---Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:13-14 ESV)
Sermon on the Mount Continued
---Hypocrites-υποκριται- an actor under an assumed character (stage-player). We all know them; insert your favorite example here. This is how Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount that began with teachings on the Beatitudes, Jewish Law, and divorce.
Matthew 6:1-18
---In the section on giving to the needy Christ talks about what it truly means to give to the needy: give from your heart for the right reasons. There are many who feel that there should be immediate recognition and fanfare when they “give” to the needy but the truth is this is really just looking for attention. True gifts come from the heart and are given from little as opposed to giving gifts from wealth.
Did you hear the one about?
---There’s the story of a drunk who would have to take the bus home after every drinking binge. One Saturday on the bus ride home he met someone coming back from a Saturday night church meeting who persuaded him to go to church the next morning and after going to church he became saved.
---His first Saturday after being saved he donated his bus fare to the church because that’s all the money he had and then he met the bartender out in public. “How foolish you are for donating your bus fare to the church and then having to walk home,” the bartender joked.
---“Better than me giving my money to you and not even being able to walk home.”
---His first Saturday after being saved he donated his bus fare to the church because that’s all the money he had and then he met the bartender out in public. “How foolish you are for donating your bus fare to the church and then having to walk home,” the bartender joked.
---“Better than me giving my money to you and not even being able to walk home.”
Prayer
---What is prayer? A conversation between man and the Lord God. You talk about what is going on but remember not to turn it into a whining session, making it all about what you “need”, or to just recite prewritten form prayers. How can he help you if you don’t talk about what you need or what is bothering you?
---Sometimes you should turn it around and ask questions about what you can do to help further the Kingdom or just flat out say how grateful you are for having the Lord in your life.
---Sometimes you should turn it around and ask questions about what you can do to help further the Kingdom or just flat out say how grateful you are for having the Lord in your life.
Lord's Prayer
---The “Our Father” is a very recognizable “prayer” but what most people don’t realize when reading this section of Matthew is that Christ isn’t giving a set of words for people to memorize- instead he teaches two things first. These two things are about “public showing” and “many words.” First off, do not make a public show out of your prayer.
---When it comes to the “many words” remember that it says that the Father knows what you’re going to ask for before you even ask it. Saying something from memory over and over again that is several pages long is an example of using many words.
---Finally, the prayer itself is not intended as a rote memory exercise or a repeatable prayer- instead it is an example of what prayer should be like. Try to keep it in mind as an example or “blueprint” of the perfect prayer.
---When it comes to the “many words” remember that it says that the Father knows what you’re going to ask for before you even ask it. Saying something from memory over and over again that is several pages long is an example of using many words.
---Finally, the prayer itself is not intended as a rote memory exercise or a repeatable prayer- instead it is an example of what prayer should be like. Try to keep it in mind as an example or “blueprint” of the perfect prayer.
Fasting
---To finish up his teaching on hypocrites Jesus talks about the practice of fasting. Fasting is intended as a way for people to focus their hearts on the Lord and to think about him while abstaining from food and remaining in prayer. He reminds people that the hypocrites want everybody to recognize when they are fasting even though this goes against the very nature of what fasting was intended to do. Hypocrites!