Pastor Joshua Yasuda walks through the Lord’s Prayer phrase “Your kingdom come, your will be done” and shows how it confronts our default setting of “my kingdom, my will.”

Looking at the story of the King in Matthew, he traces how Jesus is revealed as the promised Son of David and Son of Abraham who brings God’s kingdom in an unexpected, upside-down way—through humility, service, the cross, and the resurrection. From there, Josh explains the substance of these petitions: when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” we are asking God to rule in hearts and communities, to spread the gospel to all peoples, and to make our relationships, churches, and everyday lives reflect the values of the Sermon on the Mount. This prayer is expansive (global in scope), exciting (it moves us into God’s mission), and expectant (it looks ahead to Christ’s return and the final renewal of all things).

Finally, he presses into the state of our hearts: real prayer requires surrender. Drawing on Jesus’ own prayer in Gethsemane—“not my will, but Yours be done”—Josh calls us to trust the King, lay down our own kingdoms, and ask God both to accomplish His will in the world and to give us the grace and power to obey it.

00:00 - Introduction – A family moment with the Lord’s Prayer reveals how easily our hearts drift toward “our kingdom come, our will be done,” setting up the need for Jesus’ pattern of prayer.
10:57 - The story of the King – A fast walk through Matthew highlights Jesus as the promised King who brings God’s kingdom through His ministry, cross, and resurrection.
18:47 - The substance of these petitions – Unpacking what it really means to ask for God’s kingdom and will: global, missionary-minded, everyday-life prayers that seek changed hearts and kingdom-shaped communities.
36:24 - The state of our hearts – Learning from Jesus in Gethsemane, we see that praying “Your will be done” is an act of surrender, trust, and obedience that reorients our lives around the true King.

**HOW TO FIND US***
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Pastor Luke Simmons continues our summer series, “How to Pray,” by unpacking the phrase, “Hallowed be your name,” from the Lord’s Prayer.

In this message, he explains what it means to treat God’s name as holy, why everyone is always “hallowing” something (whether they realize it or not), and how God actually changes our hearts so that we desire Him above all else. Luke also offers simple, practical help for shaping our daily prayers around who God is, not just what we need.

📖 Passage: Matthew 6:9 and Ezekiel 36:22–27
🧭 Series: How to Pray

⏱️ Bookmarks:
00:00 - Introduction
06:40 - The inevitability of hallowing some name
13:51 - The priority of hallowing God’s name
17:17 - The ability of hallowing God’s name

**HOW TO FIND US***
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WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/

Pastor Luke Simmons continues our new series, “How to Pray,” by walking slowly through the simple yet deep opening of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven.”

In this message, Luke explores what it means that God invites us to relate to Him as Father, how that identity shapes our status and confidence before Him, and why understanding God as Father can make prayer feel more natural and less forced.

You’ll also hear practical help on “praying like a child”—coming to God with honesty, boldness, and dependence in everyday life. This sermon is based in Matthew 6:9 and connects to themes from passages like John 1, Galatians 4, Ephesians 1, and Matthew 6.

*HOW TO FIND US**
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@IronwoodChurchAZ
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Pastor Seth Troutt opens our new series, “How to Pray,” by looking at Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 on how *not* to pray.

Many of us know prayer is important but feel distant from God or disappointed with our prayer lives. In this message, Pastor Seth contrasts performative, manipulative, and “magical” views of prayer with the simple, honest, and secure approach Jesus invites us into—talking to God as our Father.

You’ll learn:
- The assumption Jesus makes: Christians *will* pray
- Two common distortions of prayer (hypocritical religion and pagan “many words”)
- Why God already knowing your needs changes how you pray
- The importance of secrecy and a private prayer life
- Practical ideas for what to do in daily prayer

This is Part 1 of our “How to Pray” series through the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. Join us as we learn to move from going through the motions to enjoying real communion with our Father in heaven.

00:00 - Introduction
07:19 - The Assumption: when you pray
14:14 - The Antithesis: manipulative religion
28:27 - The Answer: security & secrecy

**HOW TO FIND US***
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WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/

Pastor Luke Simmons closes out our “The Blessed Life” series by teaching on the final Beatitude: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”

In this message, he explains the call to live the way of Jesus, what we should expect when we do (including opposition and persecution), and how to respond by reframing our suffering with eternal perspective and rejoicing.

Luke also shares the powerful story of Hakan, a Turkish pastor who has endured real persecution and continues to serve Christ with hope.

The Hakan video is available at: https://youtu.be/BP7IKBruZsM

00:00 - Introduction
04:32 - Call to Action: Live the Way of Jesus
08:16 - What to Expect: Opposition and Persecution
16:11 - How to Handle It: Reframe with Rejoicing

**HOW TO FIND US***
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WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/

Pastor Seth Troutt continues our series, **“The Blessed Life,”** by unpacking Jesus’ words, *“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”* (Matthew 5:9). In a world filled with conflict, gossip, and division, what does it actually mean to resemble our Father in heaven by making peace?

Drawing from Scripture and everyday life, Pastor Seth explores how true peacemaking begins with peace with God through Christ and then flows into our relationships—with friends, family, enemies, and even those who have deeply hurt us. He also contrasts real, costly peacemaking with both destructive conflict and a shallow “peace, peace” that ignores reality.

Whether you struggle with conflict avoidance, anger, gossip, or just feel overwhelmed by broken relationships, this message will help you see both the hope and the responsibility of living as a peacemaker.

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⏱️ **Message Outline**

**00:00 – Introduction**
Seth opens with a personal story about resembling his earthly father and connects it to how followers of Jesus are called to resemble their Father in heaven. He introduces Matthew 5:9 and frames the sermon around what it means to be a peacemaker in a fractured world.

**03:54 – Anti-peace Makers**
Before defining biblical peacemaking, Seth looks at its opposites: gossip, slander, division, faction-building, and false “peace.” He shows how our culture often celebrates these patterns, and how even Christians can justify them. He also explains the danger of saying “peace, peace” when there is no peace, and how Jesus disrupts false peace in order to bring true reconciliation.

**25:58 – The Ultimate Peacemaker**
Here Seth turns to Jesus as the model and source of all peacemaking. He walks through how Christ makes peace between God and people through the cross, and how Jesus brings peace to surprising groups: sellouts, outcasts, oppressors, obvious sinners, judgmental religious people, and even close friends who have failed Him. From 2 Corinthians 5, he explains our calling as ambassadors of reconciliation.

**34:30 – Wisdom for Peacemaking**
In this final section, Seth offers practical, biblical wisdom for living as peacemakers: seeking first to understand, refusing one-sided narratives, resisting gossip, and doing “as far as it depends on you” to live at peace with others (Romans 12:18). He also addresses why we often struggle to make peace—our insecurity before God—and calls us back to the grace and security we have in Christ as the foundation for real peacemaking.

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This message is part of **“The Blessed Life”** series through the Beatitudes, exploring what it truly means to live under the blessing of Jesus in everyday life.

00:00 - Introduction
03:54 - Anti-peace Makers
25:58 - The Ultimate peacemaker
34:30 - Wisdom for peacemaking

**HOW TO FIND US***
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Pastor Luke Simmons explores what Jesus means when he says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). In this message from our series “A Blessed Life,” Luke unpacks what the Bible means by “heart,” why purity of heart matters, and how it clears or clouds our vision of God. He also shows how we can pursue a pure heart through trusting Christ and guarding what we allow to shape our inner life.

BOOKMARKS:
00:00 - Introduction: Until Initiative update & breaking ground
05:39 - Big Idea: Your vision of God is clarified or clouded by your heart
06:46 - Your Heart: What the Bible actually means by “heart”
11:14 - Pure in Heart: Internal vs. external and the single-minded heart
15:59 - Seeing God: What it means to “see” God now and in eternity
24:25 - Pursue Purity of Heart: Put your hope in Jesus and guard your heart

**HOW TO FIND US***
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WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/

Pastor Luke Simmons continues our series, “The Blessed Life,” by teaching on Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). In this message, Luke explains what mercy is, why it is central to God’s character and to our own experience of salvation, and how followers of Christ are called to live merciful lives.

Looking at parables like the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18) and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), we see that mercy is compassion in action—expressed through forgiveness and practical care for those who are hurting. As people who have received an unpayable debt of mercy from God, we are invited to extend that same mercy to others.

00:00 - Introduction
07:19 - What does it mean to be merciful?
10:37 - Why are Christ’s people to be merciful?
19:31 - What does it look like to be merciful?

**HOW TO FIND US***
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WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/