Our recent series on the Lord’s Prayer explored its timeless words with fresh eyes. More than just a prayer, it’s a framework for the kind of life Jesus wants us to live – moving us from asking to acting, from praying to participating in God’s work. Each line pulls us deeper into God’s heart, reminding us who God is, who we are, and how we’re called not just to pray but to live, love, and act in the world.
Here’s a quick recap using the NRSVUE translation, shaped around what we ask of God and how we are called to act in response:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be revered as holy.
Ask
For God’s character to be known and revered throughout the world.
Act
Practice daily acts of kindness, stand up for what is right, treat others with dignity and respect, and live with trust and confidence, knowing we are deeply loved and never alone, held in the care of a God who nurtures us like a loving parent.
May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Ask
For God’s justice, peace, and love to shape the world around us.
Act
Be agents of change by volunteering in our communities, advocating for justice, promoting peace and equity in daily life, and actively working to align our actions with God’s dream for creation.
Give us today our daily bread.
Ask
For our daily needs to be met, trusting God to provide for us and for others.
Act
Share resources generously, support food banks, care for neighbors in need, and cultivate gratitude for the provisions we receive.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Ask
For forgiveness from God in proportion to the forgiveness we extend to others.
Act
Engage in personal and communal practices of forgiveness, seek reconciliation with those we’ve wronged, release grudges, and advocate for economic justice, addressing systems of inequality and exploitation.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from evil.
Ask
To avoid unnecessary trials and hardship, and for strength, courage, and resource to endure when they do inevitably come our way.
Act
Embrace the reality of trials as part of the journey of faith, stand firm through prayer, draw strength from faith communities, and expect opposition as a sign of faithful living in alignment with Jesus’ teachings.
Check out all the messages from this series
Rev. Tom Hathaway - November 23, 2025
Herod, Mary, and the Cost of Courage
When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, it wasn’t a fairy tale moment. It was a summons issued into a world ruled by a tyrant who executed wives, sons, and anyone who threatened his throne. This sermon explores what it meant for a teenage girl to say yes to bearing a king in a landscape shaped by violence, fear, and the easy cruelty of the powerful. And from Mary’s brave yes, we look at our own world — where harm still comes cheaply for those who hold the levers — and we consider what it means to say yes to the dangerous, costly work of love. Mary’s story becomes our invitation to courage.
Scripture References: Luke 1:26-38
From Series: "The Characters of Christmas"
As we enter the holiday season, we're spending time with the ones who first felt the shockwave of Jesus’ birth. A teenage girl brave enough to say yes. A bewildered carpenter learning to trust what made no earthly sense. Shepherds who lived on the edges of everyone’s attention. Magi who followed a strange star beyond the borders of their own traditions. Each one found the same truth rising in their lives like early light creeping over a horizon: this good news of great joy is meant for all of us.
More From "The Characters of Christmas"
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Herod, Mary, and the Cost of CourageRev. Tom Hathaway - November 23, 2025Luke 1:26-38 |
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The ShepherdsRev. Tom Hathaway - November 30, 2025Luke 2:8-20 |
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