Have you ever wondered:

“How do I spend time with God alone?” “How do I pray?” “How do I read the Bible?” “What does a Jesus-centred community look like?” “How would Jesus have me serve others?”

These may seem like simple questions at first glance, but they are in actuality deeply profound. These are known as spiritual practices and we will be exploring these in the coming weeks through the Gospel According to John.

So why are we spending time focusing on spiritual practices? This is not an attempt at re-energizing legalism or works of righteousness. Those two terms have historically described employing “what we do” to somehow earn God’s love and acceptance. It is exhausting, toxic, and ultimately futile according to Jesus. By the Cross, we can know with certainty that we will never be loved less nor can we be loved more by God. His love and acceptance of us are full and complete.

Beginning from a place of already being accepted and loved, the reason for our focus on spiritual practices is to fully experience the new life found in Jesus; to bear the fruit of love, generosity, and peace daily. This is often called apprenticeship with Jesus and it is the beginning of a life-long spiritual journey.