"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

It is not unusual to hear someone describe the temperature as "hot as hell." I guess it is a good time to talk about hell. There are many references of helI in the Bible, even though some people say that there is no such place.

In the Old Testament we find readings in Job 24:21-26, Psalm 49:10-15 and Daniel 12. There are more. It is a place of eternal punishment and sorrow. It is a place where some people will end up paying for sin. It is not a place where any of us would want to go. '

In the New Testament we find readings about hell in Matthew 5:21-30, Romans 8:1-16 and II Thessalonians 1:3-12 and yes, others as well. We are told. that it is a place to avoid. It is a place for evildoers and punishment.

It is referred to as a place of unending fire. Part of the reason for this is because the Gentiles had a place outside of town where they would offer up their children to false gods. The children were thrown into the fire to appease the gods. It was also considered a good way to get a victory over your enemies or some worldly possession that you wanted.

This is why hell has several names in the Bible. Here are a few: Gehelma of fire, Sheol, the grave and Hades. Whatever people want to call it does not matter. It is a place to avoid. The fact of the matter is that once you arrive you are there for eternity.

When people think of hell, they think of fire and burning, It is seen this way because of the pain associated to any burn; be it sunburn or grease burn or a bum-from fire. These will all give pain that can last from several days to several years. Yes, they are bad.

Hell is bad. Most of us would agree to that. What really makes hell bad is that God's presence is not there. If you really want to scare yourself, think of your life without God being a part of it. Maybe now you know why so many people are running scared in this life, Jesus words tell us the following in Matthew 10:28: Fear not them which kill the but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, we need have no fear of hell. He has died and paid the total price for our sin. Yes, our life on earth is only for a time. But the good news is that we go right from this life into eternal life in heaven.
One of the greatest stories of forgiveness in the Bible is found in Luke 23:43 where Jesus tells the thief on the cross next to Him the following: ••...Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." This man received forgiveness for his sins only hours before he died. What peace that gave him,

I would encourage you to look around you. We are told that over 50% of the people in the Garnett area have no Savior and have no church. Think about the people you know who may be headed to hell, damnation and out of the presence of God for all eternity. Put them in your prayers that the Holy Spirit can change their hearts like He changed the heart of the thief all the cross. Then invite them to hear the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ here at Trinity Lutheran Church.

INTRODUCTION: Good morning in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have to be honest with you, I wondered how you would respond when the Gospel lesson was read today. I would guess: that most of you have a fairly good idea of how to pray. I suspect that some of you would like to use this time to think of other things rather then listen about prayer. I have preached on this lesson before. But I have never shared about it the way I am going to preach about it today. I would like to share with you three short quotes before we jump into the sermon. 1) Life is fragile-handle with prayer. 2) God is never more than a prayer away. I hope the third one is true for all of us as well. 3) A young Christian once prayed, "Lord, fill me to overflowing. I can't hold much but I can overflow a great deal" And because of this we can be a blessing to others much like Abraham.

If I asked all of you how much you prayed, I can get I would get a lot of different answers. I bet that some of you might even start to offer.excuses for not praying enough ... even when that was not the question. Some people never pray heaven only knows why. Some of us pray at different times. Some of us pray when we are cruising through life. Others of us pray only when the world is falling down around us. For all of us, praying can be just a hit or miss thing that depends on what our life is like at the time. I would venture to guess that even we Christians have a rather; selective time of prayer. I would be willing to bet that we do not pray as much when things are going well as when things were going to hell in a hand basket. Am I right? Let's look at three reasons that we give for not praying. The first is that it is hard to find the right time. The second is that it is hard to find the right place. And a third is that feel funny just going to God with requests all the time. Do you see yourself in any of these?

The first excuse for not praying is that it is hard to find the right time. St. Paul had the answer for this in his letter to the Thessalonians. It is found in I Thessalonians 5: 16-18, where he writes;
BE JOYFUL ALWAYS, PRAY CONTINUALLY; GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS.
If you can remember back to the days before you got married. Think about them. Sharon and I were on the phone almost every night. We drove our kids crazy. They thought we had lost our minds. What did we talk about? Simply ... anything and everything. Was that true for you whether you lived next door to each other or across many states? ,And maybe because you were countries apart, you wrote letters that you never wanted to end. How many times did you read that new letter? Why did you do this? Because you wanted to be close to each other. How many times do you call or write to people that you do not care about? My guess is that it is not much.

The second excuse is no better than the first but it goes like this .. .it is hard to find the right place. You might say to me, "Be real, I can't do it at work or at the ball game (unless I am losing) or with all the kids around." Let's review. When you were in love, you always found a place to express that love ... no matter what. That is not a good excuse is it?

The third excuse is no better than the first two. Sometimes my heart just is not in it. I am so depressed that I can not think straight. All I ever do is ask.for things. Or maybe I am flying so high that! am out of this world. Do you think that these are very good excuse~ not to pray? I did not think so. Maybe this one would be better. I just feel so weird trying to talk to God. Is that l what you said to your boyfriend or girlfriend? How do you think they would take that? Not good: I would bet. And yet, we use all three of these excuses as though they are as good as gold.

Christians like all people have their ups and downs. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be on a more even keel through out life? I am sure that the disciples were thinking that when they asked Jesus the very simple question in the first verse of our gospel lesson; ... LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY, AS JOHN TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES.
The disciples had seen both John the Baptist and Jesus pray often at the end of a long day. They had seen Him go off to a quiet place to pray. They wanted to copy His manner of prayer:

If you are parents or grandparents you know the joy of receiving a telephone call at any time, night or day. What a joy it is to hear something as simple as "Hi pops!" or "Pa Pa." Our heavenly Father wants to hear from us as well. It matters not if it is morning, noon or night. James understood the power of prayer. Listen to James 5: 16;
THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON HAS GREAT POWER AS IT IS WORKING.
You call and love to be called by those whom you love. God wants to be called and talked to by His beloved children. It matters not the time or place or even if it is just another request for help. He loves our prayer.

It is helpful to set a time to pray. We all pray before and after a meal. Those are set times. Do the same for more private prayer as well? Maybe first thing in the morning is good because. you are fresh. Maybe during the noon hour works best for you because you are awake and in full gear. Maybe last thing at night is good because the day is behind you and things have finally calmed down. It is a peaceful time to talk with God, your heavenly Father.

The next step is to find a good place for those regular prayers. We know that we can pray anytime and anyplace and for anything. •A good place can help greatly with prayer. Listen to Jesus' words in Matthew 6:6;
BUT WHEN YOUPRA Y, GO INTO YOUR ROOM AND SHUT THE DOOR AND PRAY TO YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN SECRET. AND YOUR FATHER WHO SEES IN SECRET WILL REWARD YOU.
Where do you pray best? Is it in a sun room or a cool basement or on the back deck? It matters not, they are all good. My scheduled place is my pillow.' Sharon and I pray, together after doing our devotions together at night. But I like to lie in bed and pray my private prayers early in the morning when I can hear only the sounds of the clocks. It is peaceful and comforting for me to start the day this way. It is a great way to start the day.

The last suggestion is to have a pattern. There are many different patterns that you can use. The Lord's Prayer starts with a greeting and then seven requests and a closing. Thank Him and ask Him is also a good pattern. The pattern that I use the most is simply ... thank Him for the forgiveness of sins and all that goes with it. Next is
guidance for Sharon and me. Then it is on to the family and any special needs that they might have .. Next comes the church starting with the people of Trinity and then other churches I know and finally with the churches of the world. I like to close with requesting God to open my heart and eyes to His way and desire for me; This does not mean that I do not throw other things in from time to time. Requests are made with "Thy will be done".