What a gift it was to have Frederica Mathewes-Green with us last night! After a powerful opening liturgy, Frederica guided us in an exploration of God’s holy presence from an Eastern Orthodox persepctive. God is present in all things, and we must tune our minds like an inner radio to perceive God’s presence with us and in the world.
Frederica then led us in the Jesus Prayer. This prayer is a foundational practice in the Orthodox tradition. It helps us to put into practice Saint Paul’s teaching to pray continually, and it is an exercise for tuning our minds to the presence of God at all times. Our practice of the Jesus Prayer then led us into Christ’s presence at the communion table. Have a listen to the podcast.
Kingdom Practices
Our first kingdom practice for the week is to make time to practice the Jesus Prayer every day. Live in this prayer and see how the Holy Spirit might shape you through it.
Let’s also continue crafting our rhythm of life. At our gathering on March 5th, we zeroed in on the desires God is leading us toward in this season of life. Did Frederica’s teaching impact those desires? Were they challenged or pushed or refined last night? We also began the work of identifying some key disciplines that open us to the Holy Spirit to be transformed. How are your practices going? If you are struggling to identify a discipline, might the Jesus Prayer be one? If you were not with us on March 5th, this worksheet will be a helpful guide to craft your simple rhythm of life.
Additional Resources:
[amazon text=The Jesus Prayer&asin=1557256594] by Frederica Mathewes-Green is a helpful resource for further exploring the Jesus Prayer.
[amazon text=Spiritual Disciplines Handbook&asin=0830846050] by Adele Calhoun is the best and most comprehensive resource for individual disciplines around.
Being Disciples is a short read (and FREE!) about the role of the spiritual disciplines on this journey.
[amazon text=Sacred Rhythms&asin=0830833331] by Ruth Barton casts a beautiful vision for a rhythm of life.
[amazon text=God in My Everything&asin=0310499259] by Ken Shigematsu is another wonderful book about rhythms of life.
[amazon text=Crafting a Rule of Life&asin=0830835644] by Stephen Macchia is a practical resource for building a rhythm of life.
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