Practicing the Way

Jesus teachings are always directed not at human behavior, but at the human heart, brining awareness to the root issues, and bringing redemption to the broken human condition. When set our lives to follow Jesus we learn:

To be with Jesus 

Learn from Jesus 

Do what Jesus did 

Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual Disciplines are a means towards drawing closer to God.  In this space we  learn to detach from the things of this world, what the hidden areas of our lives that we all have, the patterns in us that we use  to run towards for comfort, to escape when storms of life come our way and these disciplines help us to learn to Trust and experience God’s love. 

Confession:

At the heart of God is the desire to forgive. The redemptive process is a great mystery hidden in the heart of God. Confession to God brings to light the areas in our lives that create a distancing from us and God. It brings awareness to the areas where we don’t trust God, and run away from Him. Confession makes us aware of our brokenness and this is the ground where we experience God’s forgiveness and mercy. Confession is an opportunity to receive healing. This sacred ground  in our souls is where we come to terms with our sinfulness and realize how much we need God and His Forgiveness in our lives. 

Fasting:

Fasting is a whole-body orientation towards God, it is where we come to pray with our whole being.  Fasting is the response to a sacred moment, not an instrument designed to get desired results. Biblical fasting is about the coming together of the body and soul, its where our bodies and spirit are become one. Fasting is a means to abide in and encounter the love of God and render and prioritize dependency and trust upon God. 

Prayer:

This is the heartbeat of our loving union with God the Father. Prayer is not just something that we do, it is who we are. It is not only a means of mental processing, but it is a means of being, the essence of who we are at the core. In prayer we come to do all of life with God, and through God. We learn how to process our emotions, embrace reality, be vulnerable and authentic, complain, and doubt, lament and grieve all in the loving presence of God. In Prayer we come home to the heart of the Father, who embraces us just as we are. Prayer is the place where we rest, and peace is found, where we can be vulnerable and free. It is a place of deep intimacy where we experience being known to the fullest. 

Silence and Solitude:

Silence is where we come first and foremost to be with Jesus and Jesus alone. It is the incubating chamber, the secret place where we come to know that we are the beloved. In silence we learn to cultivate inner stillness and listening heart that is waiting to hear the Voice of God above every other voice and noise that pulls for our attention.

Solitude is a defiant rebellion against the way of the world, it is where we learn to flee from and retreat to the inner sanctuary without our hearts to be with God and to be loved by Him alone in all of our brokenness, compulsions, addictions, and messiness that so often come with life.

Sabbath

Is created and consecrated by God as a day of rest and worship. In sabbath we are invited to enter into this reality to be rejuvenated and delight in the wonders of God, but also to be present to God and ourselves. The sabbath is the rhythm by which we learn to come and rest in the love of the Father and enter into the easy yoke that Jesus offers so freely.

Scripture

Scripture is the living breathing Word of God. Not only is this a collection of ancient texts with wisdom and guidelines to an abundant life, but it is the person of the trinitarian God. Scripture shapes and forms the true reality and narrative that the gospel offers in the life of the Kingdom. Scripture is where we meet the incarnate Himself, and brings transformation in our mind, heart, body, and soul. Scripture enters our souls as food enters the our mouths, and spreads through our body as energy, and becomes holiness and love and wisdom.