In what ways does reflecting on Jesus’ baptism impact the way that you view your baptism?

Searching for Jesus when he’s come up missing. You’ll find him being about the Father’s business.

During our series where we talked about habits that shape our heart for God, I came to the realization that our calendars shape us to love and worship things of our culture and society more so than shaping our love and longing for God. Over the years, I’ve been fascinated by the rhythms of the Christian calendar and how it has the potential to guide the hearts of those who pay attention to it. If you’re like me, you probably had no idea that there was a Christian calendar. 

We’re in the week of Thanksgiving which brings about a time of reflection of what we’re thankful for. I’m taking a little bit of a different direction this Sunday with Thanksgiving on our minds. When we take time to be thankful, we start to see all of the good around us even amongst the chaos of this world. When I think about the chaos of life and of this world, I’m thankful for something I do not yet have. I’m thankful for God’s redemption and reconciliation of all things. Take a moment to read Romans 8. The future glory of God’s redemption is the hope that we have. All of creation longs for it. They cry out for it. We feel it in our bones every time something tragic happens. We long for God to restore all things back to the goodness he intended for it in the first place. This longing is called “hope.” 

This Sunday we will focus on one of our habits, one of our rituals, which is meant to reorient us, shape our hearts, and transform us. This practice is found at the center of Christian community from the beginnings of the church. Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took the bread of the Passover feast and told them to take it and proclaimed, “This is my body.” He did the same thing with the cup of wine, “This is my blood.” He took two of the elements from the feast which celebrated God liberating his people from slavery and made a new covenant. We are people of this story. A story much like Israel’s but much bigger. The story we are part of goes back to the beginning and includes God’s people. We take the bread because it is the body of Christ. We take the cup because it is the blood of Christ. 

This week as we continue our series on loving God with our emotions, I want to continue to grapple with what Paul says in Colossians 3:1-17. Paul gives two lists that are contrasted between the “Old Self” and “New Clothing.” 

We have come to the final instalment of our five-part series of how we express love for God: through Emotions. Some people are wired towards outpouring of emotions. Their natural reaction to everything is going to be deep emotion. If there’s a joyful song, they are most likely dancing, clapping, or raising their hands. In times of lament, they have tears. Emotions pour out of them. This is what I typically think of when thinking about “Loving God through emotions.” 

Spend some time this week reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15 in light of what it means to pray this together as a community. Reflect and meditate on each line and what it tells us about being a Family. When you pray as an individual and pray “our Father” and “forgive us of our sins,” how does this plural prayer change the focus of your prayers? 

Yesterday at the end of my sermon, I shared a practice that I have tried to do every day for the last nine months or so that I loosely called “Praying the Senses.” A few people asked me for some details around what I do in that practice, so I thought I would offer it publicly for anyone who wants it. I also had a few people ask for some resources around the presence of God and spiritual disciplines, so I’ll also link a few books that I’ve found helpful at the bottom of this post.