Prayer is a crucial way for us to experience God's grace. Jesus used The Lord's Prayer to teach all disciples about how to communicate with God. Christians also order their lives around their relationships with each other, and these relationships are strengthened through personal and corporate prayer with God. The Lord's Prayer is a template for how to bring our needs, concerns, and challenges to God, who cares for each of us. "This resource is developed by four of the best leaders that I know. Always practical--and effective. Always centered in Jesus--and helpful in connecting people with him. I highly recommend it." --Jeff Greenway, Lead Pastor, Reynoldsburg UMC, Reynoldsburg, OH "I can think of no more fertile topic for small groups than prayer, and I can think of no group of leaders better equipped to lead that conversation. For these four presenters, prayer is not a lofty abstraction but a necessary conversation. Prayer is less the things we say and much more the air we breathe. This is a resource we will use in our small group ministries." --Shane L. Bishop, Distinguished Evangelist of The UMC (2010); Senior Pastor, Christ Church, Fairview Heights, IL "Surely Jesus meant for his teaching on prayer to be more than words recited in weekly church services. These words live in us and for us as a pattern to transform our lives." --Carolyn Moore, Pastor, Mosaic UMC, Evans, GA "I've been through a lot of small group studies on prayer. And let me tell you that from the framework to the questions and how it digs in to the meat of scripture, this is not just another prayer study. It's weighty yet accessible, and your group will love it!" --Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor, Saddleback Church; author, Small Groups with Purpose and Leading Small Groups with Purpose The book combines a Participant and Leader Book and a DVD is also offered. The six video sessions are: Session One: Your Holy Name Session Two: Our God's Reign Session Three: Everything We Need Session Four: Forgive Us! Session Five: Deliver Us! Session Six: For God's Glory
Author Biography:
Jennifer Cowart is Executive and Teaching pastor of Harvest Church. With degrees in Christian education, counseling, and business, she has been integral to the development of the Emerging and Discipleship Ministries at Harvest. Jen is a gifted Bible teacher and speaker and the author of four women's Bible studies, Thrive, Pursued, Fierce, and Messy People as well as several studies co-authored with her husband, Jim, including The One and Living the Five. She and Jim love doing life with their kids, Aly, Josh, and Andrew. Jorge Acevedo is the Lead Pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida. Jorge led a group of young clergy in the creation of the book and Bible study Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas and is author of Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World. He is a contributor to Circuit Rider magazine, Good News magazine, and Our Faith Today. Matthew Hartsfield is the lead pastor of Bay Hope church in Tampa, Florida, where he has served since 1993. His ministry at Bay Hope focuses on connecting the church to the community in meaningful ways to make disciples for Jesus Christ, particularly children and youth. Jim Cowart is the lead and founding pastor of Harvest Church in middle Georgia, a congregation that he and his wife, Jennifer, began in 2001 and that has twice been named among the nation's fastest-growing congregations. Jim has authored and coauthored numerous books including Leading from Horseback, Grab Gather Grow, and Start This, Stop That. Whenever life allows, Jim escapes to enjoy the outdoors on horseback, hunting, and traveling with his family.
