Wesley in 1784. This is the oldest liturgy we have from the Methodist movement. We will be going through this liturgy (with updated language) and will celebrate communion together. This will be a wonderful reminder of the rich heritage we have as people connected to the Methodist revival movement. Who knows, the pastor may even robe up just like John Wesley.
Our Discipleship ministry is starting back up for the fall, and I am really excited about this. This is not just another bible study, but it is where we are deliberately in relationship with each other to help each other grow in our faith. We want to be more Christlike and so we need to do this together. If you are interested in being part of a discipleship group, you can sign up online or you can call the church office for more information.
School is starting up again which means it is time for us to get ready to Bless the Backpacks. On August 9th, we are asking all of our students, teachers, and anyone associated with our schools to bring their backpacks (or briefcases) to worship service as we will be saying a prayer of blessing for the beginning of a new school year.
Have you had a chance to meet our new Director of Operations, Holly Riney? If not, she is a super awesome person. Come by the office to give her a warm hello. She is here Monday – Thursday from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.
Summer is coming to an end which means that our weekly services will be revving up once more. Our Wednesday Night Study called Table Talk will begin on August 12th at 5 pm in Education Room 101 (If you don’t know where that is, just follow the cars). Our first study this season will be a study of discovering your spiritual gifts taught by me and will be done in connection with our Stephen Ministry. This will be an 8-week course that will help us to better understand and utilize the gifts God has given us for His church.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (08/02)
Worship Services with Communion — 9:00am & 10:30am
Monday (08/03)
Alzheimer’s Support Group — 10:00am
Stitching Angels — 1:30pm
Tuesday (08/04)
Men’s Bible Study & Breakfast — 7:30am
Wednesday (08/05)
Prayer Warriors — 9:00am
Sip And Share — 10:00am
Historic Worship Service in White Chapel — 5:00pm
Friday (08/07)
First Friday Drive-Thru Pantry — 7:30am
Important Upcoming Dates
8/05 — 5pm — John Wesley 1774 Traditional Communion Service in White Chapel
8/09 — 10:30pm — Blessing of the Backpacks
8/12 — 5pm — Table Talk Begins
8/30 — 10am — Combined Worship Service and Promotion Sunday
8/30 — 12pm — Discipleship Ministries Kickoff
Joke of the Week
The most honest prayer you may hear all week: “Dear Lord, so far today I’ve done alright. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over-indulgent. But, in a few minutes, I’m going to get out of bed and from then on, I’ll be needing your help.”
Memory Verse of the Week
This, then, is how you should pray: “ Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
~Matthew 6:9 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“Indeed, a person who lives in the exercise of faith and love, and who finds by experience that it is good for him to draw near to God, will not need to be told how often he must pray, any more than how often he must converse with an earthly friend. Those whom we love, we love to be much with. Love is the best casuist, and either resolves or prevents a thousand scruples and questions, which may perplex those who only serve God from principles of constraint and fear. A believer will account those his happiest days, when he has most leisure and most liberty of spirit for the exercise of prayer."
~John Newton
