LYRICS FOR TODAY'S SONGS
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February 4 | Matthew 6:5-9 | ISG
Why Call God Father

Matthew 6:5-9 (ESV)

5 “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. 6 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. 7 “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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Text in Context
Following on the heels of Matthew’s instructions about keeping the law, this passage indicates right ways of enacting religious practices of giving, prayer, and fasting. In each case, believers ought to act “in secret” to receive divine rather than human approval. Their behavior is to contrast with “hypocrites” who care about present, public honor. The problem of hypocrisy will also be addressed by Jesus in chapters 15 and 23. The centerpiece of this passage (and possibly the whole Sermon on the Mount) is the Lord’s Prayer (6:9–13). The importance of prayer will also be emphasized in 7:7–11, with the theme of forgiveness (6:12, 14–15) reiterated in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew’s fourth discourse (18:23–35).

Relevance
1. Jesus calls his followers to practice their covenant loyalty with God as audience rather than to gain honor from others. Jesus’ words ring with great intensity in this passage. His followers are not to do their good deeds so that others will “ooh and aah” and assign them greater honor. Jesus’ language is strong: his disciples are not to be hypocrites, pretending to have right motives for their acts of piety while they are really clamoring for human attention. Their integrity is what is at stake. The key to aligning inside and outside, motive and action, is to keep their eyes focused on their true audience: God, their “Father who sees in secret.” All acts of covenant loyalty should be done for the sake of God and God alone.
This message is much easier to preach and teach than to live out and model. Especially those whose role in the church often places them in the limelight need these particular words of Jesus to soak into them and shape them. What is the invitation for leaders in not letting their left hand know what their right hand is doing (6:3)? How might this invitation free them from the tyranny of the opinions of others? How might this help them refocus on the only reward that is important: belonging to the kingdom and the King and having the honor that this affords?
2. Jesus’ disciples are given a pattern for prayer that centers on a longing for the coming of God’s reign. In the middle of Jesus’ first discourse in Matthew focused on the coming of God’s kingdom, it is not surprising that Jesus offers his disciples a prayer that centers on God’s reign becoming a reality in this world (“on earth as it is in heaven”). Yet the use of the Lord’s Prayer in churches today does not always exhibit or highlight a longing for the kingdom—what Luke Timothy Johnson refers to as the prophetic dimension and thus the countercultural nature of the Lord’s prayer.
Do we long for God’s kingdom to come, especially in a Western, first-world cultural context that seeks first comfort, recreation, and pleasure rather than the kingdom? What might it mean to teach ourselves and our churches to pray with fervor and longing, “Your kingdom come”? As we will see later in Matthew, part of the way we might do this is to pursue solidarity with the “least of these” (25:31–46). Longing for mercy and justice for all people propels us to pray for God to come and make all things right.

Reference:

Excerpt From
Matthew (TTCS)
Jeannine Brown

Financial Report for the month of November.

Giving: $ 8,980.00
Expenses: $ 8,187.50
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Surplus: $ 792.50

Discussion Guide
1. The Lord’s Prayer is hugely based on the context of inheritance. Discuss briefly the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) and the conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee (John 3:1-8). Based on these passages how does one inherit or become an heir?
2. Based on Matthew 6:6-9, why do you think there is an assumption that the audience were sons/heirs therefore they can call God as Father? (Exodus 4:22-23)
3. Read Galatians 4:1-7 and discuss briefly how one becomes a son and the role of the Holy Spirit in the new relationship.
4. Read Galatians 5:22 and discuss the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in a believer's life. Does the absence of the fruits mean the absence of the Holy Spirit?




Prayer
Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV) “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread,12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.