NASHVILLE (BP) – This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, Lifeway publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the MasterWork curriculum.
Bible Passage: Matthew 6:10
Discussion Questions:
- What are your top priorities each morning when you wake up?
- What is your top priority when you pray? Does it more closely reflect your desires or God’s desires? Explain.
- What habits or spiritual disciplines can help us practice God’s preeminence in our lives? Explain your answer.
Food for thought with words from Adrian Rogers:
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” “Get in on the ground floor.” “The early bird gets the worm.” “Put your best foot forward.” These proverbs of our culture all extoll the importance of beginnings.
The late pastor and author Adrian Rogers similarly stressed the importance of how we begin prayer in “First Things First.” This session from “When We Say Father,” his examination of prayer primarily through the model prayer, covers Matthew 6:10: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” what Rogers identifies as the priority of prayer. If we desire to pray effectively, let us start at the beginning, both sequentially and in terms of importance – the will of God.
The principle of God’s preeminence recognizes God has a kingdom, a realm where He is preeminent, where He is King, and where He is supreme. Failure to recognize and acknowledge in word and in attitude Who God is keeps us from seeing ourselves and prayer in their proper light. “His throne is not a duplex,” and you and I have not been invited to share in kingdom administration. God does not look for us to grant Him a place in our lives or even prominence in them. As King, He expects preeminence.
Having come to understand for ourselves God’s preeminence, we turn attention to the practice of God’s preeminence. Rogers’ guidance for reflecting God’s preeminence in our lives includes: 1) giving Him your first thoughts of the day before you even arise; 2) giving Him the first day of each week; 3) extending to Him the first fruits of your income; 4) giving Him your first consideration at the point of every decision, and 5) giving God the first devotion of your heart.
Having learned to “seek … first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” then the promise of God’s preeminence is that we need not worry ourselves over food, clothing, or any other such matter (vv. 30-34).
MasterWork
MasterWork is an ongoing Bible study curriculum based on works from a variety of renowned authors and offers pertinent, practical messages that adults will find uplifting and enriching. The list of authors and their books to be studied in upcoming months can be found at Lifeway.com/masterwork.
