Throughout our discussion of 1 John we’ll be spending a lot of time reading large chunks of the Bible out loud together. This straightforward practice has long been a part of the Jewish and Christian tradition. To understand what this tradition is, and why it can be so potent, check out this video from the Bible project. If you want … Read More
In this week’s sermon, Shane introduce the idea of a habit audit as a first step toward practicing simplicity. Below are the instructions for how you do your own habit audit. This week, we invite you to perform what is called a habit audit of your life rhythms and habits in order to better understand what you love and, thus, … Read More
The Bible was written over thousands of years in multiple languages on three different continents. It’s big, broad and sweeping. Trying to figure out where to start can be overwhelming. Our hope for everyone this week is simple: read three chapters of John per day. Start the day of your community group so you can wrap up by community group … Read More
This Sunday we talked about confession as a practice to help restore and heal broken relationships between us and others and us and God. Through confession we examine ourselves for faults or weaknesses we can surrender to God and embrace the love and forgiveness of Christ which leads to transformation. Here are the steps we discussed for how to give … Read More
This Sunday, we talked about Fasting as a habit for living like Jesus. Here are the steps we considered, with a few more guidelines below for extra measure: 1) Decide in advance when you will fast A simple start would be to eat breakfast, and then fast through dinner, but most common is to fast from dinner one day to … Read More
This Sunday in the sermon, Chris described that practice of gratitude. Gratitude is a fairly simple, yet valuable, way of forming a meaningful pattern of living like Jesus. To help you get started this week, here are four suggestions for how to practice gratitude: Gratitude Journal Take a moment each day to recall three things for which you are grateful. … Read More
At Austin Mustard Seed we practice an open table. That means when we celebrate the Eucharist everyone is welcome to receive the bread and wine, including children of all ages. In many churches children must attend a class or meet certain requirements before participating in Communion. For us, however, the Eucharist is a family event. Jesus’ ministry centered around table … Read More
Waiting is not something that comes easily to most kids. And waiting for Christmas is even more difficult. There are parties, decorations, lights, cookies, presents, and activity everywhere…did I mention cookies? The weeks leading up to Christmas are an exciting, sugar-filled time! As we disciple our kids, we want them to grasp a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the … Read More
As we learned in our more interactive sermon this past week, this is much for us each to consider as we think about the part Sabbath might play in our week to week. This Sunday was a continuation of a long conversation we have had in our church community though it still feel like just a beginning of what we … Read More
Ignatius of Loyola was a Christian leader in the 16th century known for founding the Jesuits. Ignatius developed an approach to spirituality, where we meet God by engaging the imagination. You are probably already familiar with another one of his exercises, Lectio Divina. The purpose of the Examen is, as Paul say in Corinthians, to be discerning of ourselves. It is a … Read More