NoDa Church

He is risen! This proclamation and statement of faith is the center of the Gospel that we as Christians proclaim. Because of our over focus on the death of Jesus to save us from our sins, we have sometimes become people who wait around waiting for the day to come when we can leave this place. The resurrection of Jesus Christ ushers in the New Creation and the Kingdom of God lived out here and now by his followers as we wait for it to be made fully known when Christ returns. "His is Risen!" becomes the proclamation of the gospel in every moment of our lives as we see the world's brokenness and breathe new life into it.

What is the Gospel? How you answer that determines how you read and understand the Bible, how you live your life, and how you engage people and the world around you. We need to reclaim the fullness of the Gospel and live into the reality we are to proclaim.

In a loud world where speaking takes more value than listening, the church is called to be a non-anxious presence to create space for listening and reconciliation. The world makes changes through force, through cancel culture, boycotts, and the like. These kinds of movements have potential to change policy but rarely change hearts. The church has a responsibility to step into the tension and bring about a transformative reconciliation the brings people closer together. Paul calls this the ministry of the church as Christ's ambassadors and God's co workers (2 Corinthians 5).

How would life be different if we invited God's presence to be made especially known in the spaces we enter and inhabit? Would it change the way we see people? Would it change the way we act? Eyes were opened to Jesus's identity in the breaking of bread in Luke 24. May the eyes of every person we meet be opened to who Christ is in our lives when we sanctify the spaces around us. At some point this week before entering a community space, pray this prayer: Lord, make me aware of what you are doing in the lives of the people I encounter in this space. Make me attentive to the needs of each person I meet as though I am attentive to Jesus himself. Help me to leave that person more at peace, filled with joy, and/or more in touch with the love of God. Lord, come quickly and make your presence known. Amen. At the end of your day, answer these questions: - Where did I feel the Holy Spirit tugging at me to act? - Was I hesitant? Why? - How would that situation have gone differently if I had slowed down to be attentive to God's presence? - Pray that you'll be more aware and attentive tomorrow.

Read John 6:1-15 as a Eucharistic passage where Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, and then distributes it for the nourishment of the multitudes. Consider the elements of the table: bread and wine. God gives us grain and grapes. We make the bread and the wine and offer it back to God. The mystery of the Lord's Supper is that God then sanctifies the gift we have given and gives it back to us as the body and blood of Christ. Our simple gift is transformed into the nourishment of the church and transformation of the world. What small gift do you have to give, that when offered to God can nourish the multitudes?

When we gather together in the presence of Christ, the church becomes one in Christ. The imagery is an assembly of God's Temple where God's presence is known in Christ. When we receive the bread and cup, we participate in Christ and are continually transformed into his dwelling place. In keeping with the church being the new Temple where God dwells, I imagine the Lord's Table as the Holy of Holies where we receive God's presence to make us his Temple on the move. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 10:14-17, Ephesians 2:13-22 Questions for reflection: How would the Lord's Supper be different if you focused on communal transformation rather than your individual transformation? How would Sundays be different if we believed Christ was hosting our gathering? What makes you resistant to the belief that Christ is present at the Table?

Seven Practices for a Church on Mission The Practice of the Lord's Table The Practice of Reconciliation The Practice of Proclaiming the Gospel The Practice of Fivefold Gifting The Practice of Being with the Least of These The Practice of Being with Children The Practice of Kingdom Prayer

The church carries the presence of God into the world as guests where they show up as servants. When we try to impose our way of life on others we are cultivating an environment where we feel more comfortable and lives are not transformed. The cross calls us to live in the power of love in a way that subverts the love of power. When we love power we are missing the way of the cross.

Jesus used table fellowship to bring people close and put the presence of God on display for their transformation. The problem with Jesus is that he went to all of the wrong people to share God's presence. These "tax collectors and sinners" landed Jesus with the label "drunk and glutton" (Mt 11:19) and also set the context for the three parables we will focus on this Sunday in Luke 15. Questions to reflect on as you prepare for Sunday: Make a list of the people you spend the most amount of time with. How many on that list do not have a relationship with Jesus? What is your biggest fear in investing your time and energy into having real relationships with people who do not share your values and worldview? Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal to you who you struggle to have a relationship with and ask that he place you in situations where you have to explore Jesus's depth of love and compassion for those people. Devotional Blog

I once heard it said that churches do not have a mission but God's mission has a church. What does it look like for the church to live out God's mission? Different churches have taken various approaches to mission over the years. As the world changes, our approach to mission changes. We've been talking about one of the central themes in scripture being God's desire to be present to and in his creation. "Faithful Presence" is how we will approach mission as a church in a culture that have moved away from Christianity. This Sunday we will look at the rhythms of life that move us into the presence of Christ to then carry his presence into the world and be attentive to God's presence and activity in the world around us. This is not a "program" approach to mission but a way of life. As you prepare for Sunday, spend some time reflecting on these questions below. I'd love to hear some of your responses! Questions for reflection: How would your time of worship on Sunday be different if you knew that God was present? How would your view of people change, in the church and in the culture around us, if you could see God perfectly loving people where they were? What group of people would make you uncomfortable with Jesus if you saw him having dinner with them and treating them as equals?

In the great awakening and development of rational thinking through the enlightenment in the western world, one of the ramifications of this philosophical shift is that we largely dismissed God into the heavens where he would never interact with his creation. This understanding of God has shaped a lot of how we understand him and how we read the Bible. While I'm oversimplifying an entire philosophical system which has brought about incredible advancements in so many areas of life (which I highly appreciate), the focus of this podcast is to reorient us to one of the central themes of the Bible. God created us to be in his presence and in his desire for us, he never gave up on finding a way to redeem us back to his presence. This presence is promised to us in the Holy Spirit by Jesus in John 14. This presence is what Moses advocates for in Exodus 33. This presence is what is celebrated in Revelation 21. There are hundreds of other passages to go to. God made his presence especially known in Jesus Christ who made a way for us through his death and resurrection. Because of Jesus, we are invited to live in the reality of the divine community of love found in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This week in our Advent series, we are with John the Baptizer in prison questioning Jesus's ministry and what kind of Kingdom he is here to establish. Jesus paints a picture of the fruit his ministry is producing and sends that back as his response to John. Sometimes the Messiah doesn't act like we would like him to act. He was accused to being a glutton and a drunk and ridiculed for the undesirable people he hung out with. How well does the church model the ministry that Jesus lived? We're called to be a hospital for the sick but that means we have to get close to the sick in order to bring healing. My prayer is that this Advent will be a time of reflection on the kinds of people we need to be open to who need healing.

John the Baptizer takes position in a symbolic location to prepare the way for the return of the king. Israel crossed the Jordan before and must do it again to usher in the Kingdom of God. Repentance is key for preparation of the coming king. What are we to repent of? In this season of Advent, develop a habit of repentance by reviewing your day and examining where you've withheld the love of Christ from others. This regular practice of repentance kills pride and helps to create space for transformation in your life. Lord, come quickly.

Advent is a time of waiting. We are largely impatient people as a society and do not like to wait. This first Sunday of Advent we will look at how waiting for the return of Christ helps us focus on watching for his return. We can easily be distracted by all of the bad things going on around us but those who are at peace in the presence of God will develop eyes to see what he is doing in the world. This type of watching helps us see where God is at work rather than being distracted by the ongoing life around us. Below is a list of parables where Jesus talks about the active waiting we engage in and how it helps us being watchful people. For further reading in Matthew on waiting: · The Parable of the Weeds (13.24–35) · The Beginning of the Birth Pangs (24.1–14) · The Coming of the Son of Man (24.29–35) · The Wise and Wicked Slaves (24.45–51) · The Wise and Foolish Girls (25.1–13) · Gethsemane (26.36–46)

This is part two of "Desiring God's Presence" to prepare us for the season of Advent. Here is a brief overview of last week with some reflection questions. “What will distinguish me and your people from all other peoples on the earth?” Moses asks of God. The presence of God sets his people apart as distinct from the world. This is a major theme in the Bible that needs the volume turned up a bit so we can hear the melody more clearly. As we talked about last week in Exodus 33, God says he is a God of his word and will give the promised land to Israel. He will even send an angel to clear the way for them. Moses meets with God, as he would with a friend, and demands that God's presence must go with his people if they are to be distinct from others in the world. God relents and agrees to be present with the people. There are a few takeaways from this passage I want to highlight before jumping into this week's focus: Moses's concern was that God's presence would be with the people, who were “stiff necked” complainers who had little desire for Yahweh God. When looking with concern on the people around you who couldn't care less about your faith or the God you serve, how often have you cried out to God for his presence to be with them? Moses has a deep relationship with God and feels comfortable being frank with him. Where does this kind of relationship begin? Our world needs more people who are willing to have the kind of relationship with God that impacts everyone around them. Will you develop the habit this next year of spending time with God each day? Spend some time reading and reflecting on Acts 1-2. Here are some questions to help you focus: 1:4-5 – They are told to wait for the Holy Spirit. When in your life have you tended to act on your own behalf rather than waiting on the Spirit? When have you felt lost as to what you should do, and this prompted you to spend time in waiting for the Spirit? What does it mean to wait for the Holy Spirit? 1:12-14 – When they arrived back in Jerusalem to wait, what did they occupy themselves with? Who all were present for this time of constant prayer? 2:1-4 – Who received the Holy Spirit? We often assume it was the 12 but others were with them praying continually in 1:12-14. The context points to the women also receiving the Holy Spirit. If this feels like a stretch, Peter quotes the prophet Joel (2:17-21) about the Spirit being poured out “on all people” where “sons and daughters will prophesy” and “even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit…and they will prophesy.” 2:38-39 – Baptism washes away sins in the same way that the sacrifice at the Temple creates a clean space for God's Presence to inhabit. Through this Baptismal washing, the Holy Spirit has a place to dwell inside of us. Who is this promise for? 2:42-47 – Luke paints a picture of what the new community of believers looks like in response to becoming the restored creation, the New Temple where the Spirit dwells. What can you do today to be present to God's presence in your life in a way that draws you into deeper community with fellow believers?

There's an interesting moment in the story of the Exodus. God is so frustrated with the way the people are acting that he tells Moses that he is going to send him on with the people and they will have an angel with them to drive the people out of the promise land but that he will not go with them because he might kill them all. Moses then questions God and says that he has to go with them. The back and forth is interesting but the question Moses asks is the question we need to all ask, "What will distinguish us from all the other people of the earth?" The answer is the presence of God. Being present to God's presence in your life is the first step toward transformation.

I grew up in a tradition where true discipleship was focused on right teaching, right belief, and right practice of the Christian tradition. When we read the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, true discipleship is more focused on how your life is transformed through relationship with Jesus where his teachings are put into practice and lived out in community as salt and light for the world. Receiving Jesus's words and having a right understanding of them does not matter if they are not lived out in your day to day life.

This section of Jesus's sermon has a lot of great one liners we like to repeat. Sometimes these get misappropriated and weaponized in ways that are dangerous. Before the sermon begins, Matthew says the followers of Jesus stepped out of the crowd and Jesus began to teach them. These are the people who answer the call to follow Jesus and the people to whom Jesus says, "hear these words and put them into practice." If we want to be wise, we need to concern ourselves with our own transformation first and foremost. How are you doing with your journey of discipleship? Are you a passive observer of Christianity or have you chosen to walk away from everything else to follow Jesus? The journey with Christ is one we walk together, encouraging one another along the way. The journey with Christ forms a community committed to transformation together. As one church secretary used to tell me years ago, "Check yourself, before you wreck yourself, Russell!"

Jesus challenges the very core of who we are by addressing our love. We often do not love what we think we love. When areas of our life are threatened, we begin to see where our heart is pointed. What are the things that you cannot be detached from? It might be easy to make a list of things you can do without but what happens if these things are taken away from you? Does it illicit anger, fear, anxiety, etc.? Jesus transitions from fasting to treasure and worry. The connection between the practice of fasting and sorting out our love of stuff and our worries is a solid connection. A regular practice of fasting helps us relinquish our control of our lives, detach from our stuff, and let our hearts find rest in the one thing that matters. Jesus calls us to "seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness." When we do this, our heart will be sorted out and worry will drift away.

There are deep motivations behind everything we do. Examining our motivations reveals to us the end that we seek in what we are doing. In this section on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to check our motivations for why we engage in the spiritually formative practices of giving, prayer, and fasting. If we're seeking recognition from others, we will have our reward. Seek first and foremost the heart of God and these tools will be forgotten in the same way an artist doesn't think about a paintbrush beyond the result the brush brings. Let transformation into Christ's likeness guide all you do. Practice: The Lord's prayer becomes a model for how we should pray and is a useful guide to lead us into deeper prayer: ‘Our Father in heaven, Holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Begin with recognizing God's holiness and his agenda for bringing his kingdom to this world. This keeps us in check as people who continually long to be gods over our dominion and have our will done. Give us today our daily bread. We ask God to give us our daily bread as a recognition that we are incapable of providing for ourselves. This keeps us in check when we move beyond our basic needs and seek to control what is due us because of how hard we have worked. This proves to be a good lens through which we will examine 6:19-34 where Jesus challenges the focus and longings of our hearts. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Forgiveness is something that is much easier to receive than it is to give. Being honest in prayer about the level of forgiveness we have received from God opens us to the forgiveness we need to offer others. Allowing this guide to take you deeper, the Spirit will develop a heart of compassion within you where you evaluate the alleged wrongdoings of others with the heart of God and have compassion for them which spurs forgiveness. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' The prayer ends with a recognition that life is filled with temptation. I prefer the translation, “let us not fall into temptation,” because I am uncomfortable with the notion that God is tempting us, which is sometimes assumed from this verse. Asking God to deliver us from the evil one is recognition of our inability to do this on our own. True deliverance comes with submission to God's work in your life. When you try to deliver yourself from evil, you are still trying to be god of your own life. The Lord's Prayer is a good guide for listening to the Spirit nudge you into areas of your life where you still need to submit to God. Pray the prayer slowly and allow time for meditation on each section. Allow the Spirit to examine your life and lead you into transformation.

We live in a world that is stuck in a cycle of violence. Vengeance is permitted but Jesus calls his followers to live in an alternative way of life that seems impractical from the world's perspective but it is the way of Jesus. This is one of the hardest teachings I believe Jesus gives and we are too often quick to explain away what Jesus meant in order to justify what we already believe about the place of violence in our world. Let's begin the journey of being peacemakers in the way of Jesus. If you'd like to discuss any of this further, please feel free to email me - ryan@nodachurch.com Here are some steps to becoming the peacemaker Jesus has called you to be: Know who your enemies are. Which group makes your blood boil, works you up, and gets you angry? Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal to you the way He sees them. Ask God to help you to see them as His image bearers and to see what love looks like for them. Refuse to be enemies. We should expect that the world is going to hate us. Jesus promises that this will happen (John 15:18). Refuse to be enemies no matter what the world does. Prepare how you will respond to the world in love. What does love require of you in any given situation? Does your idea of responding in love look like Jesus on the cross? Jesus meets us where we are, in our sinfulness, to bring us into a transformative relationship where we continue the journey with him into our resurrection. What does it look like to meet people where they are and journey with them towards fullness in Christ found in the resurrection? Blog - Ryan's Ramblings - Refusing to be Enemies

We live in a world of lies. We lie to get ahead, to look better, to not look so bad. We lie about how great our life is on Instagram. Lying is the water we swim in as a society. We're so used to lying that we probably don't know how much we do it. This wasn't much different in Jesus's day. People lie to get ahead, gain power and position over others. Jesus calls his followers to levels of deep integrity and paints a picture of a future world where people who bear the name of Christ as so well known for their integrity that the world doesn't need to question what they say. We're not there yet but it starts with the small things. The easier it is to lie about the small stuff the easier it is to lie about the big stuff. Eventually, it becomes the air we breathe.

Matthew 5:27-32 is not a passage I've been looking forward to preaching. There are a few disclaimers I want to give on literal interpretations of this passage and how it has been weaponized in the past. Jesus addresses abuse, objectification, and the issue of true heart transformation. He is addressing a community of people who have accepted the call to follow him. What does it look like for Christ followers to live into their community in such a way that their marriages are strengthened because of it? What does a community look like that upholds the value of women in such a way that helps men stop objectifying them, not through shame but through lifting up God's good creation in them? Sex is cheapened in our culture to being about fulfilling one's own desires. How does the church shift from speaking against that and actually lift up the beautiful gift if deep intimacy God created sex to be?

How are you doing with murder today? Pretty good? How about your anger? Maybe not as good? I won't even ask about the name calling you've done. But maybe it'd be good to check in on that? What labels have you placed on people this last week? Here are some examples: conservative/liberal, woke/racist, millennial/boomer, sheep, ignorant, moron, etc. Is name calling the same as murder? No. Is it on the same spectrum? Yes. Jesus takes this spectrum very seriously and calls his followers to rise above that spectrum all together to be a community of reconciliation in a world of discord and division. How important is it to Jesus that his followers become a community of reconciliation? He says that reconciliation is more important than the worship you bring before God. This is the lesson in a nutshell, but I want to dig in a bit more. Ted Talk I mentioned - “The Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." I thought Jesus abolished the law? Does this mean we have to earn our salvation? Didn't Jesus die for my sins so that I didn't have to follow the law? Or, is Jesus driving at something completely different all together? The Christian journey is one of answering the call to "follow Jesus." There is nothing you can do to earn your way into God's Kingdom, but Jesus calls you to leave everything behind in order to find true life in him. Following Jesus costs you nothing but requires everything. In this episode we will explore what the calling of Christ requires of us and what Jesus is addressing in the Sermon on the Mount regarding our following the law.

Are Christians so separate from the world that they can't make any difference in the world? Or, have Christians become so much like the world that they are not different enough to make any difference?

Seeing the Beatitudes as "attitudes you should be" is a cute turn of phrase but misses the point of how Jesus begins his sermon. He begins by looking around the crowd of rejected, suffering, marginalized people, and affirms them as God's children, his special possession, and tells them that they have received God's blessing. When we answer the call to follow Jesus, he calls us to a way of life that is contrary to the way the world work. We must remember that the one who calls us is also the one who empowers us to live the way he calls us to live. It is out of the love of God and receiving his blessing that we are then able to put the Sermon on the Mount into practice. If you are reading this right now, know this at the deepest core of your being: God loves you more than you can ever know and he wants to give his blessing to you.

This Sunday we are beginning a series on the Sermon on the Mount. I want to encourage you to take some time this week to read Matthew 5-7 in one sitting, hear the words of Jesus in their entirety, and take note of the sections you find the most challenging. As we go through Jesus's sermon, it is best to receive it for what you need to hear in it. What needs to change in your life based on what you're hearing so that you become more like Christ? This Sunday, we're going to "Begin at the end" to set the stage of the sermon by seeing what Jesus expects of us when we hear his words. My intention is for this series to be very practical for what it means to follow Christ. I've written more about this in my blog below. This series will follow a teaching series by one of my professors, Randy Harris. I've provided a link to his series on Right Now Media and attached the Participants Guide. He also has a book that is worth reading. See you Sunday! Blog Randy Harris's Book - Living Jesus Video Series - Living Jesus - Email me if you'd like access ryan@nodachurch.com

What is the purpose of the Church? What we believe our end goal is determines our answer. When the focus is keeping people out of hell, we lean toward sin management. When we focus on souls going to heaven, we tend toward hard sell tactics for quick conversions and largely ignore other issues going on in their lives. Each of these focuses (while simplified for the sake of my point) has a point in the larger discussion but standing alone the points are too narrow. The church sometimes gets viewed as a kind of holy holding station where God's people bide their time till we can escape this place. This view of Christianity has brought the often-quoted critique from Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” In this episode, we will explore what the purpose of the church is in view of what God is doing to bring about his New Creation.

What does it mean that Jesus will come and judge us? What does this have to do with our salvation? Is judgment ever a good thing? How do we talk about Christ's judgement as a means of hope for this world?

Jesus is coming back. What does this mean for the Kingdom of God? Where will we go after he returns? What part of us will go with him? There are a lot of books dedicated to these questions and a lot of differing opinions as to what will happen when Christ returns. In this episode we will look at a few passages on Jesus's Second coming and see what the imagery says about the hope we have today.

I really like how NT Wright describes heaven in his introduction to the participants guide of “Surprised by Hope: The Hope of Heaven”: Heaven will not be a boring place, off in distant space, where we play harps, sit on clouds, and sing the same stanza of the same song forever. Heaven is God's space, filled with peace, justice, and beauty. Heaven and earth are overlapping realities and the resurrection of Jesus has connected these two spheres more closely than we know. Heaven is the control room of earth and God's sovereign rule is present today. As we learn to walk with Jesus and live as God's people in this world, the kingdom plan of God continues to unfold and be revealed. We are not waiting to fly off to heaven one day, but heaven is breaking into our present circumstances with each passing moment. If we pay close attention, we will see that heaven and earth are overlapping today. One of the ways God brings his kingdom, “on earth as it is in heaven,” is through his people. You and I are invited to be vehicles God can use to bring his love, justice, and beauty to a world desperate for all of these things. The hope of heaven is not something we are waiting for, but it is what we enter each day as we follow Jesus and let his heavenly plans unfold in us.

What do you believe happens after we die? Is that our final destination? Does our soul live forever or is it joined with our physical body in the resurrection? What does Jesus's resurrection tell us about ours? In this episode we will look briefly at what Paul says about the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, 2 Corinthians 5, and 1 Thessalonians 4. I've written some reflections and questions to wrestle with in our church Blog.

When you think of Christian hope, there are a few things that likely come to mind. What happens after we die? Does that matter for here and now? What is heaven? What will it be like? Where is heaven? What is salvation? What is the church? What is the resurrection? What does any of this have to do with today? When I bring up what happens when we die, I often get the response that it doesn't matter too much because we will find out when we get there. In one since there is truth in that because we have no idea what things will fully be like (as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12). On the other hand, what we believe about what happens when we die shapes what we believe God is doing in the world today and how we should live our lives. There are two types of hope found in scripture. First, hope is what lies ahead and is promised by a God who loves to bring hope to each of us. Second, hope is about how the Kingdom of God is breaking into our present-day realities where hope then spills out into the world today. We've tended to lean into the first aspect of hope while ignoring the second. What we believe about what happens in the world determines what we believe God is doing and what we are called to do in the world. We will be looking at a lot of scriptures in the coming weeks to establish a biblical foundation for hope but here are a few to investigate for this week: Isaiah 11, Revelation 21-22, and 1 Corinthians 15. Over the next seven weeks we are going to cover these topics of hope following the video series by NT Wright, “Surprised by Hope.” You can watch the videos here. If you do not have Right Now Media, you can access it here. You can purchase a participants guide here. Use this for your personal studies or as a small group study (now or in the near future). I recommend you watch these videos each week and study what the Bible says about the hope we have. I'll continue to provide my blog and podcast to help prepare for Sunday's lesson. Let's dig deep and reconnect with the foundations of the Christian faith and the hope we have to offer the world. June 19 – Hope for the World June 26 – The Hope of the Resurrection July 3 – The Hope of Heaven July 10 – The Hope of Jesus's Second Coming July 17 – The Hope of Salvation July 24 – The Hope of the Church July 31 – Reclaiming Hope in the Church

We're finishing up our study on the need for creating a “rule of life,” a structure built to aid in helping us abide in Christ. This structure is essential for connecting you to the vine and producing the fruit God desires. One of the first steps to building this structure is to recognize any structures that get in the way of you abiding in Christ. This is one of the hardest parts about spiritual formation. When Jesus says, “his yoke is easy and his burden is light,” he means it. The part that is hard and heavy is taking the yoke of the world off. When Jesus invites us into life with him he also invites us into death with the world. To take on his yoke we must first take off the yoke of the world. Then we will see that his yoke is easy and burden light. When developing a Rule of Life, it is important to have a balance of practices that add things to your life and practices that take away things from your life. As we wrap up this series, I want to focus on one final practice that I am heavily reevaluating in my own life: unplugging.

In a world of instant indulgence, we can easily become distracted by anything and everything. Paul says in 1 Cor 6:12, that while he has the right to do anything he will not allow anything to master him. He then goes further in 9:27, saying he beats his body and makes it his slave, so that he can run well. Fasting brings balance to life and helps us keep our cravings from taking hold of us. This practice helps us better abide in Christ so that doing his will is all the food we need to nourish us (John 4:32&34).

Pray without Ceasing is the call of those who are in Christ to find rest in God to then engage a restless world.

Solitude is the place where one is alone with God. It is the furnace where transformation takes place. It is the solid ground where one finds their footing in order to then turn and help others. Silence is therefore solitude put into action. Silence is the home of the word. Silence gives strength and fruitfulness to the word. We can even say that words are meant to disclose the mystery of the silence from which they come. We live in a wordy world. What does it look like for God's people to put into practice James's call to be quick to listen and slow to speak?

The world spends billions of dollars every year to capitalize on one of the most profitable commodities in our culture and you give it away for free every day. They are doing everything they can to keep your attention and sell it for profit. They have structures in place to keep your attention for as long as possible and shape you into certain kinds of people. If they are willing to invest so much in your development why wouldn't you spend a little bit of time deciding on your own who you want to be. The habits you engage in shape you into the person you are becoming. Developing a "Rule of Life" is like building a trellis for a vineyard. It is the structure on which you will grow and bear fruit.

Ryan's Ramblings Blog Mon - 14.1-11 Tues - 14.12-26 Wed - 14.27-52 Thurs - 14.53-72 Fri - 15.1-41 Sat - 15.42-47 Sun - 16 A scholar from Oxford named Thomas E. Schmidt did some incredible work detailing the parallels between Jesus's crucifixion in Mark's Gospel with the coronation of Nero. We cannot say with 100% certainty that this was Mark's intent but it fits within the themes I see in Mark's Gospel where he seems to draw parallels between Jesus and Nero to show who the true Son of God is. Here's a link to Schmidt's work if you want to dig deeper. https://www.baslibrary.org/bible-review/13/1/11 For our purposes, here is a quick rundown of what took place at Nero's coronation. I've placed the corresponding verses of each so you can follow what Mark might be doing with how he writes the events of Jesus's crucifixion: 1. The Imperial Guard gathers to hail Caesar as lord and god. (15:16) 2. On Caesar they place: Royal robes, a wreath crown, and a scepter. (15:17-18) 3. He is then lead through a procession (lined with incense alters). (15:20) 4. Following Caesar was the sacrifice (in Nero's case, a bull), and he carries the instrument of death. (15:21) 5. They arrive at Capitoline Hill (Named “head hill” where a human head was found buried when Rome was founded); Caesar is offered an expensive wine mixed with myrrh, but he refuses it, pouring it out. (15:22-23) 6. The bull is sacrificed, and Caesar demonstrates he has the power of life and death by pronouncing death or life on a host of prisoners. (15:24) 7. The emperor ascends the steps of the temple with the High Priest on his right and his commander on his left. (15:27) 8. The people sing the praises of Caesar, acclaiming him as “lord and god.” (15:29-32) 9. The people then wait for a sign from heaven (According to history, there was an eclipse in Nero's coronation). (15:33)

This episode focuses mainly on chapters 11-13 and the context of the Temple. We often miss a lot of what is going on in this section because we have lost connection with the purpose of the Temple in scripture, the role it played in Israel, and what it means for the church to be the Temple today. This is a biblical theme that would be worth revisiting. Mon - 11 Tues - 12.1-17 Wed - 12.18-44 Thurs - 13 Fri - 15:33-16:3

“If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.” - St. John of the Cross Though they could see they were blind. Though he was blind, he could truly see. This inversion of world reality is the image of true discipleship in the Gospel of Mark. Are we willing to run to Jesus and admit that we need our eyes opened so that we can see? Jesus invites us to follow him along the way, but the way leads to the cross, through the cross, and into the resurrection. This is the hope of Easter that we look forward to but the first step requires relinquishing any notion that we think we can see clearly on our own. Mon - 9.30-50 Tues - 10.1-16 Wed - 10.17-31 Thurs - 10.32-45 Fri - 10.46-52

Jesus's mission expands the ideals of what "purity" looks like and expands more fully to the Gentiles. All people have a seat at the table where perfection is offered. This week we also transition into the central narrative of Mark's Gospel. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Are we willing to let go of our human concerns and fully embrace the concerns of God? The readings for this week: Mon - 7:1-13 Tues - 7:14-23 Wed - 7:24-37 Thurs - 8:1-9:1 Fri - 9:2-29

This week we dive deeper into Jesus's authority. Will you follow the one true King or will you settle for the King you create?  The readings for this week: Mon - Mark 5:1-20 Tues - Mark 5:21-43 Wed - Mark 6:1-29 Thurs - Mark 6:30-44 Fri - Mark 6:45-56 Daily Devotional

Daily Readings from Mark – Mon - 2:18-28; Tues - 3:1-19; Wed - 3:20-35; Thurs - Mark 4:1-20; Fri - 4:21-41 Please click the link below to find the devotional that corresponds with this podcast. I've written daily reflections for each reading. Feel free to email me with any questions or reflections you have - ryan@nodachurch.com "Who is This?" Devotional

Wed – Mark 1:1-20 Thur – Mark 1:21-45 Fri – Mark 2:1-17 Questions for reflection: - Who would Jesus spend time with today that would turn heads and raise questions? - Who do you associate with that causes others to raise questions? - Following Jesus means you are walking the journey from death to life, from sick to healthy. Are you able to articulate to others what parts of your life are healthier because of walking with Jesus? We are called to meet people where they are and invite them to walk with Jesus. But first, we must have a visible walk with Jesus that demonstrates the transformative power of walking with him. Are we willing to submit to the King and be part of his Kingdom?

We're reading through the Gospel of Mark during the season of Lent. You can find our reading plan here. This episode provides a context and focus for reading the Gospel of Mark.

Read more at my blog - https://nodachurch.com/all-blogs/2022/2/15/step-toward-the-world-a-lesson-from-jonah God called Israel to mission, to be a great nation in order to bless the world (Gen 12). They were to be a Royal Priesthood and Holy Nation (Ex 19:6; echoed in 1 Peter 2:9). They rejected God as King and wanted to be like the nations (1 Samuel 8). The prophets came to call them back to mission, to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 48:6). The Gospels then present Jesus as the one who lived out the calling of Israel perfectly and Jesus calls us to follow him into the world to bring it redemption. The story of Jonah is written as a comedy. It doesn't take long to read it so take a moment and look for what is funny. Jonah runs from God. Jonah converts a lot of people along the way despite himself. Sailors are paying to their gods while Jonah sleeps. There are other great moments! The other theme is one of "God providing." Pay attention to that rhetoric. Finally, the focus of the story comes into view in chapter 4 (though we like to end with 3:10). Jonah speaks about the grace and mercy of God with contempt and then sits on a hill to watch everyone mess up and die. God provides shade and then takes it away. Jonah cares more about that shade than he does the people of Nineveh. What are your vines in your life that bring you comfort that you'd rather die if you lost? Who are your Ninevites that you'd rather sit on a hill and watch God destroy? Our ability to step toward the world begins with letting go of our desire for the vines and begin to desire the people God desires.

We are called to unite in the love of Christ but we allow our desire for comfort to get in the way of our unity with others. We dehumanize those who disagree with us, saying they do not believe in truth, they don't love Jesus, and they don't agree with the Bible. We draw lines where Jesus never intended them. God meets us where we are in Jesus Christ. This narrative of God's love should be the model of our relationship toward one another. Philippians 2:5-11 is the narrative we have to measure up to in our attitudes and actions toward one another. We are taking steps toward one another. The only way we can do that is if we erase lines and build bridges. What is "essential" for us to be unified around? What have you made "essential" that isn't essential?  Where have you drawn lines of division between you and others? Can you find where Jesus drew those same lines? 

Jesus calls his followers to "Love one another." We live in a world of echo chambers and divisive individuality. The church is the place where we unite in our commonality in Christ and celebrate the diversity that God brings to his table. The model of "Friendship" is found in God meeting us where we are in Jesus Christ. When you look at your friendships in the church: Have you created an echo chamber of people who believe and think just like you and share your same view of things? When you do befriend someone who has different beliefs and views than you, are you looking to educate or fix them so they might know “truth”? Who in your life helps you better see other's viewpoints in a way that you can empathize even without fully understanding?

This is the pilot episode of our church podcast. Thanks for listening in! You can email me at ryan@nodachurch.com and you can find resources for Spiritual Formation on our website by clicking this link.