“I wanted to know how we could integrate the life of Christ in our daily concerns. I was always trying to articulate what I was dealing with. I thought that if it was very deep, it might also be something other people were struggling with. It was based on the idea that what is most personal might be the more universal.” - Henri Nouwen

“The practice of contemplative prayer is the discipline by which we begin to ‘see’ the living God dwelling in our own hearts. Careful attentiveness to the One who makes a home in the privileged center of our being gradually leads to recognition.” - Henri Nouwen in Clowning in Rome

Be With Jesus

“…the first and most important goal of apprenticeship to Jesus: to be with him, to spend every waking moment aware of his presence and attentive to his voice. To cultivate a with-ness to Jesus as the baseline of your entire life. Following Jesus is not a three-step formula: be with him, become like him, and so on. But there is a sequence. It is not a program but a progression. First, you come and be with Jesus; gradually you start to become like him; eventually, it’s like you can’t help it - you begin to do the kinds of things he did in the world. We see this progression in the stories of the original disciples: They spent…years just following him around Israel and sitting at his feet. Very slowly they began to change, and eventually, he ‘sent them out’ to preach.” - John Mark Comer

John 14:16-20
“‘…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.’”

John 14:25-27
“‘All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’”

Garden of Gethsemane - B-Roll Video

John 15:1-4
“‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.’”

John 15:5-8
“‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’”

meno, translated here as “remain” is also translated as “abide” or “stay” or “dwell.”
“Make your home in me, as I make my home in you.”

“All of us have a source we are rooted in, a kind of default setting we return to. An emotional home. It’s where our minds go when they’re not busy with tasks, where our feelings go when we need solace, where our bodies go when we have free time, and where our money goes after we pay the bills… this matters, because whatever we ‘abide’ in will determine the ‘fruit’ of our lives, for good or for ill.

If we are rooted in the infinite scroll of social media, it will form us, likely into people who are angry, anxious, arrogant, simplistic and distracted. If we are rooted in the endless queues of our streaming platforms of choice, they will form us too, likely into people who are lustful, restless, and bored, never present to what is… If we are rooted in the pursuit of hedonism - another drink, another toke, or another hookup to take the edge off the pain and let us find a moment’s peace - that will form us as well, likely into people who are compulsive, addictive, and running from our pain and, simultaneously, our healing.

But if we are rooted in the inner life of God…that will also form us. It will slowly grow the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in our life; ‘love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ Where is your emotional home?” - John Mark Comer

Be With Jesus:
Turn God into a habit.

Romans 12:2
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Be With Jesus:
Turn God into a habit.
The reward for following Jesus…is Jesus.

“In our fast-paced, productivity-obsessed, digitally distracted culture that is endlessly chasing the life script of up and to the right, time is money and money is god. So, the idea of slowing down, coming to quiet, dealing with the myriad of distractions within and without, and just letting God love you into a person of love, sounds like a waste of time. In fact, professor James Houston once called prayer ‘wasting time on God.’ He didn’t mean prayer is a waste; he meant, in a culture like ours, prayer can feel like a waste of time. But to those who have discovered the possibility of life with God, it is the pinnacle of human existence. Once you’ve tasted of prayer - true prayer - you realize that deepening your surrender to and honing your attention on God are literally the most important things in the world.

Prayer (that is, being with Jesus) is our primary portal to joy. It’s the best part not just of each day but of life. Prayer - of any kind - will always remain a chore, another task on our religious to-do list, until we come to realize that Jesus himself is our ‘exceedingly great reward.’ That the reward for following Jesus is, well, Jesus. It’s the sheer joy of friendship with him. Jesus himself said to his disciples, ‘No longer do I call you servants… I have called you friends.’ Prayer is how we cultivate this friendship.” - John Mark Comer

Philippians 3:7-10
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him… I want to know Christ…”

Be With Jesus:
Turn God into a habit.
The reward for following Jesus…is Jesus.
Find your secret place.

Questions and conversation about teaching in the Fireside Room:
Curiosity: What did you learn? What questions do you have?
Conviction: Did the Holy Spirit convict you of any truth through the service? What surprised you/caught you off guard?
Community: How does this message lead us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ in new ways? How does it help open our eyes to our neighbors?
Challenge: How are we going to respond and obey the Holy Spirit’s conviction/the word of God from the sermon this week?



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