Forgive us…

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Section 1: Opening Prayer

Let us pray. Open our eyes, Lord, to perceive your desire for the world. Remove those things that block our vision and widen our gaze to encompass all you would have us see.In Jesus’ name we pray. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Section 2: Story

Section 3: Message

  1. What food is the most tempting for you to eat?
  2. What important promise have you kept, even though it has been hard to do?
  3. What is the biggest trouble you have ever faced?
  4. Matthew 6:13 –
    1. The word in the original Greek translated as “bring” is εἰσενέγκῃς.
      1. εἰσενέγκῃς means:
        1. literally bring or carry in (Luke 5:18-19)
        2. of forcefully bringing someone into court or before rulers drag in (Luke 12:11)
        3. idiomatically, of conveying a message literally bring into the ears, i.e. announce, tell (Acts 17:20)
        4. figuratively, of temptation: lead into, bring into (Matthew 6:13)
        5. “bring into, lead into, carry into, cause to enter.”
    2. The word in the original Greek translated as “the time of trial” is πειρασμόν.
      1. πειρασμόν means:
        1. as God’s examination of man test, trial (1 Peter 4:12)
        2. as enticement to sin, either from without or within temptation, testing (Luke 4:13)
        3. of man’s (hostile) intent putting (God) to the test (Hebrews 3:8)
        4. “testing, temptation, trial, trap.”
  5. In translating the phrase, “Lead us not into temptation,” the contemporary version of the Lord’s Prayer reads, “Save us from the time of trial.”
    1. Is this a good translation?
    2. Is it helpful to you?
  6. Note that we pray to God to “not bring us into temptation.”
    1. It does not say, “Do not tempt us.”
    2. Does God test / tempt people?
      1. Does God tempt us?
      2. Test us?
      3. Try us?
        1. What are the differences in meaning between these possible translations and why are they important?
      4. Story of Abraham and Isaac
        1. Genesis 22
      5. Consider what happened to Job
      6. 1 Corinthians 10:13
      7. James 1.13-15
    3. Jesus dealt with Temptation
      1. Matthew 4:1-11
      2. Luke 22:40 And when he came to the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
  7. What connections do you observe between the Lord’s Prayer and what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane?
    1. Matthew 26.35-42
  8. Luther
    1. God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.
    2. What makes the temptations Luther mentions in this explanation so tempting?
  9. Matthew 6:13 – “Evil”:
    1. The form of the Greek word here could either be referring to “evil” as:
      1. An abstract concept
      2. As “evil one.”
        1. 2 examples where the same Greek construction does mean “evil one,” that is, the devil or Satan.
          1. Matthew 13:19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is  what was sown along the path.
          2. Matthew 13:38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the  kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one,
    2. Does it make a difference to your understanding of the prayer if it is evil as a generic thing or Evil One as in the Devil?
  10. Luther
    1. We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.
  11. What is the difference between praying that we not be led into temptation and that we be delivered from evil?
  12. The Doxology (“For thine is the kingdom…”) is not included in the oldest and best Greek manuscripts.
    1. It was probably added later, perhaps on the basis of 1 Chronicles 29:11-13, as part of the liturgical use of the Lord’s Prayer in the early church.
    2. It is possible that Jesus concluded the prayer with some sort of doxology or blessing
  13. If someone admitted to you that they were struggling with some temptation (e.g., a chemical dependency, cheating on taxes, adultery), what would you do to help them resist the temptation?
  14. Keeping in mind that the Lord’s Prayer consistently uses plural forms, what temptations and evils do we face together as a family? A church? A community? A nation?
  15. A.S.A.P.
    1. Generally we think of it in terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days along the way.
    2. Always Say A Prayer

Questions to think about:

  1. What food is the most tempting for you to eat?
  2. What important promise have you kept, even though it has been hard to do?
  3. What is the biggest trouble you have ever faced?
  4. Does God test / tempt people?
    1. Does God tempt us?
    2. Test us?
    3. Try us?
  5. Does it make a difference to your understanding of the prayer if it is evil as a generic thing or Evil One as in the Devil?
  6. What is the difference between praying that we not be led into temptation and that we be delivered from evil?
  7. Keeping in mind that the Lord’s Prayer consistently uses plural forms, what temptations and evils do we face together as a family? A church? A community? A nation?

The above material in this section was adapted/used with permission from https://crossmarks.com/. (Expressed permission is hereby granted to download and print these materials for personal use only. If you wish to use any of these materials for a group or other purposes, please contact me (orders@crossmarks.com) for permissions. In all cases, include my copyright notice and email address with any versions of the material. Thank you.)

Section 4: Learn and Engage

– What are 3 things you learned?
– What is 1 question you still have?
– What part of the lesson did you most identify with?
– What part of the lesson was hardest for you?
– Where have you seen God this week?

Section 5: Closing Prayer

Let us pray. Merciful God,
your Son was gave His life as a ransom for many, and helped all of those in need. Guide us to be just like your Son, to live our lives outloud. To give to the needy, to help the down trouden, to uphold His love for all creation. Guide us to give the mercy we have received from him, Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.