Jesus invites us into a relationship with God that entails the privilege of addressing and experiencing the Creator of the universe as “Father”. This message was given on February 22, 2015 at New City Church in Calgary by Pastor John Ferguson. For more info visit: www.newcitychurch.ca

1. Seeking the Face of God
Using the Ancient Prayer
Jesus Gave Us
“Our Father In Heaven”
The Gospel of Matthew 6:5-14
The Season of Lent 2015

2. What comes
into your
mind when
you think of
“God”?
?

4. Moralistic
Therapeutic
Deism

5. “What comes
into our minds
when we think
about God is the
most important
thing about us.”

6. Seeking the Face of God
Using the Ancient Prayer
Jesus Gave Us
“Our Father In Heaven”
The Gospel of Matthew 6:5-14
The Season of Lent 2015

7. 1 the revolutionary invitation
2 the radical implications
Be on the lookout for...

8. 5 And when you pray, you must not be
Matthew 6:5-13
like the hypocrites. For they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the
street corner, that they may be seen by
others. Truly, I tell you, they have received
their reward. 6 But when you pray,
go into your room and shut the door

9. Matthew 6:5-13
“…and pray to your Father who is in
secret. And your Father who sees in
secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up
empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for
they think they will be heard for their
many words. 8 Do not be like them, for

10. Matthew 6:5-13
“your Father knows what you need before
you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

11. Matthew 6:5-13
11 “Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us of our debts, as
we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
Leader: This is the word of the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!

12. Jesus’ way of prayer is
a revolutionary invitationI
Fruity Monkey

13. 1
Jesus invites us to
view ourselves before
an audience of One

14. 2 Jesus invites us to
view God as “Father”

15. “Father”
OT: 39 books = 14x

16. “Father”
OT: 39 books = 14x
NT: 4 gospels = 60x

17. “You sum up the whole of
[the] New Testament…if
you describe it as the
knowledge of God as
one’s holy Father….
‘Father’ is the Christian
name for God.”

18. 3
Jesus invites us
to view God as
“our Father in heaven”

19. Jesus’ way of prayer has
radical implicationsII
Fruity Monkey

20. 1
As our heavenly Father,
God is always gracious

21. ~ The Apostle Paul in
Ephesians 1:3
“Blessed be the God
and Father of the
Lord Jesus Christ.”

22. ~ The Apostle Paul in
Ephesians 2:1 & 3
“And you were dead in
trespasses and sins in
which you once walked…
and were by nature
children of wrath like the
rest of mankind.”

23. ~ The Apostle John in
the Gospel of John, 1:12
“But to all who did
receive him, who
believed in his
name, he gave the
right to become
children of God.”

24. “There is tremendous relief in
knowing that his love to me is
utterly realistic, based at every
point on prior knowledge of
the worst about me, so that
no discovery can now
disillusion him about me, in
the way I am so often
disillusioned about myself,
and quench his determination
to bless me.”

25. 2
As our heavenly Father,
God is always personal

26. “But when the fullness
of time had come, God
sent forth his Son, born
of woman, born under
the law, to redeem
those who were under
the law, so that we
might receive adoption
as sons…
~ The Apostle Paul in
Galatians 4:4-7

27. “And because you are
sons, God has sent the
Spirit of his Son into
our hearts, crying,
“Abba! Father!” So you
are no longer a slave,
but a son, and if a son,
then an heir through
God.”
~ The Apostle Paul in
Galatians 4:4-7

28. “…you have received the
Spirit of adoption as sons,
by whom we cry, “Abba!
Father!” The Spirit bears
witness with our spirit that
we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs
—heirs of God and fellow
heirs with Christ….”
~ The Apostle Paul in
Romans 8:15-16

29. “See what kind of
love the Father has
given to us, that we
should be called the
children of God; and
so we are.”
~ The Apostle John
in 1 John 3:1

30. 3
As our heavenly Father,
God is always wise

31. “You can come
before God with the
confidence that he
is going to give you
what you would
have asked for if
you knew everything
he does.” ~ Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing
Awe & Intimacy with God

32. Summary
Jesus invites us into a relationship
with God that entails the privilege of
addressing and experiencing
the Creator of the universe
as “Father.”

33. “If you want to judge how
well a person understands
Christianity, find out how
much he makes of the
thought of being God’s
child, and having God as
his Father….

34. “If this is not the thought
that prompts and
controls his worship and
prayers and his whole
outlook on life, it means
that he does not
understand Christianity
very well at all.”

35. flickr images courtesy of:
other images:
thinkstock: item number: 78320887
Fruity Monkey: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gilesrcook/5346737067
Used by permission: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/