Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mankato
Lord's Prayer -- And do not lead us into temptation
August 13, 2000

Lesson 8: The Lord’s Prayer - The 6th Petition

Text: Ephesians 6:10-17

 Jesus teaches us to pray…

The Sixth Petition: "And do not lead us into temptation…"

Dr. Martin Luther explains…

What does this mean? God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that He would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our flesh do not deceive us nor lead us into misbelief, hopelessness, or any other shameful or sinful acts. And although we are tempted by them, we ask that we win in the end and keep the victory.

Scripture on Temptation:

  1. What is difference between "testing" and "tempting"? (cf. Genesis 22:1; John 6:5-6; Genesis 3:1-6; Proverbs 1:10)

    2.  

  2. What do we learn concerning Satan’s temptations from Job1:6-12 and 2:1-6?

    3.  

  3. For what are we asking in the 6th Petition?

    4.  

St. Paul’s Suggestions for Meeting Temptation: Ephesians 6:10-17

  1. How can we "be strong in the Lord"?

    2.  

  2. Why do we need to be strong?

    3.  

  3. Describe the nature and purpose of our armor:

    4.  

An Example from Years Ago:

"Let’s go over to Farmer Cole’s orchard, and get some apples," said Harry Manes one day to a group of boys coming home from school. "All right," said one of the boys. He has a large orchard, and there are plenty of apples. All were willing to go except Bob Brew, who said: "That would be stealing, and I won’t go along." "Oh, come on," said the others, "don’t be a sissy. Taking a few apples is nothing very wrong. Why Farmer Cole offered to give ten bushels away to the poor people, and, I am sure, he won’t mind if we take some. If you don’t go along, we’ll take your share anyhow, so you might as well come." Bob stood still a while and said to himself, "I might as well go. Farmer Cole will lose the apples anyhow, and I’ll only take a few which he will not miss."

The orchard was not far away, and the boys were soon there, getting the apples. Bob thought to himself: "I’ll pick only those on the ground. Farmer Cole wouldn’t care much about them as they are bruised and not very good." The other boys, however, climbed into the tree, and took the best and ripest apples. They were about to come down when they saw Farmer Cole coming across the lot with his dog at his side. It was too late to escape by coming down and running away, and they tried to hide among the leaves and branches of the tree. But Bob was easily seen by the farmer’s dog, and, growling savagely, the dog ran with open mouth and flashing teeth at the scared boy. Bob ran as fast as he could, and seemed to be gaining on the dog, when suddenly he tripped over a log in his path, and fell to the ground. In a moment the dog was upon him and bit him savagely. Poor Bob! He could not defend himself, for, in falling, he had broken his leg and was helpless.

Farmer Cole had followed Bob, and called off the dog. He picked up the poor fellow and carried him to the care which was parked on the road nearby, and rushed Bob to the nearest hospital. There his wounds were bandaged and his leg was set and placed in a cast. He had to stay in the hospital four long days before he could go home.

One day while at home, as he was hobbling about on crutches, Farmer Cole visited him, and brought a basket full of delicious, ripe, red apples. "Here, Bob," said Mr. Cole, "here are some apples for you, and they are some of the nicest and the best from my whole orchard." Bob began to cry, "Oh, Mr. Cole, I don’t deserve these apples. I was going to steal some from you orchard, and now instead of punishing me, you are giving me some of your best ones. I surely am not good enough for you to be so kind to me."

Then Mr. Cole told Bob’s mother the whole story. He told her that the boys had planned to steal his apples, and that Bob at first did not want to go. Then the other boys tempted him, and at last he went along. The other boys had run away after Bob was hurt, but later they came to him and told him that they were sorry, and promised that they would never try to steal apples from his orchard again, and also they would not tempt other boys to do wrong. Mr. Cole forgave the boys, and all were happy to know that they would not be punished.

Bob and his friends did not soon forget this happening. Bob especially now felt that the sixth petition had a special meaning for him, when he prayed, "Lead us not into temptation." He had learned a hard lesson, but it had done him and the others boys much good.

[Adapted with slight variation from "The Lord’s Prayer in Story and Picture," Miller Publishing Company, Oak Park, Illinois, 1939]

 

  1. Discuss what led Bob to fall into temptation.

  2. What often happens when "friends" tempt us to sin and things go wrong?

  3. Sin is seldom isolated and often complicates our lives—how was this true for Bob?

  4. Discuss ways in which we might fall into temptation just as Bob did.

-- Pastor Paul D. Nolting

The Church of the Lutheran Confession

40 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE