Things a good Rule of Life will do for you: 1) It will help you turn vision into reality 2) It will help you live with the peace that comes from God alone. 3) It will help you live more as a human being then a human doing 4) It will help you live out the Jesus way
A rule of life is a set of practices and relational rhythms, that create space for us to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and do what he did, in alignment with our deepest desires in accordance to how He has made us!
We have a problem with time, and the solution is not more time. The solution: Slow down and build your life around the essentials Jesus modeled for us.
On a daily basis we have to put to death all kinds of desires that we carry in the tension of our personhood. This “way of the cross” is foundational to our apprenticeship under Jesus and being transformed into His image!
The Holy Spirit is the primary change agent in your spiritual growth and formation. As you walk in the Spirit and abide in Christ, allow his presence to be known by you throughout your day. Utilize spiritual practices/disciples in your life and the result will be the Fruit of the Spirit. This is why the spiritual disciplines are essential to deep transformation in your life. You and I will never be transformed inside out without them.
Christian spiritual growth and formation is as much as tied to others, as it is to God. There is a gap between the ideal of community and the messy reality of community and discipleship happens in the space in between all of this!
There is great power in practice: “The things we do, do something to us.” We encourage you to take a liturgical audit of all your routines and habits. * How do you spend your week and weekends? * Spend a few minutes day and write down all your habits and routines * What are these habits/practices doing to your heart?
Intentional Spiritual Formation through teaching must counter the stories we believe about ourselves and the world. Good teaching can counter the stories we believe, while practices counter our habits. It is not enough to know it--we have to want it. Our practices give shape to our desires! What we do is what we become!
We take a pause from our series and will take time for extended music and quiet to practice some of the principles we've covered so far. We hope you're blessed by this time to slow down and sing!
The key goal of any apprentice is to do the things they are being taught by their master. The beauty of Jesus’ method: 1) It’s something you are already doing 2) Anyone can do this
Spiritual formation is not a Christian thing…it is a human thing. We are all being “shaped” and “formed” every minute of every day. Put it another way, we are all an apprentice of someone or something. The question is by whom are what are we being shaped?
The core of the Daily Office is not so much turning to God to get something from Him, but to be “with” Him. It is an act of offering yourself to “be with” God. Being with Jesus is not meant to add one more thing to you already busy schedule. It is meant to reset your life towards a new destination—the joy of God.
How does an apprentice of Jesus produce the fruit of the Spirit, the inner disposition of Jesus? Not by trying really hard, but by “abiding” in the vine….learning to “be with” Jesus. If you want to experience the life of Jesus, you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.
If you are apprenticing under Jesus, it is not about knowing all about Jesus; it’s about living like Jesus. So, what does it mean to follow Jesus? 1) Be with Him 2) Become like Him 3) Do what Jesus did
