The Practice Podcast

During his ministry, Jesus repeatedly referred to himself as the Bread of Life. His words would have stirred echoes of the Torah: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Just as bread sustains the body, the words of the LORD nourish the soul. Yet, Jesus’s teachings were not always easy to digest. His words could be unsettling and paradigm-shifting, turning long-held beliefs on their heads. Some who heard him turned away. But Simon Peter recognized the truth. When others left, he confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” In this series, we will dive deep into one of Jesus’s most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount. We will consider how these words of life nourish us, even as they challenge us, and how we might apply them to our lived stories today. This week, Rebecca invited us to see the Beatitudes through the lens of hope.  We practiced visio divina together with this painting. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we contemplated the Good Samaritan. Nicole invited us to consider how inheriting eternal life is not a transactional box to check, but an ongoing invitation to love.  We practiced visio divina together with this painting. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we contemplated the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. These parables remind us of the slow, unexpected, often hidden work of God's kingdom in the world, and they extend an invitation of hope. We can know that even in the bleakest of times, God is present and working. Even in the trials, we can lean into God and be formed to be like Jesus.  We practiced visio divina together with this painting (and artist note) from the artist Dawn Haecker. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we examined a parable that is often misunderstood, the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. Hitch helped us to consider its framing around prayer, the parable's focus on injustice, and the question of faith. In the end, we are reminded of "how much more" our Father in heaven will give to his children who dwell in the kingdom. We practiced visio divina together with this paining from the artist Ronnie Farmer Jr. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we explored the Parable of the Minas (Talents). Ruth invited us to consider the questions this parable invites us to ask. Do we trust our King, Jesus? Do we know who he is, and do we trust he will do what he says? We practiced visio divina together with this painting from Grace Pouch. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we explored the Parable of the Sower. Our new friend, Bethany Tippin, invited us to consider the soils, and the invitation to yield to the wise and generous love of God. We practiced visio divina together with this painting from Bethany. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we considered the Parable of the Great Banquet. How does this party demonstrate the incredible grace of God and invite us to respond? And where do we see ourselves in this story? How do we want to imagine ourselves in God's kingdom but when it comes down to it, we want little to do with it? As Dr. Burge asked, how do we say yes to God but refuse to show up? If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

Parables are a significant part of Jesus’s teaching. These brilliant stories paint a picture of life in the kingdom, teaching us about God, ourselves, and the Lord’s presence and activity in the world. But they are not easy. Rather than give us simple platitudes and truisms, Jesus challenges us with parables. They are intended to draw us in. Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to walk around with, meditate and have conversations about them. In this series, we will dig into the context of parables from Luke’s Gospel. We will consider the picture Jesus is painting of God’s kingdom, and we will engage these stories through the spiritual practice of visio divina (with some original art from our community). This week, we considered the Parable of the Lost Sons and invited the Holy Spirit to teach us the "merciful wideness of God's Fatherly love." How is God calling us to let go and embrace the compassionate parent this parable shows God to be? If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

At the heart of the gospel is a story of Christ's redeeming work. How we understand this story impacts who we understand God to be, how we see ourselves, and how we relate with God. In this series, we will consider what Jesus accomplishes in his life, death, and resurrection, and we will seek to live in the fullness Christ’s atoning work. This week, we reflected on the atonement story that invites us to consider the life of Jesus in addition to his death and resurrection. How does the heart of God expressed in Christ invite us to be formed by God to live a cruciform life like Jesus? This practice is a part of our series, Stories of Atonement. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/

At the heart of the gospel is a story of Christ's redeeming work. How we understand this story impacts who we understand God to be, how we see ourselves, and how we relate with God. In this series, we will consider what Jesus accomplishes in his life, death, and resurrection, and we will seek to live in the fullness Christ’s atoning work. This week, we reflected on the atonement story that invites us to consider the life of Jesus in addition to his death and resurrection. How does the heart of God expressed in Christ invite us to be formed by God to live a cruciform life like Jesus? If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://thepracticechurch.com/give/