When I think about prayer, my prayer life, and what it looks like for me, I’ve learned more and more it is an indication of where my relationship is with Him. My Abba. It’s a barometer on how I am loving Him well as well as how I am allowing Him to love me.
In prayer, the Holy Spirit anoints our imagination and opens us up to the Father through very personal images and pictures in our minds.
Today I have been asked to share on my journey with prayer.
If you’re nervous about prayer, let’s try to take as much pressure off as possible. No need to sound deep and spiritual. No need to go on and on, blah, blah, blah. Just spend some time with Jesus. Talk to him. Listen to him. That is prayer.
As we’ve studied scripture, we have learned about the deep abiding love God has for His son, Jesus. Then in turn Jesus’ deep abiding love for his disciples. His love for us. He calls us friends. He chose us. Even after seeing all of who we are - the mistakes, the rebellion, the beauty. He sees the Imago Dei in His sons and daughters! In His friends!
Today, I wanted to share some of the things Spirit shared with me in my journal during my time in the Lectio Divina practice.
Today, we are going to soak into scripture through the practice of Lectio Divina—one of my favorites! Lectio Divina, which is latin for Divine Reading, is a contemplative practice that guides us in reading over a passage of four times, each with a different intent: Lectio (which is a plain Reading), Meditatio (a meditative Reading), Oratio (a prayerful Reading), and Comtemplatio (a restful Reading).
Can we just be honest and say that none of us really know what we are doing and that we kind of figure out life as we go? Even those of us that plan in our Type A and strategize we’re making decisions based on our current understanding. All of us are doing the best we can each day. And that right there is good, my friend. Have some grace for yourself and release the shame that you might carry.
It's such an honor to be able to provide a space for other people to learn how to do that as well. And so I wanted to talk a little bit about mental health stigma because when you get a diagnosis, it's so easy to have that label feel like such a weight.
Throughout the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we read time and again of the compassion of Jesus. It is a persistent theme throughout His earthly ministry. While the word compassion is only used eight times in direct reference to Jesus, His compassion is observed and felt in many of his interactions with His disciples, the crowds, and people from all walks of life.
The discipline of Scripture reading is challenging, and it’s not something that comes naturally. Yet, we’re told that we need to read this book daily so we know how to live life well, and as accurate as we know that to be, sometimes, reading the Bible can be overwhelming and confusing.
When you learn about your own genealogy for some people, these two things might feel in tension. There might be some things in your family’s past that feel painful and certainly did not contribute to justice or caring for the inherent dignity of the Imago Dei.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to practice the one-anothers: to love one another, accept one another, honor one another above ourselves, serve one another with our gifts, instruct one another, encourage one another, pray for each other, and be devoted to one another just to name a few.
As we all continue in the flow of our lives may we focus on Jesus and not get distracted.
Today I want to share a quick talk titled A FAITHFUL FOUNDATION that breaks down how we as followers of Christ can learn and do, just as Jesus did. Every time I think about what it means to do what Jesus did or how we can live our lives in a way that reflects the character of Jesus, I always am left with the word faithful just burning in my Spirit.
Today, I would like to share about an important discipline – the discipline of reading the Scripture! Whether you are new to faith or a seasoned believer, I pray that you will be blessed.
If you've been at NCC any length of time, you know we talk about dreaming a lot. It has become part of our naming and branding and something we value and seek to grow in. However, there's a difference between your average dream and a God-sized. I want to talk about how a missional community should be casting prophetic vision. Let's take some time and dig into that and share some stories.
As a believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit is the X-Factor and I take for granted how revolutionary and incredible it is that the Spirit of God lives inside each one of us.
I pray that what I say will draw you closer to the one that so desires to draw closer to you. In addition, I pray it will be a seed planted that will beautifully germinate and be eternally planted deeply in your Spirit.
3 John 1:2, this is a beautiful expression of our posture as a community – three things: To prosper To be in good health To have souls that prosper
Memorizing scripture is a powerful tool to help us internalize the words of Jesus and the words of the Spirit-inspired Biblical writers. They can become personal reminders and convictions that guide how we exist in this world. And they can also become gifts of encouragement, light, and hope to others we encounter in need of it.
As we discover our own pain and brokenness along the way. God has invited us to be this way and to think this way to think prophetically, and to be able to call us back to God's original intent at the crossroads.
Having become a hospitality leader has created in me a posture of serving others. So it's not just about the weekend. It's about your everyday. At least for me, I like to serve others, treat others with kindness. You know, people that I encounter.
I believe that’s who God asks us to be: fully ourselves doing what we were created to be loving people well as we move from one place to another with the intention of the good for the person we encounter along the way.
Today, we’re going to talk about what it means to do what Jesus did. Of course, Jesus really was all things to all people, but let’s focus on one aspect today: patience.
Today I want to talk to you about a specific discipline I’ve applied to my personal Scripture reading. While reading the Bible is important for all Christians, there are so many different disciplines, practices, and plans that can help us engage with the text. We are all different…one size will not fit all.
In the midst of brokenness and chaos, goodness can still be found within us, and it is stronger and more present than what we can perceive. The work of God is not absent nor hidden, it comes in supernatural ways and in the most ordinary and human ways possible. God brings His kingdom through His people.
Imagination is important because the skill of engendering ideas is a practice and is integral to the mission of the church. Because a church with a limited imagination will struggle to impact the next generation.
I am going to do something a little different for our prayer practice today. I’ll be reading the poem “A Morning Offering” by John O’Donohue.
Jesus wears many titles: Son of Man, Lamb of God, Savior of the world. But one title and role that we don’t always think of Him as is a prophet. Jesus was, in fact, the prophet that all other prophets pointed to. Jesus was called a prophet by the Samaritan woman at the well and he referred to himself as a prophet, “A prophet is not honored in his own home”. But what is a prophet and how can we learn from Jesus’s life and ministry to apply to our everyday lives?
