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Jesus taught, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men … but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen.”
The Lord's Prayer (traditional words to the Our Father) Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
But that's what Jesus said to do. And, who's Jesus? Don't we all "know better"? Every single one of us is theological academician, free to interpret Lord Jesus word whichever way it is currently convenient for us. So why surprised? Why mention THE ONE AND ONLY prayer, that should be official?
Same token, who actually follows Christian Creed though, if you do not follow it, you are not a Christian?
I've found contemporary services to be more "fluff" than regular services, even in my mainline, traditional denomination.
Bishop Spong addressed this many times, especially in his book Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today
He claims that too many people see the dogma, creeds and services as outdated relics of the Middle Ages/reformation attempts (which were really just variations of existing services for the times) and people are walking away thinking that Christianity has no meaning in todays life. Many people do not like being asked to recite a prayer or a creed that to them seems outdated and not pertinent to our world today.
Some churches are abandoning the Lord's Prayer because they see it as an relic or creed for a past generation, and that Christianity needs to move into the 21st century.
Same for the Apostle's Creed. Many protestants/fundies cannot even recite it if asked.
Both are still used in the Episcopal church in the USA, and Bishop Spong is a product of that group. Which, BTW, is one of the fastest declining groups in the country. I have my opinions as to why, and I do not think it has anything to do with the use of the Lord's Prayer or the Apostle's Creed. but that is for another discussion.
There is also a large number of scholars who will say that Jesus never uttered, or taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer, but that it was added 80 to 90 years later when the Gospel of Matthew was written in an attempt to teach and reach a specific audience.
I believe the Lord's Prayer was Jesus' way of showing us how to pray and what kinds of things to pray for. I don't think He even intended that it be recited verbatim by His followers. In my Church, we don't recite any prayers in unison, not even the Lord's prayer, even though we see it as a beautiful prayer and a excellent guide for us to use in addressing God.
................Is this typical of the non-denominational setting or is it just the policy of this local ministry?
First of all, I think we all need to keep in mind the Model Prayer of Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4 is a model.
Jesus never instructed to recite word for word but just example ideas mentioned there.
Catholics call it the Our Father Prayer because John chapter 17 is really the Lord's Prayer.
Neither is meant to be recited word for word.
Because then you’ll find out that you’re supposed to be praying to the father rather than the son...
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