"Lead Us"

3-3-19 Sermon Notes "Lead Us"

Once upon a time, there was a very wealthy Texas oilman who had a beautiful daughter, and he wanted to find her a husband who was brave and courageous like himself. He decided to throw a huge Texas-style barbecue as a way of meeting some eligible young men. It was a wonderful party! The wealthy father had a "test" planned to determine which of the young men was the bravest. He had an Olympic-size swimming pool that he stocked with hungry alligators.
After everyone had finished their delicious meal, he called all the eligible bachelors to gather at one end of the pool. The other guests were to stand behind them.
He told the men that the first one who jumped in and swam through the alligators to the other end would be given his choice of three things: one million dollars in cash, ten thousand acres of his best land, or his daughter's hand in marriage. He even mentioned that his daughter was the only heir to his fortune. As soon as he got the last word out of his mouth, there was a loud splash at one end of the pool. There was a lot of commotion in the pool, and after a couple of minutes, a young man emerged from the pool dripping wet, but unharmed.
The wealthy father of the beautiful daughter walked up to the young man and said, "Well, boy, it's your choice. Do you want the million in cash?" "No, Sir," came the reply. "Well, how about the land?" "No, sir," came the reply again. "Then I guess you want my daughter to be your wife," the Texan said with a smile. "No, sir," the fellow said. "Well, boy," asked the puzzled Texan, "what do you want?" And the young man said, "I want to know the name of the person who pushed me into the pool!"

How about you? Have you ever wondered how you got into a situation where you were up to your ears in trouble? I will admit that I have. I will also admit that sometimes I "jumped" into a bad place, and sometimes I was "pushed." Either way - I needed help! What I needed...what I NEED every day...is the guidance of my Heavenly Father. That's one of the things we ask for when we pray as Jesus taught us. Remember those words?

9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"'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 today 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 the evil one. (Matt. 6: 9-13 NIV)

This will be the last message in the series, Praying As Jesus Taught Us, and we will pay special attention to two words in the Lord's Prayer: "Lead us..."

(And watch out for those alligators!)
Pastor Sam