The way of Jesus leads us to a deeper, fuller life. This was true in the ancient world where Jesus first lived and taught, and it’s still true today. But what does it mean to actually practice the way of Jesus in today’s complex, secular world? In this podcast, join John Mark Comer and other guides as they explore this important question through practical teachings and conversations. At Practicing the Way, we are here to help you journey to a deeper life with God.
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Have you ever tried to change but couldn't make it last? As John Mark taught last week, we're constantly being shaped by our beliefs, habits, relationships, and environment. This week, he tells us how to fight back and create lasting transformation in our lives. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 6v39-40; Romans 12v2; Matthew 5-7 Discussion Guide: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/identity/part-six Other Mentioned Resources: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster The Cost of Discipleship by Di...
"The question isn't, are you being formed? It's, what are you being formed into?" John Mark talks about the various influences that shape our lives and who we become. He challenges us to be intentional with our beliefs, habits, relationships, and experiences to form us into people of love. Key Scripture Passages: Ephesians 4v1-24; Galatians 4v19; Proverbs 4v23 Discussion Guide: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/identity/part-five This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our c...
"The main thing God gets out of your life is the person you become" - Dallas Willard Our calling isn't just about what we do with our lives: it's also about who we become. John Mark talks about the inward journey: who we are called to be as believers, and how to get there. Key Scripture Passages: Matthew 4v18-22; Matthew 9v9-13 Discussion Guide: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/identity/part- three Other Resources: The Road Back to You, Suzanne Collins Invitation to a Journey, Robert Mulholl...
John Mark Comer delves into the foundational question of identity, contrasting common earthly sources like performance, possessions, pleasure, and popularity with the biblical truth of identity "in Christ." Drawing from Matthew 3 and Ephesians 1, he explains how believers are incorporated into Christ, making everything true about Him true about us. The episode introduces "eschatological realism," emphasizing that identity is rooted in who we are becoming in Christ, not just who we were or are, which provides the freedom and courage to embrace God's unique calling.
Our identity and calling has ramifications for who we become and what we do with our lives. John Mark lays out a biblical framework for this journey of discovery, encouraging us to embrace this process with community and the Holy Spirit. Key Scripture passages: Matthew 3v13-4v11; John 1v20-28; Matthew 16v13-18; Discussion Guide: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/identity/week-one This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this...
When was the last time you were disappointed? In our world, it's easy to put our hope in things that fail us. In contrast to the disillusionment of the world, John Mark talks about the Advent hope of Jesus's birth and second coming, showing us how putting our hope in that reality is the only hope that will never disappoint. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 1v16-38; Luke 24v13-27 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode...
Are you happy? Many of us aren't. Yet Martin Luther once said "a Christian should be happy." And Rick Howe argued that "the pursuit of joy is a moral obligation." In a world filled with sorrow and grief, John Mark shows us how the coming of Jesus gives us a path to pursue joy and how we can hold it in tandem with the pain of our lives. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 2v1-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goe...
How do we pray when we run out of words? John Mark talks about the practice of contemplative prayer and it's importance in our spiritual formation. He concludes with three primary obstacles to this form of prayer, offering ideas on how to move past these and embrace the depth of this path to life with God. Key Scripture Passages: 2 Corinthians 3v7-18 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Shirley from Ca...
"Learning to hear God's voice is the single most important task of a disciple of Jesus." John Mark talks about listening to God, exploring both they why and the how behind it. He challenges us to posture ourselves in surrender and obedience as we lean into a relationship with our creator. Key Scripture Passages: John 10v1-10; Deuteronomy 6v4-5; Matthew 28v19-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Jo-D...
There comes a moment in our prayer lives when we want to pray our own words to God. John Mark shows us how the ancient practices of gratitude, lament, petition, and intercession help us find words to place our lives before God in love. Key Scripture Passage: Luke 11v1-13 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Emily from Bakersfield, California; Evan from Woodland Park, Colorado; Callie Jane from Colorado...
How do we pray in a world full of smartphones? John Mark dives into Luke 11 and how Jesus taught his disciples to pray, showing how this prayer orients us to the character of God and how other pre-written prayers can help us grow in our walk with God. Key Scripture Passage: Luke 11v1-4 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Caleb from Avondale, Arizona; Timothy from Toronto, Ontario; Tyler from Grayson, ...
Do you ever feel stuck? John Mark speaks to the difference between our role and God's role in our formation journey, inviting us to embrace God's leading by letting go of attachments. He argues that surrender to God's work is a way to go beyond the surface level of our spiritual journey. Key Scripture Passage: John 21v18-19 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Tiffani from Oak Park, Illinois; Alex from...
What do you do when everything falls apart? John Mark talks about overcoming fear in our lives, laying out a three-part journey of growing in faith, where we find deep peace and trust that transcends our circumstances. Key Scripture Passage: Mark 9v14-29 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Kevin from New Richmond, Wisconsin; Nathan from Social Circle, Georgia; Mike from Nashville, Tennessee; Barb from...
What gives you hope for the future? John Mark contrasts the negative news cycle of our age with the good news of Jesus: that he's overcome death and is returning that we might walk in his resurrection. Key Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 15v1-28 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Eric from Lake Zurich, Illinois; Matt from Conway, Arkansas; Zodwa from Spring, Texas; Annie from McKinney, Texas; and St...
John Mark Comer challenges the cultural trend of "workism," where work becomes identity, leading to burnout. He proposes a biblical understanding of work as 'vocation'—a call to actively partner with God, cultivate creation, and serve others. This involves doing all work, whether glamorous or mundane, with love, guided by scripture, and to the best of one's ability, thereby "re-weaving glory" into the world.
What if the way forward in our political moment isn’t sweeping reform, but a meal around the table? As much of the world becomes more divided than ever, John Mark challenges us to become peacemakers by demonstrating God's love through the practice of hospitality. Key Scripture Passages: Mark 2v13-17, Mark 3v13-19, Romans 12v13, 1 Peter 4v8-9, Hebrews 13v1-2 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Jessica ...
"If there's anything left of my annoying voice in your memory banks in 20 years, I would hope that you would hear me as a brother in your ear just saying, 'follow Jesus to the quiet and pray.'" All around us, people are angry and afraid. John Mark invites us to become a community of peaceful, 'non-anxious presences' by engaging in the practice of silence and solitude. Through this practice, we learn how to receive the love of God into the deepest places of our pain and fear. Key Scripture Passag...
How do we love others in the moral decay of the modern West? John Mark argues that the world needs a community of holiness as the counter-culture to the mainstream. John Mark explores the concept of holiness, a theology of the body, and the practice of fasting as a path to joy in God. Key Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 6v12-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Kayla from Cape Girardeau, Missouri; ...
In a culture of deconstruction and ideology, how do we stay faithful to Jesus and His teachings? Through the practice of Scripture, John Mark challenges us to deepen our trust in God and the teachings of our rabbi, Jesus. Key Scripture Passage: 2 Corinthians 10v1-5 Resource for this teaching: After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith Without Losing It, AJ Swoboda This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Maja...
How do we cultivate deep community? John Mark explores how the practice of community fits into our cultural moment of the loneliness of tribalism and individualism. He challenges us to press into community, even in pain, wounding, and trauma, since it is in community that we will ultimately find our healing. Key Scripture Passage: Romans 12 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Timothy from Mount Pleasa...
"This could be our finest moment. This could be the moment not of our death but of our rebirth." John Mark challenges us to dream again about what the Church can and should be in our cultural moment. He invites us to re-examine our Rule of Life as we think about being a counter-culture amidst the secular mainstream. Key Scripture Passage: Psalm 80 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Tammy from Milford...
How do we deal with emotional pain? John Mark explores Jesus's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and discusses how His model can help us process through our own moments of pain, turmoil, and disappointment. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 26v36-46 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Jimmy from Randle, Washington; Jonathan from Shalimar, Florida; Rachel from Norwich, Norfolk; Diana from Charlotte, Nor...
How do we keep from becoming "pharisees"? In a time when deconstruction is the cultural tide we swim in and disillusionment with pastors is widespread and well-earned, how do we model the way of Jesus? John Mark looks at Jesus's critique of the pharisees in Matthew 23, and explores what it means for us: how we live our lives and relate to our leaders in the church. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 23 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special...
What is life about? John Mark teaches on Jesus's teaching on the two greatest commandments in the Old Testament: to love God and to love our neighbor. He challenges us to examine how we can arrange our lives in such a way that love of God and neighbor is our natural response. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 22v34-40 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to Michelle from Boerne, Texas; Marlys from Augusta, Ma...
Is marriage a contract, or a covenant? Is the love that lasts a lifetime a fiery passion of desire, or something else? Is divorce a necessary evil to “be true to yourself,” or a rupture of a deep union? Jesus’ teaching on divorce is based in his vision of marriage, which is as radical today as it was nearly two thousand years ago. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 19v1-10 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes ...
What do we do when other followers of Jesus fall into sin and wander away? John Mark explores Jesus’ teaching on dealing with sin in the church. Even though it's one of the most abused teachings of Jesus, John Mark show that, rightly applied, it has the potential to help the church become everything it's called to be. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 18v10-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Thank you all so much! If you’d like to pay it fo...
Jesus’ call for his apprentices to become like children is one of his most misunderstood teachings. John Mark explores the cultural background to Jesus’ words and argues that living like a child -- dependent, humble, and servant-hearted -- is the the key to greatness in Jesus' Kingdom. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 18v1-9 Resources for this teaching: This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Thank you all ...
At the fulcrum point in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus goes up on a high mountain where he is transfigured before his apprentices. Over their fear, the apprentices hear a voice from heaven saying, “listen to him!” Thousands of years later, in our own fears, the call to find a mountain and listen to Jesus is greater than ever. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 16v28-17v13 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Thank you all so much! If you’d like to pay i...
What if control is actually an illusion? What if yielding is actually the path to freedom and joy? John Mark explores Jesus' call to deny your self and take up your cross and follow Him. In a culture of hedonism, digital instant gratification, and postmodern propaganda, this call sounds bizarre. But in yielding control to God in trusting love, we enter the Kingdom. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 16v21-27 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. T...
" How you answer the question, 'who do you say I am,' will define you." John Mark explores Simon Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ. He shows us that in seeing Jesus rightly, we move from fear to faith. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 16v13-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Thank you all so much! If you’d like to pay it forward and contribute toward future resources, you can learn more at practicingtheway.org/give ....
