One Line At A Time: For Yours is the Kingdom
Was the final line of the Lord’s Prayer always there? Scholars have found that ‘For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory…’ wasn’t in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew, but it became part of church tradition over time. So, is it scripture or not? In this message, we take a deep dive into this last line and discover what it means for how we understand God’s kingdom, power, and glory.
- Is the final line of the Lord’s Prayer something you pray (or grew up praying), or did you grow up in a tradition that left this part out? And how does it feel to include it or not?
- How do you personally approach prayer? Do you feel that prescribed prayers, like the Lord’s Prayer, have a different impact than spontaneous prayers?
- The process of assembling the Bible using ancient manuscripts is often described as tedious and labour-intensive. How do you think this affects our understanding of the Bible’s accuracy and authenticity, and our understanding of what is considered scripture?
- Why do you think the early church felt the need to add a doxology to the Lord’s Prayer? What does this tell us about their view of worship and prayer?
- If “For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory…” was not in the original manuscripts of Matthew, should it still be considered part of the Lord’s Prayer? Or the story of the woman caught in adultery, should it be considered part of scripture? Why or why not?
- The words kingdom, power, and glory often bring to mind worldly definitions of dominance and control. How does Jesus redefine these terms through his life and ministry?
- What does it mean to say that this prayer “marks us as the people of God but also forms us as the people of God”? How does prayer shape identity and practice?