The first time I had to do a business presentation I had no idea what I was doing. I was working in the area of Information Technology for a small university at the time; I was invited to give a presentation to the President and Vice Presidents on the state of the university’s software system. I was 29 and had never done something like this before. To say I was nervous is an understatement – I was scared!
I set to work to figure out how to give a professional business presentation that would be brief, effective, and secure $250,000 in funding. I began asking questions of people who regularly gave presentations. I began paying attention to presentations I was invited to. I watched presentations online. When it came time to put together that presentation, I imitated the strategies of the people I had spoken with and watched.
Imitation is a great way to learn how to do something. Have you ever learned something by imitating someone who knew how to do it better than you did?
When Jesus taught his disciples, he encouraged them to imitate what he did. If you read the Gospels, you discover that this is exactly what they did. What Jesus did, they did, and it worked – they became what Jesus envisioned. I wonder if it would work for us, too.
One of the things that the disciples of Jesus imitated him in was the way that he prayed. In Luke 11 we find Jesus teaching his disciples the words and attitudes that they should have when they pray. We call the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray the “Lord’s Prayer.” Over the next two weeks we are going to look at Jesus’ simple prayer and discover how to imitate Jesus in our prayer lives. I hope you’ll join us as we continue our “A Different King, A Different Kingdom” teaching series and learn how to pray like the King!
See you Sunday,
Pastor Kirk
PS…On October 29 we are hosting an event that is focused on Encountering the Spirit. We’ll learn about how to relate to the Spirit, hear his voice, and join him in the mission of God in the lives of the people we meet, play and work with every day. To register visit mylivinghope.ca/events.
