We are diving into the first of nine Spiritual Practices we’ll study this year.

These habits of the faith help us grow in our knowledge of scripture and strengthen our relationship with Jesus. Fasting is our body’s natural response to difficult spiritual situations like illness, death, sin, etc. Involving our bodies in this form of “lament” is the same as involving them in praise like raising hands or kneeling. Let’s dig in and discover something new!

As we get a bit further into the book of Luke and specifically the example of Mary & Martha, how do the Psalms allow you to focus and reflect on your relationship with God? The writers that so beautifully crafted this book were desiring to be closer to God. The worship and praise, despair and lament contained in its verses speak to a deep longing that God, in his mercy, would hear and respond to.

Never has there been a more important time to be the best at something. Jesus was facing a powerful adversary at a time when his body was weak, but his mind and his heart were filled with the promises of his Father. Jesus knew the truth - the power was his and where all others had failed, he would succeed. Evil had no power over him.

As a complement to the theme “The One Thing” for this year, the first Sunday of each month will highlight important habits of the faith that increase awareness of God’s presence, promote individual spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with Jesus. Do you consistently read your bible? Do you take opportunities to pray and confess your sin? We look forward with great anticipation to what God will teach us this year!

Remember John, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah? Just like Jesus, he’d grown up and was now preaching in the surrounding country about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He told the people what they should and should not be be doing and to say he was getting folks fired up is an understatement, but to what end? What was all the fuss about?

”And as Jesus grew up, he increased in stature, wisdom and favor with God and man.”

It seems like a natural progression that, in our own ‘growing up’, we should both grow physically but as believers in Christ, also increase in biblical knowledge, wisdom and foster a closer relationship with the him. But is that actually what happens? How do we meet that goal?

Mary or Martha? It’s tough, sometimes, to choose stillness rather than dashing around to prepare for the next thing. “But, it’s got to get done…” we tell ourselves. “I’ve got a list!”

What if it was actually better… in all the ways that really matter… to set the ‘to do’ list aside and instead, discover THE ONE THING worth being concerned about?

We are taking a deep dive into the book of Luke in 2025. Our prayer is that each of us would learn to sit more often at the feet of Jesus, spending less time fretting over whatever thing is coming up, and more time listening to what He has to teach us.

The magi... they were travelers from the east who'd arrived in Jerusalem asking some unpopular questions. Clearly, word had gotten out that a baby - THE baby that was the Messiah - had been born. What should have been a serene, blessed event turned into unrestrained jealousy and evil... a path not so different from our much more recent past and even our present.