Name: Living the Lord's Prayer
Author: Mark Sentell

A book from a church, about a prayer, for people who need a church

Maybe you've visited a church once or twice and you're trying to figure out what it actually is. Maybe someone you love won't stop talking about it. Maybe religion in general strikes you as somewhere between irrelevant and suspicious. This book was written with you in mind.

When Jesus' followers asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them about sixty words. Living Faith Church took those words seriously enough to reorganize its whole life around them. Each line of the prayer opens onto a place where people actually meet God: worship, a group, serving, covenant, and investing in someone else.

That's why the book's symbol is a tree and not a staircase. It isn't a program of five steps to climb. Leaves don't snap into place. They grow.

Every churchy word is explained. Nothing is assumed. The fluff has been cut, because you're busy and padding is a form of disrespect. And every part ends with the same plain question: so what? One concrete next step. Never more than one.

This book will help you

Understand what the Lord's Prayer actually asks, line by line, with every churchy word explained
Know God as a Father who is for you, and see why the good news starts there
Find people who know your name and don't walk away when things get hard
Live out your faith through worship, a small group, serving your neighbors, and investing in someone
Pick one concrete next step and take it this week, not someday

Includes the story of Living Faith Church, its church covenant, a thirteen-week small group study guide, and the benediction.

From the book

“This is a book from a church, about a prayer, for people who need a church.”

“The gifts stay enjoyable. They just stop being gods.”

“Rows can form an audience, but only circles form a family.”

“Nothing that concerns you is beneath Him.”

“Relationships shallow enough to walk away from are too shallow to forgive in.”

“'Someday' is where next steps go to die.”

Inside the book

One prayer, five steps

Each line of the prayer opens onto a place where people actually meet God. Every part ends with the same plain question: so what? One concrete next step, never more than one.

Part One: Worship

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." Before the prayer asks for anything, it looks up.

1The Prayer Jesus Taught"Our Father" reveals a God who is holy and loving, who paid our bill and adopts us.Romans 5:8
2Treasuring GodEverybody hallows something. The substitutes wear off, and God is better.Psalm 37:4
3Why We GatherThere is no solo Christianity. Gathering every week shapes us into a people.1 Peter 2:10

Part Two: Group

"Your kingdom come, your will be done." The prayer asks heaven to come down, and quietly enlists everyone who prays it.

4Your Kingdom Come"Your will be done" is a resignation letter from the throne of your own life.Luke 22:39–46
5Why Circles Beat RowsRows can form an audience, but only circles form a family.Ephesians 4:11–12

Part Three: Serve

"Give us this day our daily bread." The prayer asks for lunch, and teaches us what to do with our hands.

6Daily BreadBecause we pray for our bread, our neighbor's need becomes our business.Exodus 16
7Worship with a WrenchServing is love received from a God who got His hands dirty, passed along with interest.1 John 4:19

Part Four: Covenant

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." The prayer walks into the hardest room in the house and refuses to leave.

8Forgiven People ForgiveForgiving others is the evidence that God's forgiveness actually got inside you.Matthew 6:14–15
9On the Same TeamA contract protects you from the other side. A covenant binds you to them.Romans 12:4–5

Part Five: Invest

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." The prayer ends asking for rescue, then turns to help the person behind us.

10The Battle Is InsideLog before speck. The real battle line runs through your own heart, and no one fights it alone.Matthew 7:3–5
11Invest in SomeoneMaturity is a disciple making disciples. The bar is intention, not size.Matthew 28:19

Articles

More on Living the Lord's Prayer

Asking Real Questions: The Second Question Is Where the Conversation Is

How to ask good questions when you disciple someone: open versus closed questions, the second and third question, sitting in silence, and not rushing to fix.
The Awkward Ask: How to Start a Mentoring Relationship

What to actually say when you ask someone to let you disciple them, how long to commit, and what to do when they say no. A four-part script you can use.
Spotting the Timothy: How to Choose Someone to Disciple

Jesus taught thousands and discipled twelve. How to choose someone to disciple, why to go deep with a few, and how to notice the person nobody has noticed.
Who Are Your Three? Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy

Every disciple needs someone ahead, someone alongside, and someone behind. A simple way to find the empty slot in your spiritual life and start filling it.
The Best Return on Investment Is a Person

Everything we build depreciates. People compound. Why investing in one person is the fullest mark of maturity, and why feeling unqualified is no reason to wait.
Who Gets the Credit? Putting God Back Where He Belongs

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says he and Apollos are only servants and God gives the growth. Why putting people where God belongs breaks churches, and what to do instead.

All 21 articles on Living the Lord's Prayer →

For small groups

Thirteen weeks, one chapter at a time

The back of the book has a thirteen-week study guide written for longtime members, brand-new believers, and honest skeptics in the same room. Each week has a passage to read together, the big idea, and questions that end, like every chapter, with "So what?"

Free leader's guide Ask about bulk copies

Mark Sentell is the Founding Pastor of Living Faith Church in Fombell, Pennsylvania, a church that started around Saturday-night bonfires. He wrote this book with the church's elders, in the church's own voice.

More about Mark →

Also by Mark Sentell