The Lord’s Prayer – NLT
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation
but rescue us from the evil one.
On Earth as it is in Heaven (It Starts with Connection) pt1
All Scripture reference taken from the New Living Translation
Today we are starting a new sermon series based on the Lord’s Prayer...
What we call the Lord’s Prayer is how Jesus taught we should pray in His famous teaching in the Gospel of Matthew called the Sermon on the Mount...
There is a shorter version of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Luke, and in this setting, Jesus was praying, and when He had finished, the disciples asked Him if He could teach them how to pray... And here we have the Lord’s Prayer...
Something that I often dream about is spiritual revival... What would we do if revival broke out in our church, or our city?
Some of the greatest revivals dating back to the 1,500’s was started by and continued with prayer...
Revival follows repentance... And some might even argue that and say repentance is a biproduct of revival...
I for one am seeking revival for us to experience, and I believe prayer may quite possibly be the catalyst...
But either way, prayer is much more than a list of requests and needs we have for God... Although that is part of prayer as we seek God to move on our behalf...
What prayer does is it brings a person closer to God... And being drawn closer to God creates space for the examination of a person’s character...
And when we examine ourselves on a routine basis, we become more like the person God created us to be...
Jeremiah 29:13 – “If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.”
Psalm 145:18 - The Lord is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in truth.
Lamentations 3:40 - ... Let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.
James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.
These are all ways and actions that are the result of prayer... But, the most important thing to understand about prayer... About getting closer to God...
Is the importance of connection, and how prayer and connection work together...
In a world where everyone has a way to be connected through 5G and Starlink satellite systems (Even in the middle of the Amazon) ...
We are more connected than we have ever been as a society...
But people themselves are feeling more disconnected than ever...
With an ever-increasing push toward self-fulfillment and individualism through social media and staying with the trends of culture...
People are feeling lonelier and more isolated than ever with the thought that everyone seems to have it all together but me...
According to a survey taken by the American Psychological Association as recent as 2025, 6 out of 10 adults experience feelings of loneliness, emotional disconnection, and lack of companionship!
Think about that for a minute, over half of the adult population in America deals with some kind of isolation and loneliness...
Do you know why? Because we were created for connection!
When God created Adam, He said that it is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18) ... So, He created a helper that was just right for the man...
We were created for connection... We were created for relationship... With God and with each other...
Romans 12:4-5 - Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
We were created for connecting with each other... For friendships... As each of us has a specific role to carry out in Kingdom living here on earth...
And as we start figuring this out, we meet people who complement our giftings...
As connections are made, and friendships are formed, we continue to draw others into the Kingdom through this thing we call church... The body of Christ...
So, before we get into the Lord’s Prayer, we are going to lay the groundwork for this series by talking about connection...
As it is an important factor of prayer, since prayer is primarily the action of connecting with our Creator...
And as we begin to understand more about ourselves through prayer and more about our Creator...
We begin to understand the hope gained by walking in the confidence of the Apostle Paul’s prayer that He prayed for the church in Ephesus (And we will make this our prayer too) ...
Ephesians 1:17-20 - 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance, 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
This is a prayer for us to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God’s ways...
To understand the confident hope we have in Him, and to gain the understanding of how incredibly great the power of God is...
Since we are created in God’s image... Prayer also helps us connect with each other...
God has placed within each one of us this inner desire to be spiritually connected to our Him, our Creator, and to each other...
(Created in His image = 3 part being, mind, body, spirit)
Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
As we are connecting with God through prayer and allowing Him to reveal His ways to us...
While also creating space for self-examination through confession and asking for forgiveness... And presenting Him with requests and petitions...
We should then be aware of those who God has brought into our lives and keep them in prayer...
The Apostle Paul gives us this model of prayer as it is how he taught Timothy...
1 Timothy 2:1-4 - 2 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
As we pray for those around us... Family members, co-workers, friends, friends at church... The connections we’ve made in life... Especially those in the Kingdom.
This is what I believe draws us closer to others... As we do life together (Life groups) and get to know others...
We have a spiritual connection with them as we pray for certain areas of their lives...
And especially thank God for bringing them into our life... As we thank God for who they are...
Instead of talking negatively about our government officials... Or being part of the equation that so easily divides us over politics... Let’s simply pray for our leaders...
Pray for them! Pray that they hear from God as they lead our city, state, and country...
This is what stirs within us the desire to live peaceful and quiet lives, marked by godliness and dignity... And people will witness this as part of our character!
And while we are drawing near to God, He creates within us a heart connected to the Kingdom which in turn keeps us focused on what is important, not what the world claims is important...
Church, this type of prayer life is what pleases God... And this type of prayer life is what causes those around us to understand truth... And possibly find salvation...
When we are connecting with God through prayer... On our own, in a group setting... And even just talking with Him throughout the day...
This is what keeps us spiritually connected with those in the Kingdom...
We often talk about the body as a way to define being connected in the Kingdom.
There are many different parts to the body, and they are all connected in a way that makes for a complete body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) ...
With Easter being last Sunday, I thought it would be appropriate to use some prophetic theology to look at how a solid foundation is another way the Scriptures describe being spiritually connected...
Psalm 118:22-23 - The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.
Jesus also quotes this about Himself (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) ...
Being connected in a church family is what gives us a solid foundation to build our lives and grow our faith in Jesus on...
Jesus is the cornerstone, or the foundation that we stand on...
Isaiah 28:16 – Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.”
This prophecy is speaking of Jesus... And whoever believes in Him will never be shaken... As He is safe to build our lives on... To place our faith in...
Peter quotes this prophecy in 1 Peter 2:6... And prior to this he says...
1 Peter 2:4-5 - You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple...
Let’s think of God’s temple as a house... A spiritual house... And Jesus is the cornerstone of the house, the foundation upon that which the house is built upon...
And we are the living stones that God is using to build this house...
This is an analogy of how Jesus and His followers are joined together by God Himself...
This is the message of reconciliation... By the power of the Holy Spirit, God reconciles us back to Himself through Jesus...
Jesus, being the one people reject... Is the One chosen by God and precious to Him
So, when we begin a relationship with Jesus, it is God’s Holy Spirit who is drawing us together...
Think of this giant spiritual house made up of believers that God is building...
Jesus is the solid foundation of the house, and we are the living stones that make up the house, as we are all connected by our faith in Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone!
Ephesians 2:19-21 - 19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Across the world there are different spiritual houses (Denominations of churches) ...
And together we all make up one big spiritual house... Eventually, we will all be in heaven as one...
But for now, we are all separate, yet growing together as our faith in Jesus is the common bond that we all have...
Matthew 7:24 - “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”
And the opposite is true... If we are not spiritually connected, building our lives on the solid foundation that Jesus offers...
Then we are relying on unstable ground for our foundation to be built upon, as we are not connected to like minded people...
When we are not connected to people who also place their faith in Jesus...
We are not part of the spiritual house that God is building...
In the same way there are many different things to factor into building a solid structure (Frame, flooring, electrical, plumbing, etc.) ...
Everything has to be precise, but none of it matters if the foundation is not solid and trustworthy...
Every one of us in this room who have placed their faith in Jesus are a living stone that makes up the spiritual house of faith in this church...
We are all uniquely made to fit together perfectly, as we are building our lives together on the solid foundation that Jesus teaches...
And as we go through life as living stones, part of the spiritual architecture of the house that God is building...
We are making connections here on earth within the house that will help us get through this thing we call life... And then into eternity with Jesus...
We are connecting with God and connecting with people...
And knowing how to pray is one of the keys to keeping our connections strong...
In Closing...
A house built on a solid foundation is a good house to grow a family in...
And God is in the process of growing a family for eternity, and He wants us to join Him in showing others the importance of a solid foundation built on truth...
So that they too have something solid to hope for and something solid to place their spiritual feet on...
This ties into our church’s banner of “Serve God and Serve People.”
Church, in God’s Word we have everything we need to survive, and in that we have the early church as our example...
Acts 2:42 - All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
This is what we build a good spiritual house on with a solid foundation...
The Apostles’ teaching (The words of Jesus... the Scriptures) ...
Fellowship (Life groups, hanging out with each other, friendships) It’s more than just church on Sunday morning...
Sharing meals together... Including communion (Breaking bread with others over a meal and remembering what Jesus did for us on the Cross) ...
And finally... Prayer... Prayer is the glue that binds us all together in the house of faith that Jesus is building!
Romans 12:12 - Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
For the next several weeks we will unpack how Jesus teaches us to pray...
We will also see how prayer is a constant theme throughout the Scriptures.
The Origins of Flag Day
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC
CELEBRATING AMERICA’S FREEDOMS – 6/14/2026
That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.
This was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The resolution was made following the report of a special committee which had been assigned to suggest the flag’s design. A flag of this design was first carried into battle on September 11, 1777, in the Battle of the Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign naval vessels on February 14, 1778, when the Ranger, bearing the Stars and Stripes and under the command of Captain Paul Jones, arrived in a French port. The flag first flew over a foreign territory in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahama Islands, where Americans captured a British fort. Observance of the adoption of the flag was not soon in coming, however. Although there are many claims to the first official observance of Flag Day, all but one took place more than an entire century after the flag’s adoption in 1777. The first claim was from a Hartford, Conn., celebration during the first summer of 1861. In the late 1800s, schools all over the United States held Flag Day programs to contribute to the Americanization of immigrant children, and the observance caught on with individual communities. The most recognized claim, however, comes from New York. On June 14, 1889, Professor George Bolch, principal of a free kindergarten for the poor of New York City, had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day resolution. This initiative attracted attention from the State Department of Education, which arranged to have the day observed in all public schools thereafter. Soon the state legislature passed a law making it the responsibility of the state superintendent of public schools to ensure that schools hold observances for Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Flag Day. In 1897, the governor of New York ordered the displaying of the flag over all public buildings in the state, an observance considered by some to be the first official recognition of the anniversary of the adoption of the flag outside of schools. Another claim comes from Philadelphia. In 1893, the Society of Colonial Dames succeeded in getting a resolution passed to have the flag displayed on all of the city’s public buildings. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, that same year tried to get the city to call June 14 Flag Day.
Resolutions by women were not granted much notice, however, and it was not until May 7, 1937, that Pennsylvania became the first state to establish the June 14 Flag Day as a legal holiday. Flag Day is a nationwide observance today, but Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday. Bernard J. Cigrand, a school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, reportedly spent years trying to get Congress to declare June 14 as a national holiday. Although his attempts failed, the day was widely observed. “Father of Flag Day” honors have been given to William T. Kerr, who was credited with founding the American Flag Day Association in 1888 while still a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.
The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth
Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900 held in "East Woods" on East 24th Street in Austin.
Credit: Austin History Center.
Key Points
- "Freedom’s Eve" on January 1, 1863, marked the first Watch Night services where African Americans gathered in anticipation of the Emancipation Proclamation.
- The Emancipation Proclamation declared all enslaved people in Confederate States legally free at midnight.
- Implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in areas still under Confederate control, delaying freedom for many, particularly in Texas.
- Freedom for enslaved people in Texas was officially announced on June 19, 1865, by Union troops in Galveston Bay, leading to the celebration of "Juneteenth."
- Juneteenth is recognized as the nation’s second independence day, celebrated primarily within the African American community but largely unknown to many Americans.
Freedom's Eve and Watch Night Services
On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country, awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free.
Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. Only through the did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.
Understanding the Significance of June 19, 1865
But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later.
Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "," by the newly freed people in Texas.
Publishers throughout the North responded to a demand for copies of Lincoln’s proclamation and produced numerous decorative versions, including this engraving by R. A. Dimmick in 1864.
National Museum of American History, gift of Ralph E. Becker
Reflections on Emancipation and Reconstruction
The post-emancipation period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877) marked an era of great hope, uncertainty, and struggle for the nation as a whole. Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radical legislation and even sue slaveholders for compensation.
Given the 200+ years of enslavement, such changes were nothing short of amazing. Not even a generation out of slavery, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country.
A Celebration of Freedom
Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long been celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans.
The historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a community space where this spirit of hope lives on. A place where historical events like Juneteenth are shared and new stories with equal urgency are told.
