Mar 23, 2025
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If you’ve spent any time around faith communities, you know that prayer is something that gets
mentioned a lot. And yet, few topics induce a sense of intimidation or guilt more than prayer: What do I say? Where do I start? Where do I find the time? And there are deeper questions: Is God listening? Does he want to hear what I have to say? What if I’m too angry to pray? Or just discouraged because it didn’t seem to “work” the last time? Even if you feel comfortable praying it’s a struggle to find the time; how can I possibly add one more thing into my day?
The Bible offers a vision of prayer that is far more natural, attainable, interesting, and fulfilling than what many of us have imagined. Rightly understood, prayer becomes less like crossing things off a grocery list, and more like sharing a leisurely breakfast with a good friend. It’s not just talking at God or to God, but with God about our lives and the lives of those we love. Along the way you can discover that instead of a burden, prayer becomes a gift—a means of deepening a friendship with God.
This takes time… and trust… and honesty… and consistency. But it doesn’t need to be intimidating. There are no special formulas or techniques, just learning to be mindful of God’s presence with us. Following the example of Jesus, we too can learn the habit of praying more naturally, meaningfully, and regularly.
In learning to “talk with God” we want to do more than learn about prayer, but to actually pray more. Each week, we’ll offer practical exercises to try during quiet moments of reflection as well as on a commute, while caring for a child, or even in the middle of a fight! Our hope is that prayer will become a more natural part of your day; and not only will your outward circumstances change, but also your inward sense of intimacy with the God. Join us for this series as we seek to deepen our own friendship with God, the One who made us and loves us, by simply talking with Him.
Jan 26, 2025
Jan 19, 2025
Jan 12, 2025
Jan 05, 2025
“What other time or season can or will the Church ever have but that of Advent?” So says theologian Karl Barth. That’s because when we place our particular cultural moment within the broader timeline of history, we, The Church, are a people who live “between the times.” We live in the tension of the now and the not yet, between the inauguration of God’s good kingdom in the first coming of Jesus, and the and the fulfillment and consummation of that kingdom at his second coming. Jesus’ first coming, incognito in a stable in Bethlehem will be very different from his second coming, when he will descend in the clouds, come with glory to judge the living and the dead, and every knee will bow. And then this from Revelation 21:3-5, “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things is passed away. Behold, I am making all things new!”
This is why, for the Church, it is always Advent. The word “advent” is based on an ancient Latin word: ad (to) and vent (come). To come. It’s all about waiting. And the focus is not so much on looking back at Jesus’ first coming, though that is how much of our society views it. It’s more about looking forward to Jesus’ second coming. And waiting for the fullness of God’s kingdom to come is challenging! It’s hard to wait for two thousand years! We get impatient. We get discouraged by the delay. We get distracted.
This series seeks to help us to live more into the reality of our waiting, just as All The Earth Is Waiting for the great final act of history. We will spend the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas Eve reflecting on what we are waiting for and how we can wait, culminating in remembering Jesus’ first coming as the assurance of his second coming.
Dec 22, 2024