Theological term
Paternal Care
2 sermons · All terms
The Lord's Prayer, Part 5
The fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer — 'Give us this day our daily bread' (Matthew 6:11) — addresses the believer's daily dependence upon God for temporal provision. This study examines what the petition does not mean (it neither excuses idleness nor promises wealth), what it does mean (a request for all necessary temporal sustenance, not luxury), and its theological weight: it confesses the forfeiture of blessing through the fall, acknowledges that even the capacity to work is a divine gift, expresses faith in God's provision, and recognizes God as the first cause behind every blessing. The practical scope of the petition extends beyond personal need to intercession for fellow believers, the suffering church, and the persecuted worldwide.
The 4th Petition: Provision
Matthew 6:11 — 'Give us this day our daily bread' — sits at the hinge of the Lord's Prayer, transitioning from God-centred petitions to man-oriented ones, yet it remains entirely theocentric in its logic. This sermon works through what the fourth petition does and does not mean, establishing that it is a daily confession of creaturely dependence upon God as the first cause behind every second cause, a repudiation of covetousness, and an acknowledgment of God's comprehensive sovereignty over provision. The theological weight of the petition is drawn out through the Westminster Larger Catechism's teaching that in Adam humanity forfeited all right to temporal blessing, and through Psalm 104, Psalm 136, Ecclesiastes, and Hebrews 13. The sermon closes by turning the physical petition toward its spiritual analogue: Christ as the bread from heaven upon whom the soul feeds and never hungers again.