CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH MEMPHIS

Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done Introduction In this message, Coleton walks through one of the most important lines in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:10 Jesus is not giving His followers empty religious words to repeat. He is teaching them how to partner with God in the renewal of the world. This prayer is not passive resignation. It is an invitation into participation with God. Coleton structures the sermon around three major questions: What is Jesus telling us to ask for? Why doesn’t God just do it without our prayers? What does this mean for our prayers practically? Throughout the message, Coleton emphasizes a central truth: prayer matters because God has chosen to work through the prayers of His people. 1. What Is Jesus Telling Us to Ask For? We Are Asking for God’s Kingdom and God’s Will Coleton explains that Jesus teaches us to pray for two connected realities: God’s Kingdom to come God’s will to be done These cannot be separated. God’s Kingdom is the place where God’s will is actually happening. Coleton uses a quote from Dallas Willard to explain this idea clearly: “God’s own ‘kingdom,’ or ‘rule,’ is the range of His effective will, where what He wants done is done.” — Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy The sermon explains that every person has a small “kingdom” — a sphere where their choices shape reality. God’s Kingdom is the sphere where His desires, purposes, goodness, and authority reign completely. So when Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come,” He is teaching us to pray: Let more of what God wants happen here. Let more of heaven invade earth. Let the qualities of God’s reign spread into places where they are absent. Coleton says we see the qualities of God’s Kingdom most clearly in Jesus. When Jesus walked the earth, He announced: “The Kingdom of God has come upon you.” Then He demonstrated what that Kingdom looked like. Coleton walks through example after example from the Gospels: Abundance Where There Was Scarcity John 2 Mark 6 Jesus multiplies provision and turns lack into overflowing abundance. Truth Where There Was Hypocrisy John 3 Matthew 23 Jesus exposes false religion and reveals truth that leads to life. Freedom Where There Was Bondage Mark 5 Jesus delivers people oppressed by evil and restores them to wholeness. Healing Where There Was Disease Matthew 8 Mark 5 The Kingdom of God pushes back sickness and brokenness. Restoration Where There Was Alienation John 4 Jesus restores dignity and relationship to the Samaritan woman. Hospitality Where There Was Hatred Luke 19 Jesus welcomes Zacchaeus when everyone else rejected him. Life Where There Was Death John 11 Jesus raises Lazarus and reveals that death does not get the final word. Hope Where There Was Despair Mark 5 Jesus enters impossible situations and brings hope again. Love Where There Was Hatred Acts 9 The Gospel transforms persecutors into followers of Jesus. Justice Where There Was Oppression Acts 16 God breaks chains and overturns systems of darkness. Coleton repeatedly reminds the church: When Jesus extended the Kingdom, He extended these qualities into people’s lives. So praying “Your Kingdom come” means praying: Bring freedom here. Bring healing here. Bring justice here. Bring peace here. Bring restoration here. Bring hope here. This prayer is asking for the realities of heaven to invade earth. 2. Why Doesn’t God Just Do It Without Our Prayers? This becomes the heart of the sermon. Coleton addresses a question many people quietly wrestle with: “If God is sovereign, why does prayer matter at all?” His answer is simple and profound: Because God has sovereignly chosen to work through people. God Has Always Worked Through Human Partnership Coleton goes back to Genesis. God did not need Adam and Eve to tend the garden. He could have done everything Himself. Yet He intentionally gave humanity responsibility, authority, and partici

Hallowed Be Your Name Learning to Pray with Wonder, Confidence, and Peace Jesus does something deeply intentional in the Lord’s Prayer. Before He teaches His followers to ask God for anything, He teaches them to remember who God is. Prayer is not meant to begin with panic, requests, or anxiety—it begins with worship. Coleton explains that when Jesus says, “Hallowed be Your name,” He is teaching us to fill our minds and hearts with the greatness, faithfulness, and power of God before we ever bring Him our needs. This message is an invitation to become people who truly pray—not mechanically, not cautiously, but with boldness, awe, confidence, and trust. “Our Father in Heaven” — Remember Who You’re Talking To Matthew 6:9–13 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…’” Coleton begins by reminding the church why this prayer series matters so much to him personally. About ten years ago, he began pursuing a deeper prayer life because he wanted prayer to become more than a religious duty—he wanted to love it. During that journey, one quote changed the way he viewed prayer forever. Quote “Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” — Samuel Chadwick That quote helped Coleton realize why prayer often feels difficult. The enemy is not intimidated by human strength, intelligence, or activity. He trembles at the power of God accessed through prayer. Prayer matters because God moves through it. Last week’s focus in the series was the phrase “Our Father in heaven.” Jesus first teaches us that prayer begins by remembering who we are talking to: not a distant force, but a loving Father who welcomes His children. Now Jesus takes us one step further. “Hallowed Be Your Name” — Prayer Begins with Worship Coleton explains that “hallowed” means to treat God’s name as holy, weighty, glorious, and worthy of worship. Quote “‘Hallowed be your name’ means ‘let [your name] be regarded as holy.’ It is not so much a petition as an act of worship; the speaker, by his words, exalts the holiness of God.” — Tremper Longman III Quote “Hallowing is an active kind of praying—honoring, adoring, and naming the greatness of God. While ‘Our Father’ is a reminder of God’s intimacy; ‘hallowed’ is a reminder of His incomprehensible greatness.” — Tyler Staton Coleton explains that hallowing God’s name looks like: Saying what is true about God Remembering what He has done Repeating what He has promised Declaring what is possible with Him This kind of prayer fills the heart with worship before requests are ever made. The Psalms Show Us What Hallowing Looks Like Psalm 44 — Remembering God’s Power Scripture “With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors… it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face…” — Psalm 44:2–3 The psalmist spends enormous time recounting God’s past faithfulness. He talks about victories God gave, enemies God defeated, and promises God fulfilled. Coleton points out something fascinating: much of this prayer is telling God things He already knows. Why? Not because God needs reminding—but because we do. We forget who He is. We forget what He has done. We forget His power, His promises, and His faithfulness. Hallowing God’s name recenters the soul. 1. Hallowing His Name Expands Our Vision of What Is Possible One of the main effects of worshipful prayer is that it stretches our faith. Quote “The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something and enter into God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible.” — Corrie ten Boom Coleton says many Christians pray extremely safe prayers: “Keep them safe.” “Help them have a good day.” “Bless this meal.” Those prayers are not wrong—but if we truly believe we are spea

Teach Us To Pray — “Father In Heaven” Introduction: Why We Need to Learn to Pray Coleton begins with a simple but relatable picture: his son Teddy not enjoying golf because he doesn’t know how to play. “I’d enjoy it more if I knew how to hit it.” That insight becomes the doorway into the entire series—many people don’t enjoy prayer because they don’t know how to do it. The goal of this teaching is not just to inform people about prayer, but to help them experience joy in it. Coleton introduces the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) as the foundation—a short, 31-word prayer in its original language, yet deep enough to shape a lifetime of communion with God. Key Quote: “The Lord’s prayer is simple enough to be memorized by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer.” — Justin Welby Coleton explains that this prayer is both: A pattern (Matthew: “pray like this”) A prayer to be repeated (Luke 11:2: “when you pray, say…”) Key Quote: “We can either use each phrase as a handrail… or pray exactly these words thoughtfully.” — Frederick Dale Bruner This series will walk through the prayer line by line, beginning with the first phrase: “Our Father in heaven.” 1. Remember Who You’re Talking To (Matthew 6:9) Coleton emphasizes that Jesus begins prayer by reshaping our understanding of God. Before anything else, we must remember: we are speaking to a Father. A Radical Shift in Prayer Jesus adapts a traditional Jewish prayer (the Kaddish), which begins by magnifying God’s name—but instead of starting there, Jesus begins with relationship: Father. This is intentional. Jesus is not removing God’s holiness—He is making Him personally accessible. Key Quote: “Pray to God more intimately than you think you’re allowed.” — Tyler Staton The word Abba reflects deep closeness—not childish, but deeply personal. Coleton illustrates this with his son calling him “pop-pop”—a name that reflects relationship, not just title. Why This Matters How we perceive God determines how we pray: If we think He’s angry → we become guarded If we think He’s disappointed → we withdraw If we think He’s distant → we disengage Key Quote: “Most people’s biggest problem with prayer is God Himself… scowling, perpetually disapproving…” — Pete Greig Jesus corrects this: you are approaching the safest, most loving presence you’ve ever known. If we don’t start here, we won’t pray freely, consistently, or joyfully. 2. Because He is Father — It Shapes How We Talk to God Coleton addresses a common barrier: “I don’t know what to say.” Through a deeply personal story about his son’s speech delay, he reveals a powerful truth: a father doesn’t care how polished the words are—he just wants to hear his child’s voice. That becomes the central image Jesus wants us to carry into prayer. Freedom Over Formula While tools like A.C.T.S. or P.R.A.Y. can help, Coleton warns against turning prayer into a rigid system. We don’t talk to people we love using formulas—so why would we do that with God? Prayer is meant to be: Natural Relational Honest Free You can: Talk about your day Share your highs and lows Express frustration or confusion Sit in silence Even biblical examples support this: The Psalms are full of raw emotion Job questions and wrestles with God Coleton makes a key distinction: Complaining to God is prayer Complaining about God is grumbling God desires the first. 3. Because He is Father — It Shapes What We Expect from God Coleton then shifts from how we speak to what we expect. Expectation #1: We Should Expect More Scripture: “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” — Matthew 7:9–11 Jesus teaches that God’s generosity surpasses even the best human parents. Coleton challenges a common hesitation: feeling guilty for asking God for things. Many people hold back because they think their needs are too small or too selfish. But a loving father doesn’t shame his child for asking. He shares a po

Learning to Pray Introduction: Coleton begins by sharing personally that 10 years ago he didn’t know how to pray—and honestly didn’t think it mattered. But everything shifted when he encountered people who genuinely loved prayer and believed this simple truth: People who pray will experience more from God and with God than people who don’t. That statement reframed everything. Coleton points out that prayer is not something we naturally know how to do—it must be learned. But the encouraging truth is: it can be learned. He highlights something powerful from the Gospels: the disciples never asked Jesus to teach them how to preach, perform miracles, or lead—but they did ask Him to teach them how to pray. Why? Because they saw something in Jesus’ relationship with the Father that they wanted. Over the past 10 years, Coleton shares that he has experienced more of God than in the previous 29 years of his life—and he attributes that largely to learning to pray. Quote: “The greatest undiscovered area in the resources of God is in the place of prayer… you cannot estimate the power of prayer. Prayer is as vast as God because God is behind it.” — Leonard Ravenhill This sets up the main idea: Jesus wants to teach us how to pray, and in doing so, invite us into a deeper experience with God. 1. God Wants to Actually Meet with You Coleton’s first point is simple but profound: Prayer is about relationship, not performance. Main Idea God is not distant or disinterested—He is eager to meet with you anytime you intentionally turn your attention toward Him. Bible Passage “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen…” — Matthew 6:6 Coleton explains that Jesus is not giving a rigid rule about location but emphasizing intentionality. The “room” and “closed door” represent focused, personal connection. Key Insight: God gives His attention to any place of intention. Any moment you intentionally turn toward God—whether in a quiet room, your car, during chores, or even a quick pause in a stressful meeting—He meets you there. Coleton illustrates this with real-life examples, including stepping away during a difficult meeting just to “steal a moment” with God. Even a few seconds becomes sacred when it’s intentional. He also shares the story of Susanna Wesley, who used her apron over her head as a “prayer closet” while raising 19 children—showing that the “secret place” is less about location and more about focus. Quote: “The Father has a special affinity for ‘the secret place’… He is continuously watching there.” — Frederick Dale Bruner Takeaway You don’t have to go somewhere special to meet with God.Any place becomes sacred when you choose to seek Him. 2. Your Prayers Can Be Very Short The second thing Jesus teaches is deeply freeing: Prayer does not need to be long to be effective. Bible Passage “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans…” — Matthew 6:7–8 Main Idea You don’t have to earn God’s attention with long, impressive prayers—you already have it. Coleton contrasts Jesus’ teaching with pagan beliefs of the time, where people thought they had to “fatigue the gods” with long prayers to be heard. Quote: “The pagan rule to get your prayer heard is ‘much.’” — Frederick Dale Bruner Jesus completely dismantles this idea. God is not reluctant—He is a loving Father who is already attentive. Key Insight Because God already hears you, prayer can be as simple as: “Help.” “Thank you.” “I’m sorry.” “I need you.” Coleton shares a relatable analogy: if every phone call with a friend required an hour, you’d hesitate to answer—but if it could be brief, you’d engage more often. Prayer works the same way. When we realize prayer doesn’t require long stretches of time, we actually pray more. Quote: “It is a relief to know that the Father… is not a reluctant listener.” — Frederick Dale Bruner“Much prayer is not the mediator to God; Jesus is.” Coleton also addresses persistence in prayer, clarifyin

From our April 12, 2026 service.