Rev. John Clifford and Rev. Vicki Joy McClure
Message from Rev. John Clifford:
“For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory!”
As we cover the words of the Lord’s Prayer this season, we’ve now come across passages that were added by The Church. One such phrase is “For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.” We treasure these words, and would not remove them from the Lord’s Prayer; yet the Bible does not record that Jesus ever said them. The Bible simply does not include this text at all.
Perhaps this absence does not matter. Jesus shares what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” as a teaching aid. In Matthew, it is part of the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke (11:1-4), it is in direct response to the disciples’ request that he “teach them to pray,” just as John seems to have taught his followers. It was not to be “the perfect prayer,” nor the “only prayer.” It was an example.
It’s too easy for us to take the Lord’s Prayer and make it a magic formula – to become so familiar with it (We do have it memorized, don’t we!) that the prayer Jesus used as an example passes into an unnoticed, rote portion of the liturgy of worship. We substitute those words for the lesson the disciples really asked for, and which Jesus gave them – and us. The “how”we should pray can become the “what” words we must use.
The final phrases, added by the church sometime later, acknowledge that this prayer invites us to a closer relationship to God, Jesus’ Heavenly Father, which was his purpose all along. May it be a teaching model for us today as well.
We look forward to seeing those of you who will worship in the beautiful sanctuary of San Gabriel Presbyterian Church on March 27 at 6:30 p.m..
Please join us for livestream worship if you will worship in other places. Below are the links.
Spread the word about the service, bring your friends to join us.
Blessings for All!
Rev. John Clifford
For those of us who will worship online, you may join us by selecting these links: our Facebook account, or our YouTube channel. May God bless you and keep you!
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Prayer Letter: MARCH 2022, by Rev. Vicki Joy McClure
“Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”–I Chronicles 29:11
Dear Friends of the Wholeness Service,
Our focus this season is on The Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus, the author of our faith, taught us to pray. Jesus always passed the glory for His actions on to His Father, the One who is our source, too. All that we have comes from God’s generous hand.
This month our focus is “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.” Our message will be given by Rev. John Clifford.
We will be gathering in person again, continuing to meet at San Gabriel Presbyterian Church through May, remaining sensitive to what is going on locally with Covid. Please continue to pray for those suffering from Covid, as well as their families, caregivers, and medical people on the front lines. Let us also continue in prayer for peace and the relief of those affected by war throughout our world, whose lives are a very hard reality.
As usual, the service March 27 will include the beautiful music from the Taizé Community in France, along with intercessory prayer, personal prayer and anointing, candle-lighting, silence, a brief message, and communion. We hope that you will be able to attend. If you are unable to join us physically, we hope you will join us virtually (Please see below for details.).
The Wholeness Service will be held in the beautiful sanctuary of San Gabriel Presbyterian Church on March 27, 2022 at 6:30 pm. We hope to see you there! All are welcome. Please spread the word and invite others to join us.
God bless you
Rev. Vicki Joy McClure
To join virtually, you may join us by selecting these links at 6:30 p.m.: our Facebook account, or our YouTube channel. If you prefer another time, we will post on our YouTube channel a couple of days after the service.
