Sermon Tone Analysis

Teach Us To Pray - Hallowed

Matthew 6:5-13 • John 4:19-24

Today begins a very simple sermon series.

Our first reading comes from Matthew’s recording of the Sermon on the Mount.

But Luke sets the Lord’s Prayer as the answer to a question.

Maybe the disciples are comparing notes with John’s disciples.

If you recall, John sent two of his own disciples to follow Jesus:

We know that one of those disciples was Andrew, Peter’s brother.

The other is thought to be either John or Philip.

Either way … one of the disciples referring to John teaching his disciples how to pray shouldn’t be surprising.

At least two of Jesus’ disciples used to be John’s disciples.

So, Jesus’ answer is Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer.

And just like a letter, Jesus begins his model prayer with a greeting.

“Dear Yahweh” didn’t seem to work, so he gets more specific.

For this week, let’s sit together in this single statement.

As we look at these words, one of them feels awkward for us.

We don’t use the word hallowed very often, so it may not be as easy to understand.

ἁγιάζω

The Greek word here is ‘hagiazo’ (ἁγιάζω), or specifically hagiastheto (ἁγιασθήτω).

That helps a lot, right.

Hagiazo is used 28 times in the New Testament.

to treat as holy, revere

William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 10.

We likely are a little bit familiar with this word if we think about it a little while.

We would use the term “hallowed” for our soldiers who fell in battle and the ground where their bodies lay.

Every Memorial Day, I watch a PBS special about the American Cemeteries in Europe from the World Wars.

It’s titled: Hallowed Grounds.

Anyone of my generation or older has likely heard someone make reference to the “hallowed halls” of some special building: perhaps your high school or college or some historic building: The US Capitol; Independence Hall; various presidential monuments.

Teach Us To Pray - Hallowed

We have “ceremonies” for our sacred things, don’t we?

Some of those ceremonies are quite simple:

I ask you to stand as your able every week for the reading of Scripture.

That’s a small ceremony that acknowledges that we consider God’s Word hallowed or sacred!

When a judge walks into the courtroom, the bailiff yells, “All rise!” and everybody stands until the judge tells them to sit down.

We consider our court proceedings sacred.

Some are more complex:

If you unexpectedly heard the opening notes of the Star Spangled Banner, what would you do?

turn to face the flag

Men, remove your hats

Place hat or hand over your heart

Sing along or remain quiet

The American flag is hallowed to most Americans.

These little ceremonies could be considered minor forms of worship.

• The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.

• The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.

-- http://www.dictionary.com

Perhaps in a Christian setting, worship being attributed to something other than God is a bit difficult for us.

Instead let’s use the word adoration.

What all do we ADORE?

In my younger years, I adored:

baseball (Go Dodgers!)

music (The Beatles!)

school (early days)

What do you adore?

money, politics, even work are common objects of our adoration

Some of these things can easily move into dangerous territory:

health, youth, popularity

sports teams, business,

Heck, we let the brands we buy become objects of adoration!

Adoration of earthly stuff can easily get out of hand and become unhealthy and improper.

How often do people debate passionately about their political positions, or their sports team, or even something as stupid as Windows vs. Apple?

How passionate are we about God?

Christians should never truly worship anything but the Creator God, and nothing should take a place of adoration above God!

But it’s all too easy to push him out of his proper place to make way for something lesser.

Isn’t it?

So … let’s brainstorm a bit … What is adorable about our God?

[non-rhetorical - discuss a bit - caution away from adoring what he does … that comes later in the prayer - this is about who he is - character - status - abilities]

Jesus’ model prayer begins with adoration of our Father God.

So, let’s take his advice.

Let’s pray some prayers of adoration to our God.

Remember, this is about God nature and character, not what he’s done.

I’ll begin: