Bible Verses for Sunday Service May 22, 2022
Matthew 7:7
Psalm 119:104
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Announcements:
Most important now in the schedule of the church is VBS, and nothing is more important for VBS than preparation. This week if you can help with VBS, please attend a Workers’ Meeting on May 25 at 6:30PM. In case you missed it, this year’s theme is “Zoomerang,” and it is slated to run between June 6 through the 10th. La Vie’s Baby Bottle campaign has started. The funds are targeted for a new, bigger building and to improve programs La Vie offers to assist women with unplanned pregnancies. Besides putting funds into the bottle, you can also give on line by clicking here.
Langdon Smith graduates from Shepherd High School on May 22 at 11 AM with a reception for him held at 6005 Pleasant Hollow Trail between 2-5 PM. Mae Lindstrom’s wedding will be held in Williston, ND on May 28th. If you plan on attending, please see the invitation on the bulletin board, and RSVP if you plan to attend. With Summer comes the Bible based camps offered to youth every summer. In the foyer, you will find information regarding two camps. Please review if interested and let Pastor know. The church as Bible Camp scholarships available.
Sermon:
Today Pastor continued in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ proclamation of the arrival of the Kingdom of God with a message titled “Ask Seek Knock” on Matthew 7:7-11 where Jesus now instructs us on what to do in light of his standard, perfection, and are failure to meet it. We are to request what we need from the Father. Pastor introduced this topic by reviewing what we know so far. We are not be like the Pharisees with their public prayer. In contrast we are to pray in private. Vain repetition, the Gentile way of prayer we should avoid too. Our prayer is more like a conversation. After this introduction illustrated by a cute story about a 6 year old boy invited to dinner, moved to elucidate our prayer
Firstly, we should notice that the petition to Our Father in heaven gives clarity to our prayers. Our asking shows our dependence upon Him, a good thing for us. We also can reflect that seeking of Him should be diligent, informed by our study of God’s word, the Bible. In addressing our Father in prayer, “knocking” to use Jesus’s example, we should persist. It may not be enough to just pray once, we need to persist until the the job is accomplished. Pastor illustrated this latter point with a story of Augustine’s mother’s prayers for him. She prayed for his salvation persistently, and prayed he not visit Rome because of the licentious climate there. But Augustine did visit Rome and that was where he was saved.
Second, asked us to consider the promise that gives certainty to prayer. We can think of this promise in two ways. We have the certainty regarding the gift, it is going to be good because we know that the Father works all things for good for those that love Him. Besides knowing it is a good gift, we also are certain about the giver, the Father. We know of His goodness and wisdom. We may not understand his decisions because our ways are not His ways. But we can trust in them and Him.
In summing up these thoughts on Jesus’s explanation how we should pray, Pastor reminded us that once we have taken these concepts into our hearts, we should put them into practice by committing to prayer regularly with the right heart and in the manner instructed by our Lord.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
Here are the pages from the bulletin, click on the images below to see them full size:
If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
Here is a video record of the service on Rumble, an alternative to YouTube.
If you would like a link to this service you can find it here. Perhaps you would like to share it with your friends. You could also share that link on social media, if you use any of the providers.
Lastly, if you would like to see all the services, you can find them here.