Category: Spirituality

Many individuals, groups and churches begin the year with a season of prayer. I think it is a great idea. Our church begins a 14 day period of prayer beginning today. We are encouraging everyone to take some additional time aside to pray - personally, with their family or in their small group.  We are … Continue reading A Season of Prayer

Here are a few insightful comments from Jesus about prayer ... When you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, … Continue reading Jesus and Prayer

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called into a relationship with Him. Christianity is not just a religion OR even a certain set of beliefs OR even a certain set of practices, as important as they are. It is about a relationship with the living God. God doesn’t want just religious activity or even … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#7) – Listening

Partaking in the Sacred Meal links us with brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world today and in an unbroken line right back to the very first disciples of Jesus over 2000 years ago. Yet, sadly this meal has become a major source of division and disunity within the church of Jesus Christ … Continue reading The Controversy of the Sacred Meal

A very important ancient practice for disciples is regular participation in the Lord’s Supper. This sacred meal is known by a number of terms including breaking bread, the table of the Lord, communion, and the Eucharist (which means thanksgiving).  Jesus instituted this practice when eating with his disciples just before his death (see Matt.26:26-29. Mark … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#6) – The Sacred Meal

Jesus tells us in Mark 2:23-28 that the “Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.” In other words, God’s intention in instituting the Sabbath Day was for our own benefit. In reality, Jesus never violated God’s Sabbath. He simply confronted the religious leader’s additional rules and traditions they had added to God’s … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#5) – Sabbath

The concept of pilgrimage refers to a journey or search of great significance. Adherents of many religions participate in pilgrimages today. Jews go to Jerusalem while Muslims go to Mecca. Christians through the centuries have also at times made pilgrimages to places such as Jerusalem, similar to what the Jews did in Bible times for the … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#4b) – Pilgrimage

This coming weekend, we continue with our "Ancient Practices" series. We will be looking at two unique practices: The Liturgical Year and Pilgrimage.  The English word "liturgy" means "a form of public worship, a particular arrangement of services, or a particular form or type of communion service." Every church tradition has some form of liturgy, … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#4a) – the Liturgical Year

As we are talking about "Ancient Practices," I thought it would be worth re-posting this article on Dallas Willard and "spirituality." In June 2005, as part of my Doctor of Ministry program with Fuller Theological Seminary, I participated in a two week intensive course on Spirituality and Ministry with Dallas Willard. Dallas Willard is a … Continue reading Dallas Williard – Spirituality

This coming weekend, we will be looking at another ancient practice used by followers of Christ for centuries - fasting. Jesus himself fasted for 40 days at the beginning of his ministry, releasing great power into his ministry. He expected that his followers would fast from time to time too. Fasting can be a powerful … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#3) – Fasting

This weekend we continue our series on Ancient Practices. God is calling his people back to the "ancient paths" and one of those is discipleship. Disciples are those who have been captured by the love of Jesus and who have responded by surrendering their lives to his loving leadership. Their goal is to be like … Continue reading Ancient Practices (#2) – Constant Prayer

Last weekend at CityLife Church, we began a series of messages called Ancient Practices. We are re-discovering some of the practices that disciples of Jesus have engaged throughout the centuries in order to become like their master. Our primary resources are the stories about Jesus and his life on earth as recorded in the Gospels. … Continue reading Resources for Spiritual Formation

Disciples have it as their goal to become like their master – Jesus. This was Jesus’ clear intended goal for his followers: "follow me, learn from me, take my yoke upon you, follow my example, make disciples, teach them to put into practice everything I have taught you." Only as we experience genuine personal transformation … Continue reading Ancient Practices

The prophet Jeremiah lived and ministered in a time of growing spiritual apathy and moral decline. Despite repeated warnings, God's people were drifting away from Him. As a result, instead of being a positive influence on the surrounding nations, they were becoming just like them. They had already fallen from the height and splendour of … Continue reading The Ancient Paths