Temptation, Evil, and Kingdom
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Scriptures: Matthew 6:13
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Summary: In the fifth sermon of our series, How to Pray, Jeremy looks at the final stanza in The Lord’s Prayer and the liturgical benediction that follows, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen.”
Benedictions: Jeremy shows how the benediction at the end of The Lord’s Prayer as it’s prayed in liturgical settings came to be. He examines its origins and inclusion by way of the textual manuscripts that have been discovered over the centuries that help us form a faithful construction of the prayer in both it’s Biblical and liturgical forms and connect us to our broader Christian heritage.
Temptations: God does not tempt anyone, but we are surrounded by temptations in this world, as heaven is coming but not yet fully realized. One way that the line in The Lord’s Prayer about temptations can be understood is, “don’t let me fall into temptation.” God walks with us through temptations as we come across them in life.
Devils: The devil is not mentioned in The Lord’s Prayer. So, one way we can better understand this part of the prayer is, “carry us instead, away from all this evil.” Jeremy shares that this part of the prayer is an acknowledgement of the reality of the world and an invitation to imagine something new and work toward stewarding Heaven on Earth.
Refusing to stay where we are: We begin to see the flow of the entirety of Jesus’ prayer, from seeing those around us as our siblings, to our daily needs, and our connection to others, to rectifying those places where we’ve missed the mark, and then looking to the future where we see God’s vision for our world take shape with God’s help and our participation. Jeremy says, “Prayer is so much more than asking God to do something for us. It is inviting God to do something in us.”
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Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.
Connect: The benediction associated with the end of The Lord’s Prayer goes back to the earliest Christian communities and their prayer practices. It has lasted throughout the ages and is still used today.
How do you feel knowing that this line, and the prayer as a whole, was moulded and practiced by the earliest Christian communities?
Share: your thoughts on temptation and the roll prayer plays in your imagination of the world around you. Jeremy mentioned a few other possible translations of the line about temptation as, “don’t let me fall into temptation,”or “do not allow us to be dragged into temptation,” or “do not leave us in temptation.”
What do each of these, among the others mentioned in the sermon, make you think or feel about temptation?
Does it change the way you think about God’s role in your life or the world at all?Reflect: on the idea of being delivered from evil. Jeremy mentioned that there is no devil present in The Lord’s Prayer, and the last line ends, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil.”
If Jesus is instructing us to pray to be delivered—not from a devil—but from evil, what evil then is Jesus referring to?
How does praying The Lord’s Prayer in this way help you identify God’s salvation from that evil?Engage: with the idea of refusing to stay where we are.
If The Lord’s Prayer invites us to see and participate in a different world—one where we are “our brother’s keeper,” where evil isn’t inevitable, our needs are met, and unforgiveness is futile—what is your role in making that new world a reality?
In other words, what follows after praying The Lord’s Prayer in light of this sermon series?Takeaway: For this last discussion try praying The Lord’s Prayer, either by yourself or as a group, this time with the ideas from the sermon series in mind. Jeremy mentioned praying The Lord’s Prayer daily during Holy Week; consider taking that on as a practice while you approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever.
Amen. -
CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 111
MUSIC Curated by Curt Muller
Passion - King of Glory
Hillsong United - Whole Heart
Commons Worship - Faithfully
Brooke Ligertwood - King of Kings
REFLECTIVE PRAYER: EASTER ANTICIPATION
Written by Scott WallSERIES BUMPER
How To Pray Series
