If you missed out on our first intensive, we’re practicing morning, mid-day, and evening prayer together this week. Come ready next week to discuss your experience with the practice.

Here are the short prayers I wrote, that I will be repeating all week.

AM: Father, fix my heart on your today. Give me strength to pursue your glory as a husband, father, friend, and pastor.

Mid-Day: Dear Lord, you are sovereign. Give me peace as I trust your plan for today. Help me see and repent of my desire to dethrone you.

PM: Thank you God for all that you are and have done today. Give me a heart for you as my flesh is weakened by the day.

That’s it! Short and sweet. This daily practice should take you no time at all, but it’s a wonderful chance to practice the way of Jesus.

I’ve attached the Powerpoint with some of the quotes we discussed and a brief class review below in case you missed the first one. You should be through page 46 by next Wednesday July 12th.

Aaron Sanford

Teaching Pastor

Discuss Previous Week’s Practice

Lecture on Material

Review this Week’s Practice

We took some time to talk about our individual experiences with Spiritual Practices and talk about what we wanted to get out of the class. Tina probably said it best, let’s think about our practices and habits to consider “Who do we want to become?”

We then talked about what it means to be “formed” vs what it means to just learn something. Formation takes practice, takes action. Action takes a little more work than learning!

From page 17 of the book, we discussed “Talking about Jesus while ignoring the way of Jesus has created an American Christianity that is far more American than it is Christian.”

That’s not what we want!

We then discussed what Spiritual Formation is and isn’t. It’s not a “todo” or a way to earn God’s favor, it’s a way to participate in the restoration God has already accomplished for us.

Gretchen Ronnevik says that it’s more about “dependence than independence.”

From page 27 of her book, Ragged, we discussed the quote “We often treasure attributes that don’t align with the Gospel—Attributes like independence, autonomy, and pride in oneself.”

We’re not here to feel more confident about our “Christian” abilities, we’re here to learn how to rely more regularly on the presence of God and the community He’s given us.

Formed by God - We wanted practices and habits that draw us closer to God himself. We're working against the world, the flesh, and the Devil, but we have the Spirit using the Way of Jesus to form us by the presence of God.

Peace & Joy - God's glory is central to all we do not only because He deserves it, but also because we were made for it. In fact, it's focusing our hearts on Him and His glory that brings more peace and joy.

Rule of Life - The last two weeks of the class, after taking six other weeks to try different practices, we'll share and each build out our own Rule of Life.

As Justin Early says in Habits of the Household, page 10, “you practiced yourself into it, so you have to practice your way out of it.”