The Lord’s Prayer
A Course for the Christian Journey
Authors
Stephen Cottrell is the Bishop of Chelmsford
Steven Croft is the Bishop of Sheffield
Paula Gooder is a leading New Testament writer and lecturer
Robert Atwell is the Bishop of Stockport
Contributor
Loretta Minghella is the Director of Christian Aid
A Course for the Christian Journey
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Stephen Cottrell
Steven Croft
Paula Gooder
Robert Atwell
Contribution from
Loretta Minghella
Church House Publishing
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3AZ
ISBN 978 0 7151 4377 3
Published 2013 by Church House Publishing
Copyright © 2013 Stephen Cottrell, Steven Croft, Robert Atwell and Paula Gooder
Cover image of cross © Stephen Mcsweeny, 2013.
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored or transmitted by any means or in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission, which should be sought from [email protected]
The authors have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this Work.
The opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the General Synod or The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.
Scripture quotations from
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Revised English Bible © Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1961, 1970.
Material from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England including the Psalter is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2000–2008 and is used with permission.
Cover and contents design by David McNeill, Revo Design.
Printed in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd
CONTENTS
Introduction to The Lord’s Prayer
Session One: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
Session Two: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven
Session Three: Give us today our daily bread
Session Four: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
Session Five: Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
Session Six: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen
WELCOME TO PILGRIM
Welcome to this course of exploration into the truth of the Christian faith as it has been revealed in Jesus Christ and lived out in his Church down through the centuries.
The aim of this course is to help people explore what it means to become disciples of Jesus Christ. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus called people to follow him and become his disciples. The Church in every generation shares in the task of helping others hear Christ’s call to them and follow him.
We hope the course will help you to understand this faith and to see how it can be lived out each day, and that it will equip you to make a decision about whether to be part of this Church. This will either happen by being baptized and confirmed, if this has not happened to you before, or by a renewal of baptismal vows.
You won’t be able to find out everything about the Christian faith in any one course. But through the Pilgrim course material you will be able to reflect on some of the great texts that have been particularly significant to Christian people from the earliest days of the Church:
The Creeds
The Lord’s Prayer
The Beatitudes
The Commandments
There is one book based on each of these texts in the ‘Follow’ stage of Pilgrim (designed for absolute beginners) and one that goes further in the ‘Grow’ (discipleship) stage.
By learning these texts, reflecting upon them, and seeing what they mean for your life, you will make a journey through the great story of the Christian faith. And you will do this in the company of a small group of fellow travellers: people like you who want to find out more about the Christian faith and are considering its claims and challenges.
In other words, this course is for people who are not yet Christians, but who are open to finding out more and for those who are just beginning the journey. People who want some sort of refresher course are also very welcome. In walking with you on this journey we are not assuming that you necessarily share the beliefs that are being explored, just that you want to find out about them.
This course will approach the great issues of faith not by trying to persuade you to believe, but by encouraging you to practise the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer which have always been at the heart of the living out of Christian faith.
We don’t think these are things that should only be practised once you have come to faith. Rather, they can be the means by which faith is received and then strengthened within us.
Each book has six sessions, and in each session you will find:
a theme
some opening prayers
a ‘conversation-starter’ (a short video to help you