SHEMA: How Jesus Learned to Pray
Attention, Israel!
God, our God! God the one and only!
Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!
- Deut. 6:4-5, the Message
This prayer—named for its first word, “Shema!” (Listen!)—was given by Moses to the people of God as they fled their former slavery in Egypt. They prayed this prayer, morning and night, as a reminder lest they flee Egypt only to find themselves enslaved again by something else.
When asked what commandment is the greatest, Jesus himself responds with this simple prayer—a child’s prayer—that every Israelite would know. Even Jesus grew up praying it day and night, keeping this truth constantly in mind: that God is the only god worthy of our love. And our love for this God is to be wholehearted. We love him with our emotions, our desires, our choices, our bodies, our money—in short, with all we’ve got.
This was the childhood prayer of Jesus, and one he would heed unto death.
Jesus chose to love with all that was in him—even his own blood.
This kind of love is not an occasional act.
It wasn’t for God. It should not be for us.
Join us for this 3 week series, Shema, as we explore what it means to love our God whole-heartedly.
Week 1
1 OF 3
GARRY ABBOTT
FEBRUARY 13, 2022
Week 2
2 OF 3
GARRY ABBOTT
FEBRUARY 20, 2022
Week 3
3 OF 3
GARRY ABBOTT
FEBRUARY 27, 2022
