HOUSE RULES PT 3: A Church On Its Knees
| SERMON NOTES · WEEK 3 OF 11 A CHURCH ON ITS KNEES 1 TIMOTHY 2:1–8 Big Idea A church that believes God wants all people saved will pray for all people — including the ones it would rather not pray for. | |
| 1 TIMOTHY 2:1–8 (ESV) 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. |
THE LEGAL PAD
Write down everyone you have actually prayed for in the last thirty days. Every person on it is somebody I __________.
It is possible to believe God’s mercy is that big and still keep a prayer list that __________.
When this house has a problem, the first move is not a meeting. It is a __________________.
| 1 | PRAYER COMES FIRST vv. 1–2 A praying church starts on its knees. |
Four words for prayer — every kind of praying there is, aimed outward:
Supplications deēseis — prayer that comes out of __________.
Prayers proseuchas — the general word: anything said God-ward.
Intercessions enteuxeis — standing in for somebody who is not in the ________.
Thanksgivings eucharistias — thanking God for people I am ________ praying about.
Paul says “all people” ______ times in six verses (vv. 1, 4, 6).
When this letter was written, __________ was on the throne — and Paul said: put him on the list.
Jeremiah 29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Praying for the people in charge has never once required ____________ with the people in charge.
| ANCHOR LINE Your prayer list should be bigger than your ______________. |
We have gotten very good at commentary. We have gotten weak at ______________.
Praying for someone with power who hurt me is not letting them off the hook — it is handing them to the only One with the ____________ to deal with them.
We are not praying for an easy life. We are praying for an open ________.
| 2 | PRAYER REACHES WIDE vv. 3–4 A praying church prays beyond its preferences. |
We pray for all people because God __________ all people.
Our prayer list is supposed to run in the same direction as His ________.
“Come to the knowledge of the truth” is a destination word. Don’t stop the prayer at the altar — pray them all the way ________.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
A note on verse 4: Faithful Christians read “all people” two ways — all kinds of people, or every person without exception. Both agree that nobody who comes to Jesus Christ is ____________. Either way, the command in verse 1 does not move: pray for all people.
Whose name am I comfortable leaving off? ______________________________
| 3 | PRAYER TRAVELS ONE ROAD vv. 5–7 A praying church comes through Christ alone. |
| KEY VERSE · SAY IT TOGETHER “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 TIMOTHY 2:5 |
Mediator mesitēs — a courtroom and treaty word: the one who stands between two parties and makes peace possible.
A bridge that touches only one bank is a ________. Fully God, so He can reach the _________. Fully man, so He can reach _______.
Ephesus had a menu of go-betweens. Paul said: ______. We still quietly trust created things to save us — a promotion, a relationship, our health, our finances.
| There is one Mediator. Every other savior is a pier. |
Ransom antilytron — the price of setting someone free; one given on behalf of another. It appears only _____ time in the New Testament.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
“At the proper time” — God was not ______. Don’t manipulate the person, force the outcome, or surrender to despair. Keep praying, and entrust both the person and the ________ to God.
Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Verse 7: God took the man most committed to the fence and made him the missionary to the __________ side of it.
| 4 | PRAYER REQUIRES HOLY HANDS v. 8 Hands lifted to God cannot stay clenched at people. |
“In every place” — the sanctuary, the car, the break room, the hospital hallway. It is the same ________.
Holy hands hosious cheiras — hands not carrying anything they should have put down: “without ________ or ___________.”
Matthew 5:23–24 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Jesus: an unresolved relationship is a __________ problem. Paul: an unresolved relationship is a __________ problem.
Is there somebody I have been praying ________ instead of talking ______?
| THIS WEEK · WRITE. PRAY. CLEAR. | |
| WRITE | Two names — before you leave the building. A person in authority I disagree with: ________________________________________________ A person far from God (a name, not a category): ______________________________________ |
| PRAY | By name, every day, for the rest of this series. Not about them — for them. That is intercession: standing before the King for somebody who is not in the room. |
| CLEAR | Deal with the quarrel — clear what is yours to clear. A call, a text, a knock on a door, an apology — not to win it, but to open the hand. The name that came to mind: ______________________ Where contact would be unsafe, opening the hand may mean releasing vengeance to God, seeking wise counsel, and keeping necessary boundaries. Reconciliation does not mean pretending nothing happened or restoring access to someone who remains dangerous. Talk with a pastor first. |
SERIES QUESTION What does a healthy church family look like, and what threatens it?
Week 3’s answer: a healthy family is a house on its knees. What threatens the family is a church that has a great deal to ________ and very little to ________.
GOING DEEPER · FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR LIFE GROUP
1. Look back at your thirty-day prayer list. Who is on it — and who is missing?
2. What is the difference between having a lot to say about a leader and having something to pray for them?
3. What “other mediator” are you most tempted to trust — the thing you tell yourself will finally make you all right?
4. Read Matthew 5:23–24. What would it look like for you to open your hand this week?
ANSWER KEY Legal Pad: like · small · prayer list. 1: need · room · still · three · Nero · agreeing · voting record · intercession · authority · door. 2: desires · heart · home · turned away. 3: pier · Father · you · one · one · late · timing · far. 4: hands · anger · quarreling · worship · prayer · about · to. Series Question: say · pray.
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