"The Lord's Prayer: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread"
Pastor Laura Guy
February 1, 2009
Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:
- We thought about what Jesus meant when he taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." We learned that the Greek word translated as daily could also mean "essential."
- We recognized that there are people in the world who pray this prayer and literally depend on God to provide food for their family. Confronted with the reality of world hunger, we realized that God is in charge of production, and God has produced enough food for everyone. We are in charge of distribution, and we have failed to distribute God's abundance to everyone.
- We looked at the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness from Exodus 16. God provided what was essential for their survival, even though they complained and did not trust. God provided manna on the ground, every morning except on the Sabbath. And even then, God made sure they had plenty to eat on their day of rest. There was enough for everyone, everyday for 40 years.
- We realized that sometimes the daily bread we need the most is the bread of life - the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. We need a daily dose of his love, mercy and compassion. If we don't receive any spiritual food more than once a week - or less - we are starving ourselves to death. We need daily spiritual food through prayer, Scripture, devotional readings or other ways of connecting with God.
- We prayed the Lord's Prayer together.
- We celebrated communion at the table of love, using hearty whole grain bread to symbolize the rich abundance God provides for us.

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