June 16: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: 1 John 2: 29 - 3: 2
If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT | Meditations on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Seal | Evidence of Adoption
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
What are some unique personality traits in your family of origin?
What are some habits that are unique to your family growing up?
A family image.
In the book of Genesis, the author is describing the thought process of the creator God and writes:
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
– Genesis 1:26-27
Image: the Hebrew word is selem and in the bible it is mostly used— outside of this verse and a few others in Genesis—to describe idols. We tend to talk about idols today in sort of metaphorical terms: things that we build our lives and worth around that are not God (work as an idol, marriage as an idol, etc. But biblically idols were very literal—they were structures made of materials that people carved or smelted into the shape of other created things (whether animals or other humans) and then they worshipped those structures.
“You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god— which you made for yourselves.”
– Amos 5:26
That same word is used in the psalms to describe a phantom or a shadow—something that has form, but no substance—like the same way a ghost is an image of a human being, but is in fact disconnected from its life source.
“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.”
– Psalms 39:6
God takes his image very seriously. Later in Genesis, God is speaking—making a new covenant with Noah. God says:
“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.”
– Genesis 9:6
You and every person you have ever met carries the image of the creator. Being made in the image of God means that you have inherent worth and value as derived from the one who gave you that image.
The word “Likeness” (in Hebrew demut): is used to compare things that are similar in substance. This one thing is like this one other thing—they share a quality or qualities.
When Isaiah is prophesying trying to put into words what he’s hearing, he says:
Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.
– Isaiah 13:4 NIV
We were created in God’s image and likeness. We both bear the mark of creator God in our physical bodies, but we were also meant to share in his character–in the substance of who he is.
The image of God in you is immutable. It cannot be changed.
Wherever you are, whatever you do in this world, you will always carry the indelible mark of the one who created you. We look like our Father.
So we carry the indelible mark of our creator, but the fall did happen. And part of what was broken or injured was the likeness. The separation that humanity experienced made us not unlike the phantom images the psalmists wrote about. The events in the garden disconnected us from the source of life and cast a shadow over the likeness of God in us.
And that is what Jesus came to repair. It says in Colossians that:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him…– Colossians 1:19
Jesus came and showed us how to live, not only as an image of God, but also in his likeness–the full likeness of God, in Jesus.
Jesus, through his life, showed us how to live by the power of the spirit–the spirit is what re-creates us the likeness of God that was marred in the garden.
“Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:5
In the biblical story, seals were a big deal. It was the way you authenticate a message from a person of importance, usually a king. It indicates a decision that cannot be changed.
“Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”
– Esther 8:8
The clear implication here is that once you believe the good news and receive the Holy Spirit. That the King—our living and eternal king has made a decision about you that cannot be changed
Here, the thing that is promised, the thing that God has sealed and made an irrevocable deposit toward is our full and complete redemption.
Like the immutable image of God in us, the seal and deposit of the Holy Spirit makes God’s likeness in us an inevitability—it makes it a promise. This is the description that Paul is giving us and the picture that John is painting for us.
When you see Jesus, you will be like him. You will be like him. Somehow in the mystery of the gospel and of grace, by the power of the holy spirit, what was lost in the garden will be fully restored to us when we see our savior face-to-face.
There will be an unmistakable family resemblance—not just appearance, but also character.
That is the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives—reconciliation into the family of God.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
– Galatians 5:22-23
June 9: Teacher | Reminder | Keeper
June 9: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: John 14: 25-27
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT | Meditations on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Teacher | Reminder | Keeper
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
What aspects make for a good life in NYC?
If we pay attention to our city we can hear the question being asked, being lived. WHAT MAKES A GOOD LIFE?
We see the Spirit of God at work in Creation.
In the opening moments of Genesis, in the poetry of the creation account in Torah, we have a picture of God as Spirit.
We see the role of the Holy Spirit in initiating New Creation
When Jesus goes to begin His public ministry, we have this powerful picture again. The picture is of the Spirit as a Bird, descending on Jesus.
The Holy Spirit gives birth to the New Creation community of Jesus
All of what we see Christ doing throughout the Gospels is done in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And this is the very same Spirit that fills you and I. The life of God in the soul of a person.
Jesus says in the upper room…
“The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
John 14
The Spirit of God Teaches Us - instructs us, helps us with discoveries of who God is.
The Spirit of God Reminds Us of what we have come to know - often in crucial moments the Spirit will pull into our minds and hearts who Jesus is, what God has said is true about us, how life actually works.
Jesus’ expectation for us is that the Spirit will give them a share in the peace that He experiences. The Holy Spirit will give them, give us a share of The Shalom of God.
2 Corinthians 5 says … “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
You may be familiar with a translation that says if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation.
THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES US ALIVE IN A WAY THAT WE WERE NOT BEFORE
The apostle Paul puts in “I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” – Ephesians 3 v 16-17
THE SPIRIT COMES TO DWELL IN OUR INNER BEING.
Romans 5 says the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts.
So now there is a new way to live, a new way to operate, a new way to change that is not simply our already formed MIND, WILL, and EMOTIONS.
We are in the REALM OF THE SPIRIT.
Our minds are renewed, and our decision-making is changed by God.
ONE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS OUR SOUL BEGINS TO BE HEALED
THE GOSPEL IS NOT JUST PUNCHING YOUR TICKET FOR AN AFTERLIFE IN PARADISE. IT IS HEALING YOUR SOUL SO YOU CAN BEAR BEING IN GOD’S FULLY REVEALED PRESENCE
SO YOU CAN BE FULLY ALIVE.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. “
– 2 Corinthians 4 v 16
How does this reality inspire you to change how you live?
THE SPIRIT IS OUR TEACHER AND REMINDER
BUT THERE ARE SOME PLACES THE SPIRIT HAS PROMISED TO MINISTER TO US
TO TEACH AND REMIND US.
SCRIPTURE. WORSHIP. COMMUNITY. PRAYER
How much is your life ordered around the practices that engage specifically with the Holy spirit?
SCRIPTURE. WORSHIP. COMMUNITY. PRAYER
The Spirit might teach and remind us in many ways in our life, but these are four places we can expect the Spirit to minister to us
THIS IS A CRUCIAL PART OF THE HEALING OF OUR SOULS
Scripture - the stories of Jesus, God’s work in the world, in the armor of God, the sword of the spirit is the word of God
Worship - the narrative of the Scripture shows us over and over again that God inhabits the praises of his people.
The ministry of the Spirit is to lift of the life of Christ. When we worship we are agreeing and participating in that.
Worship helps to re-orient our affections, it begins to direct and reinforce our love to the highest aim of God rather than some other lesser thing.
So those lesser things find their proportion and place
Community - the priesthood of all believers, we minster the Spirit to each other, where two or more are gathered in God’s name, God is there.
Prayer - as we grow in talking and listening to God we learn to discern how God speaks to us, often in a still small voice in our inner being, prompts and invitations to love, conviction or correction when we have drifted from God’s way
So the Spirit is teaching, but the Spirit is often teaching by reminding …
Reminding
I often experience this as conviction in my heart or mind…
Of identity + Of correction + Of promises
ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BE YOUR INSTRUCTOR AND REMINDER TODAY, IN YOUR INNER BEING.
I want the last words of this meditation to be the words of this prayer for the ministry of the Holy Spirit…
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
– Ephesians 3 v 16-21
Pray this prayer over one another in your small group, family, marriage, friendships…
June 2: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Roman 8: 9-14
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodiesbecause of his Spirit who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT | Meditations on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Advocate | Intecessor
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
How do you observe shame being used or leveraged in our culture?
Specifically, do you see shame playing a role in relationships you have?
Is Christianity a set of thoughts about God in our head that we have organized in the right or satisfactory way or is it something more?
Certainly, there are essential beliefs, but what is the experience?
And since the experience can be so subjective, can we really say anything definitive about what must be true of it?
Is it dangerous to have a set expectation about what the experience of being a Christian should be like to be real and true or enough?
We certainly have testimony from the ages, from the saints of the past that the same Christian life might have rapturous joy in God's presence; a full emotional fire at God's nearness and also seasons of dryness, distance, and even dark nights of the soul.
Jesus said “it is good that I go away, because My Father will send you The Spirit” - THE PARAKLETOS
The Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor. This word is so rich and holds for us some pointers to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus prophetically tells them about the sending of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit's ministry.
And then they wait and pray and wait and pray, and at Pentecost—50 days after the Passover—Christ died as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
WE HAVE THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Spirit is poured out, and the church is born.
And the community they form by the Spirit is an heart-stirring and beautiful
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
– Acts 2 v 42-47
They see Jesus’ promise prove true.
They experience the Holy Spirit as Parakletos. Helper. Comforter. Advocate. Intercessor.
SO: Yes, Christianity is something you believe
But it is also something you experience
And it becomes something that you live.
And if you have only had the belief, the thoughts about God organized a certain way, and never the experience, never the fullness of life, I want to tell you THERE IS MORE
More of Jesus. Poured out in our hearts and minds and bodies by the Holy Spirit.
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”
– Romans 8 v 9-14
The Spirit of God makes us alive in Christ. In the Gospel.
The realm of the flesh is about living the human story by human resources
The realm of the flesh is all your natural resources for living that don’t include awareness of, surrender to, or love for God.
The realm of the spirit is living with a dependence and trust on the loving kindness that is God.
Two ways the Spirit ministers the life of God in us
The Spirit lifts our shame
The Spirit helps us pray
The Spirit lifts our Shame | Advocate
Applies what is true of Jesus to us
Forgivness for all sin
Power to break free from any pattern or thought
Uncontrollable anxiety
Lust and pornography
Destructive patterns with alcohol
Anger and a vision of masculinity rooted in aggression rather than sacrificial love
Love of comfort
Measuring success in materialism
Really defensive when criticized
The Holy Spirit is my advocate
THE SPIRIT HELPS US PRAY | Intercessor
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
– Romans 8 v 26-28
When you pray you aren’t praying alone.
When you are out of words, you can still pray
No matter where we start we can come to alignment with God’s will through prayer
What place of your life does shame reside?
How is the Spirit trying to address that place and apply what is true of Jesus to that part of your life?
May 26: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: John 14: 15-21
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT | Meditations on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Helper | Comforter
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
What is the Holy Spirit’s purpose?
The New Testament’s Greek word to describe the Holy Spirit is Parakletos - one summoned or called alongside.
“If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
– John 14 v 15-17
This one being given is helper, advocate - PARAKLETOS.
You will know the Spirit, the Spirit will be in you..
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
– John14 v 23-27
This Holy Spirit will point to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is eternal, is our teacher, our reminder, and peace.
The Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity, sent from the Father., given by the Son. The Spirit is God.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
– John 15 v 26-27
So The Spirit Comforts us by Making Jesus Known
Jesus SAYS…The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, He has anointed Me ...
To proclaim the gospel to those who need it
Freedom for those who are trapped
Sight for those who cannot see
Release for those who are oppressed
And favor from God
When the Holy Spirit is lifting up Jesus in our midst:
We know and remember we are can be forgiven and united to God - What Jesus has done has accomplished that so we can come in Jesus’ name, not our own deserving or performance
We can be set free from those things that ensnare us
We can see where have not been able to - vision for our life
We can experience freedom even in a world with broken systems that attempt to crush us
We can know God doesn’t just love us, God like us
God is with us in our pain
God has put a time limit on it, and God will be present when it is gone.
The Lord is near
God comforts us with His Presence -
Many times the Holy Spirit will let us know God is near
It may not resolve every circumstance in the moment
But You are loved and God is with you is a powerful sense from the Holy Spirit
God comforts us with His Promises - we have times where we hold these promises without the benefit of feeling better right away
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
– 2 Peter 1 v 3-4
Here’s just a few …
I will never leave you or forsake
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you
Nothing will snatch you out of My hand
My peace I give you
And on and on…
All the promises of God are yes for us in Christ. The Spirit is our guide to live these promises.
God comforts us with Intervention - sometimes the Spirit will comfort us with direct change
God comforts us with Sustaining and Endurance
Here’s the thing…
Your anxiety, your depression, your illness, you loneliness, your addiction, your sin has a limited time.
God is before and God is after. You are untied to God in Christ.
So God will remove your suffering or carry you through it
and in both experiences … And the Holy Spirit is your Comforter and Helper
Do you need comfort today?
Do you need help?
This is what the Holy Spirit does.
Where in your life do you need the Holy Spirit to bring comfort?
May 26: Helper | Comforter
May 19: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Acts 2: 1-41
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT | Meditations on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
The Promise
The Outpouring
The Counterfeits and Questions
The Invitation
How have you experienced the Holy Spirit in your life?
Do you live with an expectation of the Spirit’s nearness and awareness?
The Promise
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
– Acts 1 v 4-5
Pentecost is a reminder that God keeps His promises.
Don’t be so sure that all you’ve tasted is all there is. God may have a day of revelation on the way.
The Outpouring
The story opens…
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
– Acts 2 v 1-4
The Holy Spirit makes the presence of God known and people are filled.
Two challenges.
1. If it doesn’t happen like this its not the Holy Spirit
2. Or we go the other way and ignore what’s possible - these were a one time thing
The Spirit can speak as a gentle whisper
The Spirit may move as an inner conviction or an insight when reading the Bible
But The Spirit may also break through your categories.
A sound like a violent wind
Visuals of tongues of fire
Physical sensation and empowerment.
The outpouring is God making His love alive and knowable.
The Holy Spirit is not simply to give us a memorable experience but to make the goodness and love and victory of Jesus known.
This account ends with people being cut to the heart and trust in Christ as their Savior and Lord
Have you seen people experiencing the Spirit, and it leads to them relating to Jesus more?
The Counterfeits and Questions
Some of us long to be filled with the Spirit, but there is also a place in us that we will not surrender. Our experience of God is shallow because we know we are keeping certain things in our control.
In the text:
People think they are drunk and grasp for a reasonable explanation
People are afraid and wonder what is happening
There is confusion and distraction - how is this happening and theories shared
There are commitments to the world’s power structures
Our problem is not a new problem.
Alcohol is the one example here but there are many. Some in the crowd think they are drunk. And it’s not just a random possibility or comparison.
Booze can help you escape stress for a time, it can make you feel connection, it can give you temporary courage, it can turn the volume down on your pain.
Jesus turned water into wine. The traditional cup of communion is wine, but many of us have appetites that we satiate that are substitutes for the Holy Spirit.
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
– Ephesians 5 v 18-20
Pentecost is a challenge to our appetites that lead us away from God
What appetites can you recognize in your life that are substitutes for experiencing the Holy Spirit?
Some of us are just afraid. Or when spiritual longing comes up in us it is always mixed with fear. Fear of losing control. Fear of it not working for us. Fear of failing later. Anxiety
There is confusion and bewilderment in this story. People don’t have categories for what they are seeing.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
– 2 Timothy 1 v 7
Pentecost is a call out of our fear and into the experience of God’s love.
Some of us know the confusion and distraction - we go down the rabbit holes of our own questions and never take what God is offering us.
Pentecost is a call to be present to what God is doing - now, today
Some on Pentecost had deep commitments to the world’s power structures. They wanted to keep things as they were.
God has no problem shaking up our allegiances if they are misplaced.
Many of us are finding to stay in charge of our lives but let God consult.
Peter has to confront those who wanted Jesus out of the way so their way could go on..
Pentecost is a challenge to surrender to God. To let go of having to be the one in control.
The Invitation
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
– ACTS 2 v 36-39
When the Spirit moved through the message of Jesus, people were cut to the heart.
Cut to the Heart
And the call to trust Christ and be filled with the Spirit is open to…
All who are near. All who are far.
“This work of God is wonderfully inclusive, because there is no category of people which is left out: both genders, all ages, all social classes. But it is wonderfully focused, because it happens to all ‘who call on the name of the Lord.”
– NT Wright
What is your ask of God regarding the Holy Spirit?
Where in your life do you want the Holy Spirit to reach in to?
May 19: The Outpouring
May 12: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Numbers 6: 22-27
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
“‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Blessing prayer
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
How would the world be different if God answered all your prayers?
If everyone prayed the way I pray, what would the prayer life of our church life be like?
Prayer is our participation with God in making the word right.
God can do whatever God wants
But God shows us over and over that God wants relationship
God invites us to participation and cooperation
God insists on involving us through love
But it’s even more than that. God is committed to distributing the resources of Heaven in the world through His sons and daughters in Christ.
God has said you are My sons and daughters. Here is My Ring.
It’s all by grace. Distribute the resources of My Kingdom in the world through your prayers and love.
God’s entire plan has always been participation - Joining/Sharing - Friendship - Love
A blessing is more than a well wish. It is to use our spiritual authority to confer something to another. It is to partner with God in declaring a present identity or a future good into someone's life.
To really bless someone is to conspire with God for their good
To ignore or belittle a blessing is a profound mistake.
When we pray for one another - we practice blessing one another.
A blessing confirms our identity - one loved by God
A blessing invites us into good - may a light shine on how to live out who we are
A blessing announces the security of our future - reminds us that we cannot be taken out of God’s love
When we bless - we are not only offering the Good News of Christ to others.
We are offering our lives as well.
We say I will join in in giving you what God intends in your life.
“Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.“
– 1 Thessalonians 2 v 7-8
Who needs you to pray and enact blessings in their life?
What moments in the lives of those around you require you to represent and disperse the blessing and resources of God?
May 12: Blessing Prayer
May 5: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: John 10: 1-10 and 27-30
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Hearing God
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
When God began to set the world right after the fall, God initiated a conversation ...
Abraham heard a calling - an invitation
Moses drew near to something he has seen everyday for years before
Samuel was sleeping as a child when he began to sense God's voice
Mary, Paul, Augustine, Martin Luther, Thersea of Avila, Brother Lawrence, and Jackie Pullinger
Redemptive History is shaped by God's children hearing His voice and responding in faith and love.
In a relational world and a relational Kingdom of God, there is little that rivals the importance of communication. It is at the heart of every deep relationship.
God speaks. God is active in revelation. We can learn to discern the voice of God in our lives.
Jesus gives us this incredible promise that His sheep will hear His voice.
It comes at a moment where His very identity is being questioned. Jesus locates who He is in the reality that His sheep, His disciples, those He has saved, who apprentice under Him WILL HEAR HIS VOICE.
HEARING FROM GOD IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR LIFE AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS
Hearing from God is your spiritual birthright in the Gospel
But as in so many things, what is important is not without challenges.
It can take time to discern how God speaks to us
It can take some wisdom and consideration as to why that is so very rarely in human history in an audible voice
It can be humbling to know we may get it wrong sometimes when discerning God's voice
I have four children and communicating with them over the years has taught me that different ways of communicating are needed based on the situation and on who they are. There are shared principles, but ways and settings of talking and listening that are unique to each of them.
God has children beyond number, but we can be confident that we can learn to hear God's voice, especially if we ask to and commit to seek God's voice.
Experiencing God study in college
4 of the primary ways - SCRIPTURE, GOD'S WHISPER IN THE SPIRIT, COMMUNITY, CIRCUMSTANCES
Which of the 4 ways of hearing God have you found most prevalent in your life?
Which of hearing God do you want to grow in?
How can you learn/practice that?
May 5: How to Hear God
April 28: What Ruins Prayer
April 21: Power of Intercession
April 28: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Song of Songs 2: 14-15
My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Little foxes that ruin your prayer life
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
On the scale of discipline to delight where would you plot your prayer life right now?
Discipline –----------------------------------------------------– Delight
Song of Solomon 2: 14-15 – My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
Prayer is about relationship with God.
When Jesus teaches we should pray for His kingdom to come, He is not just trying to keep us busy, and out of trouble.
He invites us to cultivate and share His heart for putting the world right.
It is intended to cultivate a communion between us and God.
There are ways we can approach prayer that harm the relationship it was intended to cultivate
In our text, we see that the lover acknowleges the threat of disruptors of intimacy.
They are called little foxes.
Disruptors of intimacy can take on many shapes … little things that you don't think have meaning, or big, looming, glaring, violent things.
Foxes chew at the vines and break off the ability for the life-giving nutrients to make their way to the branches.
There are little foxes, intimacy disruptors, that are right now at work in breaking down your vital connection to the Jesus.
Before prayer changes our circumstances, its intent is to change us.
“Whether prayer changes our situation or not, one thing is certain: Prayer will change us!”
– Billy graham
It changes us because it has us encountering the living God.
Then it does change our world…
“It would be of course a low voltage spiritual life in which prayer was chiefly undertaken as a discipline, rather than as a way of co-labouring with God to accomplish good things and advancing his Kingdom purposes.”
– Willard
The goal is to restore relational connection and, through that, affect all of life.
“The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God. Prayer becomes real when we grasp the reality and goodness of God's constant presence with 'the real me. ' Jesus lived his everyday life in conscious awareness of his Father.”
– Ortberg
1. Exchanging a relational offering for a bowl of soup
2. A Misrepresentation of the character and nature of God
3. Superficial Formality
4. Lack of Honesty
5. Paralyzing Guilt and Shame
6. Spiritual Laziness
7. Neglecting Prompts from the Holy Spirit
8. Sensationalism
9. Unrepented sin
Which of these affect you prayer life?
Who can you partner with to work on this?
What action can you take to combat each of them?
Confess it
Share it
Schedule it
April 14: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Luke 11: 1-13
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Praying the Psalms
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Did you recite the Lord’s Prayer growing up?
If yes, what did you think when you did that?
C.S. Lewis lost the love of his life, his wife Joy, to cancer after only being married for 4 years. Afterwards he wrote A Grief Observed - at first published under a pseudonym.
Here is the brutally honest way Lewis described some of his prayers in that time…
“When you are happy, so happy you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be — or so it feels— welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence.”
– C.S. Lewis
Prayer doesn’t work, or doesn’t always work like pulling a lever and getting what we want from God. The wild part is sometimes it does, but because we don't always know when we develop all these THEOLOGIES OF UNBELIEF to protect ourselves and to protect God.
Either we can’t bear being disappointed, or we don’t think God would bother, or we just want to leave it to a sense of mystery of whatever life reveals.
But Jesus wants to tell us to keep going with prayer. Even if we don’t like how it goes at first, especially if we don't like how it goes at first.
What about the practice of prayer makes you want to give up or not even try?
The invitation and the instruction is to just keep knocking even when it looks like we aren't getting what we need.
And in the shameless audacity of the continuing knock - you will find yourself provided for.
Tim Keller said God answers our prayers exactly as we would if we had all the information.
But of course we don't have all the information. Or the same degree of Love or Power. We often don’t know the prayers of our neighbors, or the way all the longings of our heart relate to the wider world.
We are often aren’t aware of resistance to our prayers.
So we have to trust God. And it's building that loving friendship and trust and confidence in conversation with God that we realize our whole lives are held. And even what we lose is held by God.
So Jesus teaches us:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“ ‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
– Luke 11: 1-2
The Kaddish was one of three important prayers in the first century Jewish worship liturgy and it began like this…
“Magnified and hallowed be His great Name
In this world which He created according to His Will.
And may He establish His Kingdom during your life.”
Look at the two of them side by side… (this is also in Pete Greig’s book)
“Magnified and hallowed be
His great Name
in this world which He created
according to His Will.
And may He establish His Kingdom
during your life.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
Your Kingdom come,
Your Will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
The utter crucial difference is the personalization of Jesus’ prayer…
Call Him Abba. OUR ABBA.
Call Him Abba and then speak to Him like you would to a good Father….
You can call the God of the Universe, Abba - Father - Friend.
"The most important discovery you will ever make is the love the Father has for you. Your power in prayer will flow from the certainty that the one who made you likes you, he is not scowling at you, he is on your side. Unless our mission and our acts of mercy, our intercession, petition, confession, and spiritual warfare begin and end in the knowledge of the Father’s love, we will act and pray out of desperation, determination, and duty instead of revelation, expectation, and joy.”
– Pete Greig
There are some important things to say about this prayer, but the most important thing is to pray it.
Get it in your mouth and mind and heart.
The one who asks receives.
The one who seeks finds.
To the one who knocks the doors is open.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
– Luke 11: 9-13
PERSIST
What does it mean to persist in prayer?
What stops you from persisting in prayer?
April 14: How to Start with Prayer – The Lord's Prayer
April 7: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Psalm 147: 1-11
Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Praying the Psalms
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
What has the easter reality of the resurrection of Jesus changed for you personally?
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
What should we do? What was the resurrection for?
“A restored relationship with Jesus”
We should talk with Jesus. We should listen for what Jesus has to say to us.
We should participate relationally in His Life, Death and Resurrection
I can talk with Jesus.
Our hope for the Resurrection of Jesus is not simply about verifying a past event. It is about experiencing the ongoing reality of a conversation with Christ, a friendship with Christ.
“The resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus two thousand years ago and will happen to each of us sometime in the future, after we die, when our own bodies will be raised to new life. It is that, but it is much more. The resurrection is something that buoys up every moment of life and every aspect of reality. God is always making new life and undergirding it with a goodness, graciousness, mercy, and love that, in the end, heals all wounds, forgives all sins, and brings deadness of all kinds to new life.”
– Ronald Rolheiser
Our life becomes a prayer, becomes a sensing of God's presence, becomes worship, becomes talking and listening to God.
Mary Magdalene who was first human to tell of Jesus resurrection. How did she begin? She talked with Jesus. She heard Him say her name, and her eyes were opened.
Peter was an erratic mess, in shambles, buried in shame. And in talking and listening to Jesus after the resurrection, his life was reasssmbeld stronger than before.
Thomas was full of doubt. He wouldnt believe his friends’ account of Jesus being alive. He has to see Him for himself too talk with Him.
A couple on the road to Emmaus - they were leaving dejected and confused. They talked with a man as they left town. And then they finally recognized Him in the breaking of bread.
As they recounted their time with Him they said, as we were talking....
Did our hearts not burn?
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
What should we do?
But the reality is many of us find prayer challenging.
We struggle to get started
We struggle to keep it going
We struggle to make it a regular part of our day
Many of us feel we don't pray very well
We wish we prayed more
Caleb says:
“And the least part of the challenge from my experience is that many of us have a primary way we have thought about prayer that is basically EYES CLOSED SPIRITUAL IMPROV”
Have you experienced prayer this way?
How would you describe your experience of prayer?
Is your idea of prayer helpful for or hindering to your prayer experience?
And if that is intimidating, then hear this:
You are not alone
That’s not the only way to pray
“The great and sprawling university that Hebrews and Christians have attended to learn to answer God, to learn to pray, has been the Psalms. More people have learned to pray by matriculating in the Psalms than in any other way. The Psalms were the prayer book of Israel; they were the prayer book of Jesus; they are the prayer book of the church. At no time in the Hebrew and Christian centuries (with the possible exception of our own) have the Psalms not been at the very center of all concern and practice in prayer.”
– Eugene Peterson
In Jesus’s most trying moments, He prays a pre-written prayer that He is familiar with. He was praying the psalms.
“My God my God why have you forsaken me”
“Into thy hands I commit my spirit”
– Psalm 22 and Psalm 36.
We learn to pray by praying other prayers.
The Psalms is an amazing place to learn to pray.
Our vision as a church this year is to expand our prayer life.
For every person in TGC to talk and listen to God every day.
“The Psalms model ways of talking to God that are honest, yet not obvious – at least, they are not obvious to modern Christians. They may guide our first steps toward deeper involvement with God because the Psalms give us a new possibility for prayer; they invite full disclosure. They enable us to bring into our conversation with God feelings and thoughts that most of us think we need to get rid of before God will be interested in hearing from us. The point of the shocking psalms is not to sanctify what is shameful (for example, the desire for sweet revenge) or to make us feel better about parts of ourselves that stand in need of change. Rather, the Psalms teach us that profound change happens always in the presence of God. Over and over they attest to the reality that when we open our minds and hearts fully to God who made them, then we open ourselves, whether we know it or not to the possibility of being transformed beyond our imagining.”
– Ellen F. Davis: Getting Involved with God
Easter tells us God’ve love will not fail.
Unfailing love is a pretty good foundation for prayer - God is not disappointed in you.
For conversation - for talking and listening
God is always previous - you don’t have to start it all
God is in conversation - you don;t have to sustain it all
Praying the Psalm is a way to being when you can’t work out how to begin
“I need a language that is large enough to maintain continuities, supple enough to maintain nuances across a lifetime that brackets child and adult experiences, and courageous enough to explore all the countries of sin and salvation, mercy and grace, creation and covenant, anxiety and trust, unbelief and faith that compromise the continental human condition. The Psalms are this large, supple, and courageous language.”
– Eugene Peterson
Praying the Psalms this week:
Like Mary, you may hear your name called
Like Peter, you may sense a lifting of your shame
Like Thomas, you have have your doubts confronted
Like those leaving town going to Emmaus, you may find your heart burning.
The Psalms lift our spirit before they lift our circumstances.
