The Lord’s Prayer

Strength to Strength welcomed John D. Martin to share about the Lord’s Prayer, as recorded by Matthew:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

How is this easily memorized and commonly recited prayer applicable to us? How did the early believers use this prayer? Is this a prayer for us to pray, or is Jesus illustrating the types of concerns to be prayerful of?

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

John D. Martin is an itinerant Bible teacher with interests in a diversity of Christian topics including church history, economics, music, and church as community. He compiled the hymnbook Hymns of the Church.

One of John’s passions is to help people see that the main theme of Scripture is not the “scarlet thread” of Jesus’ atonement, but rather the Kingdom of God; our salvation is a means to and end, the end being the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is intended to demonstrate the excellence of God’s character and his manifold wisdom, and this theme runs through the entire Bible.

He lives in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania and is a part of Shippensburg Christian Fellowship.