2024 MetaChurch Prayer Service

Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast.

My name is Clayton.

I'm the pastor here at Medichurch.

And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you.

I hope that you enjoy today's message.

All right, MetaCurch, how you guys doing?

Yeah.

Well, it is great to be back with you guys today.

I want to welcome you to the last Sunday of 2024.

If you're new with us, my name is Clayton.

I'm the lead pastor here at Meta.

I had the chance over the last few weeks to get away a little bit, to get focused for the next year, to get some rest and to spend some time at our Holotus location where God is doing some amazing work.

I'm so encouraged by what's happening here in this movement.

God has done incredible things all through 2024.

I'm so excited for what he's gonna do in the new year.

Now, a couple of years ago, we felt God calling us to take one Sunday a year and break from our typical service schedule and spend time as a movement intentionally seeking God in prayer.

That's looked different.

Honestly, every year that we've done it, maybe you've been to one of our prayer services.

We end up doing it either the last Sunday of the year or the first Sunday of the year.

Um, just depending on kind of how the calendar falls and where those Sundays are.

And you're at today's prayer service.

Now, one thing I recognize is that at MetaCurch, this is a place for anybody at any part of their faith journey.

It's what makes MetaCurch really unique, which means we have seasoned believers all the way to like hardcore skeptics.

And if you're in that latter category and you just found out you're gonna spend the next 30 minutes in prayer, you might be regretting your choice to come today, right?

Like, we're gonna do what for how let me just put your mind at ease real quick.

Uh, if you're not a believer, you're not convinced about the claims of Christianity, uh, number one, you're in the right place.

Uh, I am so glad that you're here.

And you are not gonna be called out, uh, you are not gonna be put up front.

No one's gonna hand you a microphone today, okay?

We put you at ease.

Um what we desire for you is for this experience to go at your own pace and at your own comfort level, and we've designed it with you in mind.

Let me say a few things about prayer because it feels big and ominous, and a lot of us have a history where prayer is very scary to us, because like we had a great aunt who prayed with words that we didn't understand, right?

Or we had a cousin who would fall on the ground or whatever during prayer, and we're like, I don't want to do that, right?

That feels dangerous and maybe concussion worthy.

So um, prayer is communicating with your heavenly father.

And he wants to hear from you, just like a good father wants to hear from you.

No, I recognize in our broken world, not everyone grew up with a good father in their home.

I completely recognize that.

And one of the things that God offers you is to fill that role in our lives of a good, perfect father.

And so, like the longings that you have, maybe of I wish I had a dad that I could just go and been to and ask for things and share my heart.

God plays that role in our lives.

And if we're right about who we believe God is, he already knows what you're thinking anyway.

He already knows what you're going through anyway.

Over the last few weeks, I've been studying some of what we would call the heroes of the Old Testament in our Bibles.

The great men like Abraham and Moses and King David and King Josiah and Elijah.

And one of the things that really stuck out to me as a pattern is every one of these great heroes of scripture, these great men of God, had at least one moment in their life where they prayed very angry prayers.

Like, God, where are you?

And what is happening?

And why aren't you keeping your promises and why aren't things going the way I thought they would?

And you pray those kinds of prayers because God already knows you're thinking them.

And what your Heavenly Father wants is to hear from you.

And if you really want to pray, then you won't just talk, you'll you'll also listen.

And so we've designed a service where we've got different leaders who are gonna come up and they're gonna take us through these different intentional moments, and then we're just gonna leave you time.

Like the time is just gonna hang in the air.

It's your time to seek God, to pray, communicate, talk to your heavenly father, like you would talk to someone who you've known forever, and even if you don't feel that way, we believe God has known you forever, and that he loves you and he wants to communicate with you.

And so that leads us to what we're actually doing today.

Um, we are going to walk through a prayer that is commonly known as the Our Father.

The Our Father prayer.

You might have also heard this called the Lord's Prayer.

This is the most well-known prayer in the world, and I also believe the most misunderstood prayer in the world.

Even if you didn't grow up in church, even if you don't know the Lord's prayer, you know the Lord's prayer, right?

Like you've recited it at a funeral, maybe your coach prayed it with you before you took the field in high school football.

Like, it's so well known.

Here's how it goes.

These are the words of Jesus in Matthew 6.

Jesus said, in this manner, therefore, pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Now, for anyone who grew up Catholic and you didn't repeat that with me, you feel a little bit like you're going to hell, right?

Like, you were just on the edge of your seat, like, I'm gonna say it.

Because especially in Catholicism, this prayer has been taken and it's recited word for word.

If you've been Catholic your whole life, uh, you have said this prayer 40 bajillion times, is that a number, right?

Like, you have said this prayer a lot, word for word.

You know it backwards and forwards, you didn't need the words up on the screen.

But is that how Jesus intended for this prayer to be used?

Now, to know that, and I say this all the time, you have to look at the context.

Context is key.

And taking passages of scripture out of their context is how you end up with the disasters that the church has been responsible for throughout history.

Now, if you just go, you don't have to search far for the context.

If you go two verses earlier, this is what Jesus says.

He says, and when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do.

For they think they will be heard for their many words.

Here we see Jesus saying we should not just use repetitive prayers as if just repeating the right words is a magical incantation.

He then reminds them that they have a heavenly father who knows their needs and simply wants to hear from them.

See, the actual context for the Lord's prayer, for the Our Father, is the disciples had heard Jesus pray and it sounded nothing like their prayers.

They lived in a Jewish culture, they were good Jewish disciples, and so they often had scripted prayers that they would repeat word for word, kind of like how we use the Our Father.

The way we got the Lord's Prayer is the disciples came to Jesus and were like, hey man, your prayers are so radically different than how we pray.

It almost feels like you're just talking to God.

In Luke's gospel, the preamble to the Lord's Prayer is the disciples asking, Jesus, teach us how to pray like you pray.

And then Jesus gave the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father, both of which are not really accurate titles.

The most accurate title for what Jesus gave us is the model prayer.

It is not a script to be repeated ad nauseum, it is a model, a template of how we can also approach God in our own lives.

It is about understanding the heart of how to approach God, how to ask for what we need, how to trust his will, how to prioritize his kingdom above all else.

Today, some of our key leaders here at Meta are gonna walk us through the four major sections that the model prayer breaks down into.

They're gonna provide you with a prayer prompt if you're new to prayer or you feel stuck at some point, because we're going to give you time after each section to approach God yourself.

And wherever you're at on your faith journey, here's what I would recommend.

Lean in.

Seek God.

There's a great promise in scripture.

It says, if we seek God with all of our heart, we will find him.

Not you might find him, not there's a 50-50 chance, not you can play the odds.

If you seek God with all of your heart, you will find God.

And if you want 2025 to be a new year with new light and new purpose, you need to seek God.

And so we're gonna bring out some of our key leaders, they're gonna explain the model prayer, they're gonna give you space to seek God on your own.

I'm gonna encourage you to get comfortable being uncomfortable throughout this service.

And if you really lean in, I think that God is gonna speak to you today.

Would you help me welcome our venue pastor here, Petrenko?

Pastor Andrew.

Hey everyone, my name is Andre.

I'm the venue pastor here at MetaCurch.

We're starting this time of prayer by focusing on the opening line of the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

These words are an invitation to reflect on who God is.

When we say our Father, it's a reminder that we're not alone.

God is our perfect Father, present in every situation.

And when we say, Hallowed be your name, we're lifting Him up, recognizing His holiness, His love, and His faithfulness.

It is so important to begin our prayers by centering ourselves on who God is.

Often we're so quick to jump to our wants and needs and burdens that we forget to acknowledge the incredible reality of who we are conversing with.

And starting with recognizing and thanking God for who he is, it helps us approach him even more confidently with our prayers and our petitions.

So let me ask you: what qualities of God bring you peace or joy today?

Maybe it's his faithfulness in hard times, his unchanging love when everything else feels uncertain, or the way his light shines in your darkest moments.

As we pray, think about the characteristics of God that bring you comfort and strength.

In your seat, you were given a card and a pen.

On one side of the card, write a name or an attribute of God that means the most to you in this season of life.

It could be a father, king, healer, protector, provider, love, hope, constant, never-changing, faithful, life giver.

Or it could be anything else that is meaningful to you in this mouse in this moment, in this season of your life.

Do this now.

Now that we've reflected, let's turn those thoughts into prayer.

This is your time right now to talk to God and thank him for who he is.

If you don't know where to start, we've provided a prompt on the screen you can use as a guide.

Father, you are holy, loving, and faithful.

And I praise you because you are, and place your reflection there.

And we're gonna give you some time now to pray with the Lord.

We're moving on to the next line of the Lord's Prayer.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

These words remind us that life is about more than our plans and dreams.

God's kingdom is about his love, his justice, his peace, and his purpose breaking through into our world.

While the beginning of the Lord's Prayer has us focus on the person of the Heavenly Father, this second section has us focus on his purpose for our life.

This is how Jesus lived his life on earth.

He always prioritized God's will above his own earthly desires or conveniences.

It can be so easy to approach God like he's a magic genie, there to grant our wishes.

However, the model prayer reminds us, above all, we are to seek God's purposes and plans.

So let me ask you, what area of your life needs God's guidance and direction right now?

Maybe it's a decision you're trying to make, a relationship that feels broken, or a dream that seems out of reach.

Whatever it is, this is our chance to lay it before God and to ask him to work his will in our lives.

This is an opportunity to submit to what God desires in your life and to trust him with the outcome.

As we enter into our personal time of prayer, let's take a physical step of surrender.

Open your hands in front of you, palms up as if you're offering all your plans, worries, and questions to God.

Hold your hands open.

Reflect on what you need to let go of.

Maybe it's control over a situation, fear of the future, or a dream you're afraid to trust him with.

Let this simple posture represent your willingness to let God's will be done in your life.

Now, let's turn this moment into prayer.

Once again, a prompt will come on screen to help you get started if you feel stuck.

Let's pray together now.

Lord, may your kingdom come and your will be done in my life.

Help me to trust you with and add what you're surrendering today.

The next part of the Lord Prayer says, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

This part of the prayer reminds us to bring our priorities to God, our needs, our relationships, and even our struggles.

After acknowledging who God is and that his purposes are our highest priority, it's time to come to God with our needs, requests, wants and petitions.

God is our good heavenly fire who wants to hear from his children.

We can trust and believe that he desires our ultimate good.

Let me ask you who or what is a priority in your life that you want to?

To bring to God today.

Maybe it's a love one you're worried about.

A personal need that you can't seem to meet.

Or a struggle that you're trying you're trying to overcome.

Whatever that is, this is the time to bring it to God.

Trusting that He cares about you and every detail of your life.

Now I want you to take your card and pen back out and turn it to the blink side.

Take a moment to write down one or two things you're asking God to help you with.

Maybe you have to need for permission in a relationship or freedom.

We're finishing with the final line of the Lord's Prayer.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

These words remind us that everything belongs to God.

Our lives, our future, and all of creation.

It's an invitation to let go of fear and control, trusting that God is in charge and that his power and his glory will never fade.

It's no accident that the model prayer both begins and ends with the acknowledgement of who God is.

And by concluding this way, we ensure that we maintain proper perspective from beginning to end.

It's a reminder that you can truly trust God with whatever you are praying about today.

So let me ask you this.

How can you praise God for his goodness and his greatness in your life today?

Maybe it's a prayer he's answered, a way he's carried you through a really hard season, or simply the promise that he's always with you no matter what.

As we reflect on God's greatness, I want to invite you to engage in this last worship song with us as a prayer of thanks for God's glory and power.

If you're comfortable, you can even lift your hands to him in worship.

When we lift our hands, we're saying, God, I trust you.

I give you control and I praise you for who you are.

So let's take this moment to raise your hands and lift up your heart to God.

And as we sing this closing song together, I want us to make a physical act of demonstrating our trust in God.

Your note card has both a name or characteristic of God on one side and your deepest need on the other.

As the song plays, I encourage you to bring your card forward and place it on the front of the stage.

We're going to think of this as physically handing your needs and your priorities over to God.

If you would stand with us and worship.

So I owe you my praise.

You're the author of my story.

When I thought that it was over, but your mercy kept me going.

So I owe you my praise.

Praise, oh Lord, you deserve.

Oh Lord, you deserve all my praises, O Lord, you deserve, only you deserve all my praise.

All of my worship.

But your grace is still sufficient.

And that's what makes a difference.

So I owe you my praise.

Now I'm standing here for giving.

Only you deserve all my praises.

Oh Lord, you deserve.

Oh Lord, you deserve all my praises.

Oh Lord, you deserve.

Only you deserve all my praise.

Oh Lord, you deserve all our praise.

You're such a good, good Father who's there for us every time.

And we love you so much, Father.

And we just thank you for how you set this whole thing up for us to reach out to you, for us to depend on you for everything in our lives.

For us to seek you and posture our hearts, to connect with you in such a unique way that it transforms our lives every time we do it.

Every time you teach us something.

Today you taught us how to pray a little bit better.

And we're so grateful for that, Father.

And we love you so much.

And I pray in this room right now that someone's heart is just transformed, that they have grown deeper and deeper in love with you because of this time.

And we thank you, Lord.

We thank you so much for who you are.

We pray all of this in your name.

Amen.

Thanks so much for listening to the message today.

If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast.

You can rate and review or share it with your friends.

If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv.

There you can learn how to take next steps.

You can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit.

And you can also give financially to help push this movement forward.

Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.