Category: Saturday Study

The Spiritual Discipline of Corporate Worship (2-15-25)

The gathering of the saints for corporate worship is one of the most precious practices of our faith. The visual and audible reminder that we are adopted into a big family of God is a treasured and needed thing as we struggle through this life. There are so many blessings we receive from fellowship, worship, communion, sitting under our pastor’s teaching, and praying for one another. Corporate worship points to the glory of our eternity with God. We get a picture of this in Revelation 4 and 5. Take a moment and turn there and read about the throne room of God and the choir of His redeemed exalting His holy name. 

The Scriptures speak often about the value and importance of corporate worship. Today, I want us to read through some of these passages and look at how they apply to the importance of our corporate worship. 

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

All throughout God’s word we see testimony of the gathering of the saints to celebrate and honor the King. One of the most famous places is the collection of songs/poems called the Psalms. In chapter 150, we see this great crescendo of celebration for God. 

Psalm 150 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

So one of the things we are to do is to gather and sing—to celebrate and play instruments and make a joyful noise unto the Lord. We are to lift our voices in unison and praise Him for all that He is and all that He has done. Let’s look at another passage about gathering corporately to study, praise, and pray. 

Hebrews 10:25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

For many, it is all too tempting to satisfy the flesh and sleep in on Sundays because we are overworked, or because we stayed up too late on Saturday night. Or maybe we have a greater desire to stay home and watch the race or to make plans to be out of town too regularly. I encourage you to be attentive to the need to get away with your family on occasion, but I want to highlight this passage that calls for us not to neglect our meeting together. It needs to be a priority. 

Corporate worship should be the peak of our week as blood bought believers in Jesus Christ. Everything builds towards and flows out of Sunday worship at your local church. 

For too many, corporate Sunday worship is what you do when you have nothing else to do: when you don’t have to work, when you aren’t going out of town, when you don’t have a lot of household chores. The problem with this is what it says about your worship!  What is most important to you? God has designed into the life of His people a local church, local church shepherds to lead and feed that local church, and a unity of people by which we are not meant to do life without. 

I pray that instead of Sunday worship being the thing that you do when there is nothing else that it becomes the priority of your week. I pray that we teach our kids that Christians build their week in anticipation of the gathering of the saints to share testimony, sit under their shepherds’ teaching, and to rejoice together for all that God is and is doing in them. The true members of a local church are not haphazard participants; they are faithful, committed, plugged in, and excited to regularly meet and grow together.  

Let’s look at another scripture regarding corporate worship:

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

In Acts chapter 2, we see another aspect for why we are to value or devote ourselves to regularly meeting corporately, and that is “to devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching.” Here we see the local church thriving and growing in their early days. What was one of the big parts of their coming together? To sit under their shepherds’ teaching of the word. Sunday worship is the main vehicle in the modern church for our pastors to teach us. In John 21, Jesus commands Peter to “Feed my sheep.” At least 16 hours a week is invested into my Sunday sermon preparation. This is no small investment by the church to value what God’s word values, which is that God’s people are being rightly taught the word of God. 

What this means is that you need to highly value this instruction. As a committed member of your home church, you should never miss a sermon that is taught. Now, I don’t mean that there are not some Sundays you will miss due to sickness or a needed family vacation, but with modern technology and online sermon podcast, you don’t have to miss a sermon, ever. At any point later that day, week, or month, you can listen to it from just about anywhere in the world. 

Before we move on, don’t miss what else this verse in Acts 2:42 highlights: a devotion to fellowship, communion, and prayer. Read it with me again: 

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Communion is the corporate testimony of the saved, pronouncing what Christ has done on the cross and that He will return again one day. I don’t know about you, but I love to see all my brothers and sisters visually feasting together—testifying about what God has done for them, testifying that they are His and that He is coming back for them. 

Oh, how we need to fellowship, and we need to enjoy our time together. I want to ask you to make it a habit of showing up early and leaving late for Sunday church. Take time to get to know each other and visit and pray for each other. Make the most of this special, weekly corporate worship time. 

One of the things you must consider is not just whether or not “you” need to go to church that day but the fact that you play an important role in your home church family, and your absence impacts others more than you know, even if you don’t have an on stage or central role you play on Sunday. Just your presence, your words of affirmation and encouragement, your hugs and presence are a God-ordained part of your home church family. Don’t undervalue what you bring to others.

Practical Things to consider for Corporate Worship

– Make it a priority every week to attend. 

– Bring your Bible and take notes for further study.

– Be on time, come early.

– Never stop inviting, or even better, bringing those who don’t yet know Jesus as Lord and/or those needing a good church to be a part of.

– Get to bed early on Saturday night so you are rested and ready to worship Sunday morning. 

– Start looking for ways to help make Sunday worship happen (volunteer in kids, tech, security, hosting, set up, etc.).

One of the critical aspects of our corporate worship is our financial giving. This should be looked at as financial worship. This is the giving of our first financial fruits. Everything your local church needs financially to run is within the resources that God has entrusted to its local members. The question is, are the people of that flock all being faithful with the first fruits of what God has entrusted to them? More specifically, are you joyfully, regularly, generously, and faithfully making it a priority to give what is God’s to the work of God by worshiping Him in the giving of your first fruits of your income to your local church? God gives us direction for how He wants this done. It is not simply a pragmatic issue; it is a spiritual issue. 

We are to give joyfully:   

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

We are to give regularly: 

1 Corinthians 16:1-2 (NLT) Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures I gave to the churches in Galatia. On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. 

We are to give generously: 

2 Corinthians 8:2-3 (NLT) Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 

If you have not been obedient to Scripture and faithful in practicing financial worship, I plead with you to begin today. Prayerfully commit to God what you will give, and then set your lifestyle with what is left—not the other way around. 

Each of us has a part to play in our local church body. Are you playing your part? Are you obedient to God in this area of your life? Is corporate worship a priority in your week? I pray it is like never before. May you not only be blessed, but may you be a blessing. 

By His grace and for His glory, 

Joshua Kirstine
Pastor | Disciples Church

Bakersfield CA
DisciplesChurch.com

Spiritual Discipline of Daily Worship   2.8.25

As we consider God’s word, and how it directs us to worship God daily, we must first see that everything we interact with or do in this life is an opportunity for worship. Pay attention to these quotes:

“Worship is the act of ascribing ultimate value to something in such a way that it engages the entire being; mind, will, and emotions.” (Timothy Keller)

“Worship is never a step on our way up to any other experience. It is not a door through which we pass to get anywhere. It is the end point; the goal.” (John Piper)

We are made to worship! Romans 1 tells us that, in our sin, we don’t worship nothing, we worship anything. We stop worshipping the Creator and start worshipping the creation. We all worship something! 

The difference is: In Christ, our lives are all about the glory and exultation of the holy God. He is worthy of all of our lives. 

Daily worship is about worshipping God every day and, even better, throughout your day. This is giving God the first fruits of your day. The principle of first fruits is to give the Lord the first of what He has entrusted to you. So, we give God a portion of the first income of the month, or paycheck, and we give Him the first hours of our week with Sunday worship and we give Him the best time of our day to pray, read His word, and worship with our family. 

What are ways that you prioritize having a focused time of enjoying and worshipping God? 

For many, there is a deep love for God, but not a real discipline, or daily practice, that prioritizes time with God. It doesn’t have to necessarily be the first thing you do, but it shouldn’t be something you do only “if” you have time. It should be a prioritized thing you do. This means you set aside, or schedule real time, to get alone with God and read His word, pray, and worship Him. Jesus modeled this practice throughout His three years of ministry. “… Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)

Again, what do you need to do to begin to prioritize time with the Lord every day?

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” (John Piper)

Our hearts are only ever satisfied with God. His “stuff” is just a means to point to Him. This is critical to understand as we dig into Romans 12. Let’s turn there. 

Romans 12:1a I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God

What mercies? The scriptures teach us that we are without life and hope without God sending His only son to take our spiritual death upon Him so we can be born again into eternal life and hope in Christ—the undeserved grace we are given that brings new life are the mercies!

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 

This is one of the most famous passages in Scripture that talks about a life that worships God. We are to be living sacrifices holy and honorable to our Lord. Our lives are His. He has bought us with a high price and so it is our privilege to live our days for His glory and fame. 

The question is: How do we have a life that daily worships God? 

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

We must understand that the core of who we are must change. The inside-out of you must change—not just our actions. 

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind …

It says, “… be transformed …” There is a transformation that can, and does, take place, and it changes not just what you do but the way you think about everything.

What could be so transforming that it completely changes the way I think about life? Answers: The gospel! Grace! JESUS who is life, a deeper satisfaction. 

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me …

Said another way, “In light of ‘God’s grace’ …” What does Paul mean to highlight here when he says grace? 

It is the grace of God at work in the gospel! It is the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

It is THE GOOD NEWS that trumps all other good news because it is impossible to top the fact that even though you and I were blatant enemies of God, having fled from relationship with Him to pursue our own glory and worship His creation more than Him—even though we abandoned Him and ran the other way, in His amazing grace—He pursued us by putting on flesh and then dying an undeserved death to take on our sin for which we should die and eternally suffer. And then, He conquered death after three days in the grave to rise to new life. 

As a result, the announcement that shakes our very existence at its core is that anyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and SAVIOR, is forgiven and made a new creation to live in a restored relationship with God almighty who is joy, love, life, peace, and power. This is the gospel!  

It is where Christ’s innocent blood was shed to take on our sin so that we would be forgiven! Many have said, “It doesn’t seem fair that a wicked, guilty person would receive such mercy.” That’s why it’s called grace!

Grace is an undeserved gift from an unobligated giver. This is the very news that has us so filled with satisfaction in GOD! 

So, Paul says, “In light of this amazing grace …” or “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment …” (Romans 12:3)

This is how you and I begin to change: The grace of God sobers us, humbles us, and awakens our soul to no longer crave worshipping counterfeits, and to enjoy the real thing– he all-satisfying GOD who will never leave, break down, or fail. 

Instead of when we made life all about us and we wanted the glory and the credit, we are sobered at the foot of the cross because the Son of God died there in our place because He loves us and because it brings Him all the glory! 

He gets the glory, and we get the joy! The gospel is how you and I enjoy and worship God. In Christ’s victory, you and I are free from having to fix our own problems because He is the power who has brought us to lasting victory. He is the One who transforms the mind and heart!

The cross liberates us from bondage to the power of material things and worldly status in our lives. In Christ, we are finally free from the bondage of sin and we are satisfied, in a lasting way, in the eternal God.

In the gospel, our minds and hearts are transformed to truly know what it is to enjoy God! And as a result, we present our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. 

Jesus transforms us. Jesus is God’s mercy upon us. Jesus brings renewal to our minds and hearts. Jesus is the source of lasting joy, which then causes us to authentically worship Him. 

My prayer today is that you are gripped by the good news of a God who showers us with costly grace; and that it begins to transform the way you think and do life so much so that it satisfies your heart as you now enjoy God and worship Him above all His created 

things each day He gives you under the sun.

By His grace and for His glory, 

Joshua Kirstine
Pastor | Disciples Church

Bakersfield CA
DisciplesChurch.com

Spiritual Discipline of Prayer #2   2.1.25

This is our second week on the spiritual discipline of prayer, and I pray both your reading, and last week’s study, are helping you grow in this vital practice.  Today, we will continue going through the Lord’s Prayer and talk about the other two areas of a balanced prayer life.

1. ASK

Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread”

This brings up the third area of a balanced prayer life: ASK!

Jesus models for us that we are to go to our Father and ASK Him for our needs. The problem is we often, in sin, want God’s things more than we want God, so we treat Him like a genie in a lamp or a rich grandpa in the sky.

So, about what should we pray?

Philippians 4:6 (NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.

All things exist from God and happen through Him and for Him. So, if all things exist from God and happen by his sovereign decree, then why would we not engage Him in everything?

We need to ASK more than we do.

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

First: Know your Father in heaven loves to hear and respond to His children. What is cool about praying for the little things is it is a beautiful walk you are sharing with God in the daily ins-and-outs of life. It is a recognition that He is able in all things. 

A good reminder when bringing your request to God is to bring your need, not your greed. Now, how often do you find yourself wanting to talk to God in prayer but do not know what to say? When this happens, pray Scripture! Jesus prayed Scripture from the cross, quoting Psalm 22:1. 

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? …

Scripture is also how God speaks to us! This is the beautiful way we hear from our Father in heaven who loves us. 

Back to the Lord’s Prayer:

Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” 

Here we discover another thing for which to pray. This is a prayer for ongoing sanctification—to grow away from evil, sin, and selfishness. It is a prayer that acknowledges that God is sovereign and over all things. It is a prayer to be strengthened and to be kept from sin and temptation. Do you pray before hardships come so that you are prepared for God appointed suffering and strengthened in your heart against sin and idolatry?

Why should we ASK?

You can be motivated to prayer because: 

1. You think you deserve what God can give you. Often, people who are good at praying do this because they have a confidence in God’s obligation to fulfill His promises based on a good track record or righteous deeds. 

2. You have a desperation to have an over-desire fulfilled. When good things become ultimate things, there is a loss of inner contentment. There are some things that become such a must-have (such a non-negotiable) that we will prevail in constant prayer out of pure anxiety and fear to have or to keep them. 

Or we can be motivated to prayer because God calls us to lean on Him and do life with Him. 

In this, our hearts lose their self-sufficiency! We are dependent on Him. In this, our hearts are welled up with praise as we rejoice in Him being the Author of our blessings. If we pray about more of life, we will rejoice more about the basic things of life and not just the big things. 

Why should we pray?

Because He wants us to, and He will answer! Do you trust Him when you pray? Do you trust that He will answer? It is important that you see God as faithful and that He will hear and answer your prayer!

Three ways God always answers our prayers: Sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes later. We need to always remember that prayer is answered in God’s time and in His way, not ours.

Luke 1:13 (NLT) But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son and you are to name him John.” 

If it’s not fast enough for you, you need to stop and remember and be ok with the fact that it is going to happen when God wants it to happen! He can do anything! 

We must have confidence, in Him, that nothing is too big for GOD.

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

For whom should we pray?

Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread

“Our” is not just “me” and “my”. It is “us” and “our.” Community and society—those who do not have enough to eat. Acknowledge all I have is from God—it is His provision. 

Jesus also teaches us to:

Pray for our enemies.

Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”

Pray for our friends:

Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

We need to be praying for each other:

When appropriate, lay a hand on his/her shoulder and pray. Why lay hands? Because it makes the prayer stronger? Nope! Because it is a sign of love, intimacy, affection, care, and a sign of community. 

Pray for strangers: 

Most people I ask to pray for, are very open to it. Prayer can be a great tool to love on others. You know Jesus, and they don’t. Praying for them is a great act of love. 

How should we come to God in prayer?

Reverently, but boldly in prayer:

Hebrews 4:16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. 

Honestly:

In John 12:27-28 Jesus says, “My soul is troubled.” 

Do you know it is ok to be open and honest with God when you are struggling? 

When should we pray? Can I ask God too much?

Matthew 7:7 (NLT) “Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

Do you see the true value and importance of prayer? 

Let me ask you, how often do you pray? This is a sign of how powerful you believe prayer is.

Consistent prayer is key! To teach us this, Jesus told this story in Luke 18.

Luke 18:1-8 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

If you know something is in God’s will, keep praying; do not lose heart; keep interceding; keep going to the source. 

2. Yield

Finally, the fourth part of a balanced prayer life is YIELDING PRAYER!

After we have praised Him, thanked Him, confessed and repented, asked Him for the needs of our life and longings of our heart, we recognize that He is the One with the best perspective to the situation we are asking about. 

So, we must YIELD TO HIM—TRUST IN HIM. 

This is our asking for God’s will. Jesus models this when He says, “… your will be done …”

We have talked a lot about what prayer is. Prayer is our opportunity to recognize God is in control. Submitting to that control is to ask for things with the knowledge that the outcome is His to decide, and that is what we want in the end!

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Stop for a second and just think about what Jesus is thinking about as He says, “Your kingdom come …” In Christ, we are residents of God’s eternal heavenly kingdom. We live for a new King. What this means is we make kingdom decisions and have kingdom desires. We have eternal eyes for things in instead of temporary eyes. 

So, the question is: What does YIELDING prayer look like as kingdom citizens?

1. Solitude—enjoying time with God

Not just yielding prayer but yielding lifestyle. One that enjoys slowing down and getting alone with God in prayer and spending time with Him. Solo time in God’s word and in prayer is a form of yielding. Really devoting time to God and recognizing He is in control and He is the power source for living and the feast our hearts long to enjoy. 

2. Satisfaction—God is our greatest desire and prize, so our prayers reflect this priority.

What we ask for and plead for reveals the worship of our heart. If God’s creations (money, things, house, car, skills, status, friends, family, etc.) are the deepest affections of our heart, then that is what we will ask for and long for from God—but that is idolatry.

However, if God, Himself, is the deepest affection of the heart, then His glory and will is what we will ask for constantly in prayer. We will yield to Him in the tough times or when other treasures might be lost or taken because, in the end, it is God who satisfies.

We need to remember that God’s will is not always our will. 

When we pray for God’s will to be done, we shouldn’t be trying to manipulate God into rubber-stamping what we have already decided to do. The Bible tells us that our hearts are wicked and “… deceitful above all things …” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Most of the time, what we want to do is not what God wants us to do.

Jesus is charging us to truly mean it when we pray, “Lord, your will be done!” He modeled this for us in the garden! 

Jesus did not want to be mocked, beaten, have his flesh torn off, and suffer a slow death on a criminal’s cross, but rather than demanding His way, He prayed, “… Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42). This is a yielding prayer. 

Honestly ask and then honestly yield to God who knows best. The question is: Do you truly want what God wants? Or are you just saying that?

In another moment, Jesus had a similar honest yielding!

John 12:27-28 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

Does Jesus say, “Get me out of this struggle!”? NO. He says, “Father, glorify your name.”

Yielding prayer is a huge part of the Christian life that far too many don’t truly practice enough. I pray it becomes a central part of your prayer life from this day forward.

As we draw to a close, I want to help you put the pieces together of the four main parts of Jesus’ prayer and the four parts of a balanced prayer life. They actually form an easy-to-remember acronym. It’s “P.R.A.Y.”

1. Praise (adoration)—Thanking God! It is not about you, but all about God for who He is!
2. Repent (confession) —Confessing sin and asking for forgiveness. Experience renewal!
3. Ask (supplication) —Asking God earnestly for your needs and letting Him know your concerns.
4. Yield–Leaving it in God’s hands! Trusting His deliverance and timing and wanting His will to be done. 
5. We exist for God’s glory. He is the greatest Treasure we can know or enjoy.

So, the authentic response of a heart that is satisfied is worship, praise, and thankfulness. 

So, we Praise Him (adoration)—thanking God!

2. Even though we are forgiven in Christ, we still sin and make selfish decisions when we cast our hearts onto God’s stuff above God. We need to CONFESS and REPENT and thank Him for forgiving us.

So, we Repent—agreeing with God that it was sin and rethinking our strategy for living in light of the gospel while taking a new path.

3. God wants us to demonstrate faith in Him. He wants us to demonstrate our dependence upon Him. Prayer is a powerful thing. Our prayers do matter—they are not just exercises in faith. 

He eagerly awaits hearing from you.

So, we Ask (supplication)—asking God earnestly for our needs and letting Him know our concerns.

4. Finally, God’s view and desire is far greater and more holy than ours. To YIELD to God and trust in Him is the only way we have true peace in a world of pain and suffering. 

To want His glory and fame above our safety and selfishness is always a better life. 

So, we Yield—leaving it in God’s hands, trusting His deliverance and timing and wanting His will to be done. 

I pray that this four-letter acronym will be a help to your growing in, and practicing, the spiritual discipline of prayer. May God be glorified in and through us as we commit to be faithful in prayer. 

By His grace and for His glory, 

Joshua Kirstine
Pastor | Disciples Church

Bakersfield CA
DisciplesChurch.com

Spiritual Discipline of Prayer #1 1.25.25

1. Intro to Prayer

I have found that most people are very interested in improving their prayer life. My hope for us for the next two weeks is that you do not feel guilty because your prayer life is not where you want it but that you feel encouraged because you are discovering a great God who loves you and wants you to come to  Him regularly in prayer. 

If we are going to understand prayer, we must first understand who we are attempting to talk to: God! The God of the Bible is a triune God, which means three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) who are one God! For eternity past, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have communicated with each other: That is prayer; it’s communication. We humans are created in God’s image to also communicate with God and have relationship with Him. This is prayer. 

Because of our sinful rebellion, we have been separated from a holy God, and so God “the Son” took on flesh and lived the life we did not live without sin, and then He died the death we should die for our sin. He did this to ultimately conquer death and give us a gift we cannot obtain through our own works, which is salvation! In this, we can be restored and reconciled to have an eternal relationship with God.

This is important to understand because the way we communicate with God is by “God the Holy Spirit” coming to live within us. The Holy Spirit then enables and empowers us to pray to God. As each of us grows in Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit teaches us and works through us in activating and communicating to God regularly in prayer!

To clarify, let me say it this way: As Christians, our prayers are Trinitarian, meaning when we pray, our prayers are to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. 

You may not really like prayer because you grew up in a religious tradition that taught you to have a formal interaction with God (hold this, say this, face this direction, pray at this time of day, etc.). That is a totally different team. Our team has a loving Father who has gone to the greatest lengths to make us His children. What this means is God hears all Christians’ prayers, no matter who they are: the elderly pastor who prays in an almost angelic chant using words of the ancients, as well as the surf rat who knows five words (epic, rad, gnarly, stoked, and awesome) and uses them all in every sentence. 

Hear this: When we pray, we are not depending on our delivery, style, and perfectly executed monologue.  We are dependent on the mercy, grace, and love of our heavenly Father, the perfect work of His Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit.   

Now, before we look at how to practice the spiritual discipline of prayer, let’s look at this:

2. How Not to Pray

Matthew 6:5-8 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” 

First, prayer is not telling God something He doesn’t know. God knows! It is not uncommon that I will talk to people and ask them, “Have you talked to God about that?” And they will say, “No, no, no; I do not want to get God in on this one.”  Umm—too late! You would be better off to talk to Him. He knows more about the who, what, when, where, and why than you do! You are not bothering Him. Prayer is inviting God to move in and through us in that situation or moment. As a father, I love it when my kids invite me to share in what they are feeling or going through. It is the same with our God; prayer is our linking up with Him to see that thing through in a way that honors Him and brings Him glory and us joy! 

Back to verse 5, Jesus says, “Do not pray like religious or irreligious people do.” Irreligious people have no connection with God, and therefore they “heap up empty phrases.” Religious people like to put themselves in public to press their self-righteous ways onto other people. They like to use lots of fancy words and go on and on in an effort to be impressive to God and others. A religious prayer is proud and full of posturing. Gospel prayer is humble and authentic. Gospel prayer is respectful and not bossing God around. There is a reason why we do not pray like other religions and with other religions. It is because we have another God. Every other religion is worshipping counterfeit or little “g” gods. The Bible says that any other things posing to be god are really demons (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

Here is the point: It is not enough to be spiritual or religious and to pray a lot. You need to know who God is. What we find when Jesus tells us how to pray is He begins by telling us who God is.

3. The Lord’s Prayer

In Matthew 6:9, Jesus says, “Pray then like this …” Don’t miss that. The Lord’s prayer is not Jesus saying, “Pray exactly this,” as if it were a mantra! Within this prayer are elements and understandings that help us understand God and our relationship to Him, and it also give us some balance in our interaction with Him. 

Our Father

These first two words are essential, before we go any further, when trying to understand prayer. First, “our”: It is not just about me; it is about our family—us, the family of God. Our faith is a communal thing; our growth in Christ is a communal thing. We are together!

Our who? OUR FATHER! Fourteen times in the Old Testament, God is referred to as “Father” in the context of His being the father over all of Israel—over all of Creation! In the four Gospels, Jesus speaks to, or about, God as Father 60 times. He is our Father. God is not impersonal; He is personal. He is not hurtful; He is loving. He is not far away; He is close. He is not distracted and busy; He is involved intimately in the moment-by-moment lives of His children.

Our Father in heaven!

Heaven does not mean He is far away. Answer this for me: What are you picturing when you pray? A God far away? That you have to shout to? Heaven, here, means that He is high and exalted! He is sovereign! It means He is the King over all things! How cool is that? There is no one or nothing that is not under His authority!

Now for some of you, this God-is-our-Father language is hard. It is hard in a very real way, because you do not know such a thing as a loving, present, caring, interested Father. This is because you never had one who was around; or when he was, he was distracted, mean, arrogant, or even abusive.  Maybe he never cared to spend time with you, or he walked out on your mom, or he won’t return your phone calls. For those of you who relate, I want to encourage you with this: Do not judge God by your earthly father; judge your earthly father by your Heavenly Father. ThePsalms say, God is a father to the fatherless (Psalm 146, 68, 40,etc.). God is the truer and better father! Prayer is talking to your Father in heaven. 

Hallowed be your name 

Hallowed means high and lifted up. What I love about the Lord’s Prayer is how simple and yet how balanced it is! In the Lord’s Prayer, we see different forms of prayer or areas of prayer covered, four of which I feel are the primary areas of prayer that are good to address. I will cover two in this week’s study and two in next week’s study. The first is the area of praise!

4. PRAISE

Praise or adoration or exultation: The purest form of prayer because our hearts, restored to our great God, are going to be filled with worship and praise for who He is! Praise prayer is talking to God with total respect and honor. It’s not about us and what we get; it’s about God and how great He is. We don’t get in the way of true royalty and greatness. It is all about Him!

1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

This is the best way that we can begin to pray. It is not for us, even though it does help us put ourselves into a right place in relationship to God. This is the way we should come to Him each time we pray—humbly approaching His throne! We should be lost for words in the majesty of His presence! Recognize who He is and who we are in relation to Him. Almost all the writings in the Bible begin with some form of praise towards God. Understand and proclaim who He is and what He is doing.

Psalm 66:17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. 

Another way we do this is by thanking Him!

Thanksgiving prayer:Express gratitude and thanks to God for what He has done and is doing. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Psalm 7:17(NLT) I will thank the Lord because he is just …

Psalm 30:12 … Oh Lord my God I will give you thanks forever!

Psalm 95:2 (NLT) Let us come before him with thanksgiving

Acts 13:48(NLT) they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message

Philippians 4:6(NLT) Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done!

For me, when I go to prayer, I love to picture God (my Father who loves me and spent everything to bring me home) in all His majesty—in all His glory! For me, what this does is it causes me to slow down and have the proper awe of who He is. I recognize who it is to whom I am speaking, while feeling totally, 100% invited into His presence to chat, share, and be led forward by His all-powerful grip on everything. 

5. REPENT

The second, part of a balanced prayer life is repentance! Before we get to the specifics of a repentant prayer, I want us to dig into Jesus’ words in verse 12:

Matthew 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Forgiveness is giving up your right to get even and it is forgiving the debt someone has created by hurting or betraying you. The good news, for those who have trusted their lives to Jesus, is He has paid our debt on the cross. It is essential that each one of us understands this: In Christ, you are forgiven!

Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV) For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us [transferred us] into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

It says that in Christ, we have forgiveness of sins, and we are made new; we are alive in Christ! We have been changed, washed, cleansed, restored, and made holy—a new creation! We are no longer kept from a relationship with a holy God because of our spiritual debt. It has been paid for and is done.

Colossians 2:13-14(NIV) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made youalive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 

Our certificate of debt, which brings death, He nailed to the cross. Your new identity in Christ means you are forgiven! So even though we are forgiven, the reality is we still sin, and we are sinned against! So, we sin and need to confess/repent (we’ll get to this in a moment), and when we are sinned against, we forgive others. This is why Jesus emphasizes here “as we forgive our debtors.”

Relational debt is when someone else hurts or betrays you.  

Colossians 3:13(NIV) Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Forgiveness needs to be something we are constantly doing. We need not be keepers of others’ sin! Freedom in Christ is horribly cheated if we become keepers of others’ sin! Let us forgive others as we have been forgiven!

So, what do we do when we sin after we have been forgiven by God? What Christians should do is repent! Practically, when we sin, we go to God in repentant prayer! 

Repentant prayer includes three steps: confess, repent, then thank God for the fact that I am already forgiven. Let’s look at each of these!

1. Confess: 

Confession is from the root word meaning “to agree together with.” God understands and knows all our sin, but it is key that we fully confess and understand our sin before Him. Confession sets the heart up for true repentance. Confession is simply acknowledging I have sinned: “This was sin. You call it sin; I am calling it sin. I am saying out load to you, God, ‘I sinned!’”

One of the keys to repentant prayer is to sit in silence—to be still and quiet before God. Why? Because the Holy Spirit will reveal to us things we don’t think of—sin that we need to acknowledge. 

Psalm 19:12-13(NLT) How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.

2. Repent: 

Confession leads to repentance. So what is repentance exactly? It is commonly used in church circles, but do we really understand what it really is? 

Confession is admittance—to agree together with God who knows already what really happened. Repentance is a new direction! It is surrendering your current wrong path to get on the right one. 

Luke 15:17(NIV) “When he came to his senses …”

“Came to his senses,” meaning his senses started working again. He gathered himself again. The drunken stupor wore off! He stopped the mad parade and turned a different direction. Repentance starts when you come to your senses. This is not something you do to yourself; it happens to you. It is the hand of God and/or others initiating this. 

Sin is an act of running from God. Repentance allows us to return to God’s open arms due to Christ’s substitutionary atonement of our sin.

Understanding Gospel Repentance

2 Corinthians 7:10(NIV) Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 

What is the motivation for our repentance? Two answers:

1. The sorrow of the consequences of the sin. 

This is a mindset based not in being sorry for the sin and how it grieves God’s heart but for the fact that we got caught. True repentance will not happen in this, because without a remorse for what we did and not just that we got caught, we will do that very sin again the moment we think we can have it without getting caught. This is not truly taking a new path; it is just tossing the car in park for a few and waiting for the right opportunity to continue down the same path. 

Repentance is a new direction.

2. The sorrow of the fact that we betrayed God and grieved His heart.

True repentance is based in leaving our sin behind because we love God. Legalistic repentance says, “I broke God’s rules.” True repentance says, “I broke God’s heart.” Gospel repentance is huge! The grace of God through Christ’s death for our sin is the only motivation that leads you to hate the sin without hating yourself. Repentance is how you remember who you really are in Christ!

You are a child of the living God—once a sinner who has been set free by grace.

Now after we repent, our final response in prayer is back to a thankful, grateful prayer!

3. Thank God—for the fact that you are already forgiven in Christ.  

We are just halfway. Next week we will read more about prayer, and in next week’s study, we will look at the rest of the Lord’s Prayer and the next two parts of a balanced prayer life. 

In the meantime, practice this week: 

-Praising and thanking God in prayer 

-Confessing and Repenting in prayer

By His grace and for His glory, 

Joshua Kirstine
Pastor | Disciples Church

Bakersfield CA
DisciplesChurch.com

Proverbs 1   1.18.25

Throughout the year, as we study the spiritual disciplines, we will also study the Proverbs. 

An introduction to Proverbs:

Every culture on the planet has expressions that convey wisdom in short, pithy forms. In English, for example, we have several proverbial sayings. One of the more well-known is the proverb, “Think before you act.” This statement cautions us to be careful and to consider all we know about a situation before just jumping into it. In the book of Proverbs, we have a wonderful collection of God-inspired words of wisdom for us to live by.

The title in the Hebrew Bible is “The Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1). The book of Proverbs pulls together 513 of the over 3,000 proverbs pondered by Solomon (1 Kings 4:32; Ecclesiastes 12:9). The word “proverb” means “to be like.” Therefore, Proverbs is a book of comparisons between common, concrete images and life’s most profound truths. Proverbs are simple, moral statements or illustrations that highlight and teach fundamental realities about life. 

Solomon was seriously committed to God’s wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:8–12), and he offered pithy sayings designed to make men contemplate important aspects of life. 

I. Man’s Relationship to God

1. His trust (Proverbs 22:19)
2. His humility (Proverbs 3:34)
3. His fear of God (Proverbs 1:7)
4. His righteousness (Proverbs 10:25)
5. His sin (Proverbs 28:13)
6. His obedience (Proverbs 6:23)
7. Facing reward (Proverbs 12:28)
8. Facing tests (Proverbs 17:3)
9. Facing blessing (Proverbs 10:22)
10. Facing death (Proverbs 15:11)

II. Man’s Relationship to Himself

1. His character (Proverbs 20:11)
2. His wisdom (Proverbs 1:5)
3. His foolishness (Proverbs 26:10,11)
4. His speech (Proverbs 18:21)
5. His self-control (Proverbs 6:9-11)
6. His kindness (Proverbs 3:3)
7. His wealth (Proverbs 11:4)
8. His pride (Proverbs 27:1)
9. His anger (Proverbs 29:11)
10. His laziness (Proverbs 13:4)

III. Man’s Relationship to Others

1. His love (Proverbs 8:17)
2. His friends (Proverbs 17:17)
3. His enemies (Proverbs 19:27)
4. His truthfulness (Proverbs 23:23)
5. His gossip (Proverbs 20:19)
6. As a father (Proverbs 20:7; 31:2-9)
7. As a wife/mother (Proverbs 31:10-31)
8. As children (Proverbs 3:1-3)
9. In educating children (Proverbs 4:1-4)
10. In disciplining children (Proverbs 22:6)

The wisdom literature we read in Proverbs is part of the whole of Old Testament truth; the priest gave the law, the prophet gave a word from the Lord, and the sage, or wise man, gave his wise counsel (Jeremiah 18:18; Ezekiel 7:26). In Proverbs, Solomon “the sage” gives insight into the everyday issues of life. Though it is practical, Proverbs is not superficial nor external, because it contains moral and ethical elements guiding us to upright living, which is the result of a right relationship with God. 

The two major themes, which are interwoven and overlap throughout Proverbs, are wisdom and folly. Wisdom, which includes knowledge, understanding, instruction, discretion, and obedience, is built on the fear of the Lord and the word of God. Folly is everything that is the opposite of wisdom. I pray that as you study the Proverbs throughout this year of our study of the spiritual disciplines, you are blessed to grow in wisdom and practical, everyday practices that honor God and brighten your testimony of Christ. 

Proverbs 1

In chapter one of Proverbs, we are given the prologue for the entire book (vv. 1-7) and then some great wisdom to work with, right out of the gate. 

Proverbs 1:1-4 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth

Do you long to know wisdom and insight so you can deal wisely, righteously, and justly with the life God has entrusted to you? Solomon opens with a proclamation of his deep desire to be wise and thereby live the best life he can for the Lord. 

Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance

Do you make it a priority to listen, “increase in learning, and obtain guidance”? This is a huge one. If we do not take in information through listening to others, learning, and seeking guidance, we cannot grow in wisdom. It is a simple cause-and-effect formula of life. You don’t know what you don’t know. So, what are you doing to listen, learn, and seek counsel? Is this something you do flippantly or purposefully? Is this something you schedule and make a priority? Are God’s word, godly preachers, and godly leaders a major part of what you are listening to and seeking? If not, you can gain all the wisdom in the world and still be without the knowledge and wisdom that is eternal life with God. 

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

True knowledge is a right view of God—a right fear and respect for who He is. The biggest enemy we are up against in this life is a belief that we are bigger than we are, and God is smaller than He is. True knowledge makes war with this line of thinking and helps us have a right fear and admonition of the Lord. The simplest truth about a fool is that he despises or avoids wisdom and instruction. Don’t be a fool. Seek to grow and mature by learning and listening to godly truth. 

Wise Words for the Beginning Season of Life

Proverbs 1:8-9 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Solomon highlights one of the central truths of God’s creation. He designed children to listen to and obey their parents. God’s wise design for the forming of a human being is the instruction and counsel of parents. Unfortunately, this is something that our modern society takes all too lightly—both by the parents charged by God to instruct and raise their children in the Lord and by children who are given way too much room to disrespect and disobey their parents. May we take this most-central component of life to heart, and heed God’s design for parents to take seriously the investment into the shaping, training, disciplining, and loving of their children. May our children, as well, value the God-ordained source of authority in their lives—their parents.

In Proverbs 1:10-19, Solomon gives a more specific counsel for children to take seriously the warnings of their parents, as he speaks of the life-danger of following fleshly people into sinful activity and selfish gain. Oh, how our flesh loves to get what it wants and is willing to take it many times despite the cost. This is not only good counsel for our youth but for all of us. Who are you following, listening to, and longing to be like or around? The path that follows the sinful leads to sin and demise. Let us follow the righteous, the wise and the godly, and live lives that honor God and make much of His holy name!

I am praying for your journey ahead. The days the Lord will entrust to you are to be taken seriously. The life and opportunity God has given you is a great gift. What are you doing with it? Are you just punching your days, or are you growing and maturing in the Lord so that your testimony and opportunity to live for Him will be eternally glorifying of the one, true King? 

Let us be wise in God. 

Let us study, listen, and grow so that we can impart God-honoring wisdom to those He puts in our path!

By His grace and for His glory, 

Joshua Kirstine
Pastor | Disciples Church

Bakersfield CA
DisciplesChurch.com