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{Heart4Teens.com}  *The Lord's Prayer*

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The Lord's Prayer


"Our Father who art in heaven."

"Yes?"

"Don't interrupt me. I'm praying."

"But you called me."

"Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in heaven."

"There you did it again."

"Did What?"

"Called me. You said, Our Father who art in heaven. Here I am. What's on you mind?"

"But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my
prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel
good kind of like getting a duty done."

"All right. Go on."

"Hallowed be thy name....."

"Hold it. What do you mean by that?"

"By what?"

"By "hallowed be thy name"?"

"It means, it means, good grief, I don't know what it means.  How
should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?"

"It means honored, holy, wonderful."

"Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what "hallowed" meant
before..Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Sure, why not?"

"What are you doing about it?

"Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you
got control of everything down here like you have up there."

"Have I got control of you?"

"Well, I go to church. "

"That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper?
You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you
spend your money, all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?"

"Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those
people at the church."

"Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done.
If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying
For it.  Like you, for example."

"Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention
it, I could probably name some others."

"So could I."

"I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would
like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free."

"Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I'm proud of you."

"Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than
it usually does... Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."

"What about Ann? "

"See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!"

"But your prayer? What about your prayer?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Well, at least you're honest. But it's not much fun carrying
that load of bitterness around inside, is it?"

"No. But I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some
plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood.."

"You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet.  Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that."

"You can? How?"

"Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart."

"Oh, you're right. You always are. And more than I want to revenge Ann, I want to be right with you (pause), (sigh). All right. All right. I Forgive her. Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it.  Someway, somehow, show her the right way."

"There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?"

"Hmmmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."

"You're not through with your prayer. Go on."

"Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

"Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where
you can be tempted."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up. Also, about the time you spend coffeeing with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should re-think the value of those friendships.   Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for "keeping up".

And please don't use me for an escape hatch."

"I don't understand the last part."

"Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to  me, "Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you I'll never do it again.  You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?"

"Yes and I'm ashamed, Lord. I really am."

"Which bargain are you remembering?"

"Well, there was the night that Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, "Oh God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."

"I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?"

"I'm sorry, Lord, I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen like it did."

"Go ahead and finish your prayer."

"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen"

"Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?"

"No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers."

"You just answered the question."

"I did?"

"Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together."

"Lord, let's see what we can make of me, O.K.?"

"Yes, let's see."



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Thought For The Day:

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." --Will Rogers


Verse for the Day:

"So you see, it isn't good enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn't show itself by good works is no faith at all--dead and useless." --James 2:17


Teen's Thought For The Day:

"An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."


Parent's Thought For The Day

"As a child, my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it." --Buddy Hackett

Coach's Thought For The Day

"Never tell a young person that something can't be done. God may have been waiting for centuries for somebody ignorant enough of the impossible to do that thing." --J. Holmes


Deep Thought For The Day:

"Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I tend to question the safety lessons
from our four fingered wood-shop teacher."



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Author MICHAEL T. POWERS
www.Heart4Teens.com

Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 20 other inspirational books.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20

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ALL-STAR Ministry

--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI

If you are in 6-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:30-8:00 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.)

Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Orfordville, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, Beloit Turner, South Beloit, and Hononegah. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager.


New Series!  "The Seven Checkpoints"
 
THIS WEEK:  Sunday November 28 -- Spiritual Disciplines Part 3

Sunday December 5 -- Moral Boundaries 
Sunday December 12 -- Moral Boundaries Part 2
Sunday December 19 -- Moral Boundaries Part 3
Sunday December 26 -- Christmas Party!

Sunday January 2 -- Healthy Friendships
Sunday January 9 -- Healthy Friendships Part 2
Sunday January 16 -- Healthy Friendships Part 3
Sunday January 23 -- Wise Choices
Sunday January 30 -- SnoBall Weekend!

Sunday Febuary 6 -- SuperBowl Party!
Sunday February 13 -- Wise Choices Part 2
Sunday February 20 -- Wise Choices Part 3
Sunday February 27 -- Ultimate Authority

Sunday March 6 -- Ultimate Authority Part 2
Sunday March 13 -- Ultimate Authority Part 3
Sunday March 20 -- Others First
Sunday March 27 -- No Youth Group Easter Sunday

Sunday April 3 --  Others First Part 2
Sunday April 10 -- Others First Part 3


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Teen Community Groups
6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights
 
Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and are split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Extreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community.

Join us as we do a Bible Study called "Life Together!"
 
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The Extreme Teens

6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights  is on Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM

"Extreme Teens" meet Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM (September -May). This group is very extensive with weekly homework, memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign an agreement as to what is expected of them.

Join us as we study the book "A Life God Rewards For Teens"

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