If Scripture is the primary means by which God speaks to us as his followers, prayer is the primary means by which we speak to God. Luke 11 is a key text on prayer because it’s the one place in the Bible where Jesus’ disciples literally came to him and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” So what follows are the words of the rabbi to his apprentices, saying, “This is how you pray.” 1. The Precedent of Prayer. You ever think about this? Why was Jesus so often found praying (e.g. Mark 1:35; Luke 5:15-16; 6:12; 11:1; 22:39-41)? He’s...
We begin our deep dive on the ten practices of following Jesus, and we begin with Scripture because it’s impossible to know Jesus, and follow the way of Jesus, apart from knowing his Word. It is through his Word that we know his person, his work, his will, and his ways. Before we get into four main ways of reading the Bible, consider for a moment what the Bible is. It’s more than a collection of stories, rules, poems, and prophecies. And it’s certainly not an anthology of myths, legends, and good advice. The Bible is the inspired Word of...
In modern academics, we go to school to learn subjects like History, Science, Math, and English. A successful education is defined in terms of being able to retain and use a certain percent of the information we’re learning. Generally, we don’t spend time with our teachers outside of the classroom, and we certainly aren’t trying to pattern our lives after theirs. But in the rabbinic model of discipleship, becoming like your teacher was the whole point. Taking on the identity of your rabbi was even more important than memorizing facts and information. In this lesson, we’ll see how Jesus purposely...
We are all always being discipled by someone (or something). If we’re not deliberately following Jesus, we’ll follow someone else by default. One of the most critical things we need in order to follow Jesus is a paradigm shift. We must stop patterning our assumptions, thoughts, and methods after our culture, and pattern them after the way of Jesus instead. Our urban, post-Christian, progressive society prioritizes individualism and information, and it wants everything instantly. This is the “trellis” upon which our lives will grow if we’re not intentional to grow upon the paradigm of Jesus instead. Here’s the central theme...
Is it possible to live your whole life thinking you’re a Christian, thinking you have a right relationship with God, thinking you’re on your way to heaven, and be completely wrong? According to Jesus himself, the answer is yes (see Matthew 7:21-23). This brings up a very basic and vitally important question: What does it mean to be a Christian? This word means a lot of different things to different people. Is it someone who simply believes in God? Is it someone with traditional/conservative morals? Is it someone who tends to vote a certain way? Is it someone who associates...
