The Practice Podcast

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/