Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10/30/2024
Sermon Prep
The long days at the office were starting to get to me in May of 2023. Lot of work at this tech start-up and honestly had a hard time managing my time well. My wife Glory and I snuck in date nights every once in a while, but not enough I think. What we did do well was Glory’s consistency in cooking, so that I could pack lunches for work and save money. It ebbed and flowed as far as how consistently we did this song and dance, but I remember in May we had it down.
The tension I felt at work made me cry a lot, which I honestly hadn’t done in the workplace in years. It was a spiritual tension and a conflict of personalities. I would call Glory on breaks and just vent how I felt about everything work-wise. I had so much anxiety and worry as I was crippled with fear, which is a terrible mindset to have when providing for your family. I should have lived by faith, not fear.
We also had a lot of car troubles this month as my beloved 2021 Honda Accord Touring 2.0T was having battery troubles, which our friend Ben would fix a few times for us. Really debated selling the car because of the frustration I was having with it and the insane $526 a month car payment that was not worth it. It was a stupid, vanity buy when I got in November of 2021 and I should have never bought it in the first place.
Given it was Mother’s Day, the original intro I had just didn’t seem like a good fit for the audience and topic at hand. So I like usual made a last minute change during worship and improvised the intro to fit the holiday at hand. It was the right call and it actually worked great as bookends to my message. Either way, here’s the notes:
Sermon Notes
Opening Line
Work promotion interview story.Grandma Rachel and Grandma Sandra story.- Power-trips focus on externals, not essentials.
Intro
- For Christians, we focus on essentials.
- The world focuses on externals.
- Prayer is one of the Christian Essentials.
- Prayer is divine communication that informs your human situation.
Transition To Main Point
- Life without prayer becomes a powertrip.
Main Point
- Jesus chose prayer, while the Pharisees chose power.
- Luke 11:1-13 | The Lord’s Prayer
- Only time disciples asked Jesus to teach.
- It should be called the disciples prayer.
- No individual references.
- True prayer is focused on God and others.
- Normal traveling at night due to heat.
- Verses 9-10 are a present-active-imperative.
- A command that is constant and repetitive.
- Only time disciples asked Jesus to teach.
- Luke 11:14-26 | Jesus and Beelzebul
- Beelzebul = lord of flies; god of filth
- Philistine god (2 Kings 1:2).
- Answers them with logic and theology (Luke 11:19).
- Strongman = Satan and stronger man = Jesus.
- House = human body or house of Israel.
- Beelzebul = lord of flies; god of filth
- Luke 11:27-28 | To Be Blessed
- Woman = heckler.
- “Bless your mom and her boobs.”
- Belief in God is greater than birthright.
- Woman = heckler.
- Luke 11:29-32 | Sign of Jonah
- 3 days in fish = crucifixion foreshadow.
- Jesus is greater than the wonder of Jonah and the wisdom of Solomon.
- Luke 11:33-36 | Light in You
- This section ties directly to what’s next.
- Luke 11:37-54 | Pharisees and Lawyers
- They focused on externals, not essentials.
- Jesus always challenges external expectations.
- They favored regulation and reputation over relationships. Jesus chooses to relate.
- They focused on externals, not essentials.
Why This Matters
- Prayer is internal, while power-trips are external.
- Choose a life of prayer over power.
Final Thoughts
The “bless your mom and her boobs” line had a hilarious reaction from the congregation. It’s just such a weird verse in the Bible not going to lie, so I had fun with it. As for the rest, I think the last minute pivot to focus the sermon on motherhood and mothers in general was a brilliant idea from the Holy Spirit. To use that thematic framework to understand prayer was really good.
I like this one a lot. It’s not the greatest sermon by any means, but the impact afterwards in table talks was evident and thats what counts to me. Did the audience get it? Are they compelled to obey Jesus? To live according to his way and not their own way? These are the questions I hope are yes everytime I preach. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.
Footnotes
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