The Transformed Life| Week 2: Prayer | Matthew 6:7-23 - Clint Leavitt

At Midtown Presbyterian Church, our mission is to invite people into a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. We borrow this language of transformation from the scriptures, where we are encouraged as Christians to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Romans 12:1-2). Being a Christian isn’t simply about information - it is about transformation, becoming people whose entire beings embody the way and work of Jesus in every part of our lives. With this goal in mind, we at Midtown have developed an introductory curriculum, alongside a library of resources, events, sermons, and podcasts, designed to help transform our community into Christlikeness. Listen as Pastor Clint explores the subject of prayer, something that was foundational for Jesus but so often difficult for us. How do we restore our prayer lives? As it turns out, we're not the first ones to ask the question: Jesus' disciples similarly asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus' response is found the famous Lord's Prayer, a template the illuminates the transformative significance of prayer in our own lives and gives us a structure in our own prayer lives. Sermon Resources: 1. “We, for every kind of reason, good and bad, are distracting ourselves into spiritual oblivion. It is not that we have anything against God, depth, and spirit, we would like these, it is just that we are habitually too preoccupied to have any of these show up on our radar screens. We are more busy than bad, more distracted than nonspiritual, and more interested in the movie theater, the sports stadium, and the shopping mall and the fantasy life they produce in us than we are in church. Pathological busyness, distraction, and restlessness are major blocks today within our spiritual lives." -Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing: The Search For A Christian Spirituality 2. Interview with Justin Rosenstein on our distracted culture: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia 3. “The whole reason why we pray is to be united into the vision and contemplation of God to whom we pray.” -Julian of Norwich 4. "How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings From A Leading Neuroscientist," by Andrew Newberg Join us below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/midtownpreschurch Instagram: www.instagram.com/midtown.pres Website: www.midtownpres.org Community Groups: www.midtownpres.org/community-groups Sunday Services: www.midtownpres.org