Sermon Central
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Part 7 Of 8 - Prayer And Church Series
Contributed by Brad Lewis on Oct 25, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: Discover what the believers pray life says about the believers beliefs.
Church 101: A Beginners Guide to Church
Part 7 – Prayer and Church
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
At it’s core, prayer is a recognition of who God is
How we pray is a good litmus test of who we really believe God is and how he interacts with us
Prayer assumes God’s transcendence
Transcendent - Being above and independent of the material universe… Lying beyond the ordinary range of perception
Acts 17:24 – “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.”
Power over the physical world (15a – “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up”)
Power over the spiritual world (15b – “If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”)
Prayer assumes God’s immanence
Immanence - the state of being within or not going beyond a given domain
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Revelation 3:20 – “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
God’s transcendence makes his immanence possible
God’s immanence is that which allows us to say that he is always with us
That he sees us
That he knows everything about us
Including what we say and do
He is in all places, at all times
And he is personal
He cares about each of us personally
Our dreams and aspirations
Our past present and future
He holds it all
