Prayer and Attending Church - Dispelling the Myths!
Giorgio Gori
Matthew 18:19 and 20
Speakers notes:
Objective
- To teach a biblical perspective of an often misquoted and misunderstood verse.
- To encourage Christians to have a personal, daily relationship with God via Quiet Times.
I remember clearly the first few days after I had become a Christian. I would go to church and watch what the other people did so that I could copy them and so as not make a mistake during the church service. I would stand when they stood, raised my hands when they raised theirs and I would generally do the things that they did because "that's how things are done around here." Obviously watching others who had been walking the Christian path for many years was one way to learn about this faith I had just joined. It is also a scriptural principle and so I merrily started acquiring the habits and nuances of those around me. One of the things I noticed was that nearly every person, when they prayed out aloud, would end their prayers with the statement "in Jesus name." Nothing too sinister about that because that is exactly what it says in Mat. 18. However after a time I began to realize that this is not what the scripture meant and that people were using the phrase as a formula and not really thinking about the full meaning of
the scripture.
I would like us today to consider what these verses in Matthew mean and how it applies to our lives. Let's dissect this sentence and see what each section means and then put it all back together and see God's desire when we meet together and when we pray.
Before we do that, let's clarify one thing as we try to understand this important passage of scripture, which is often quoted but rarely understood. This verse talks about our times of corporate prayer i.e. when we meet in church as a fellowship and it does not relate to our own times of personal meditation with God. It also relates to prayers, desires and burdens which are sha ...
Giorgio Gori
Matthew 18:19 and 20
Speakers notes:
Objective
- To teach a biblical perspective of an often misquoted and misunderstood verse.
- To encourage Christians to have a personal, daily relationship with God via Quiet Times.
I remember clearly the first few days after I had become a Christian. I would go to church and watch what the other people did so that I could copy them and so as not make a mistake during the church service. I would stand when they stood, raised my hands when they raised theirs and I would generally do the things that they did because "that's how things are done around here." Obviously watching others who had been walking the Christian path for many years was one way to learn about this faith I had just joined. It is also a scriptural principle and so I merrily started acquiring the habits and nuances of those around me. One of the things I noticed was that nearly every person, when they prayed out aloud, would end their prayers with the statement "in Jesus name." Nothing too sinister about that because that is exactly what it says in Mat. 18. However after a time I began to realize that this is not what the scripture meant and that people were using the phrase as a formula and not really thinking about the full meaning of
the scripture.
I would like us today to consider what these verses in Matthew mean and how it applies to our lives. Let's dissect this sentence and see what each section means and then put it all back together and see God's desire when we meet together and when we pray.
Before we do that, let's clarify one thing as we try to understand this important passage of scripture, which is often quoted but rarely understood. This verse talks about our times of corporate prayer i.e. when we meet in church as a fellowship and it does not relate to our own times of personal meditation with God. It also relates to prayers, desires and burdens which are sha ...
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