Spiritual Formation Articles

Awakening to Advent

We invite you to take a moment and pause for Advent. Trevor Hudson joins us as our guide with a simple yet profound message. How much we can miss about what God has done and is doing in our lives if we spend our days sleepwalking. Trevor shares how to be awake to the gifts of the season.

Trevor Hudson

December 7, 2018

Walking with Hope

In this reading for the first week of Advent, Chris Hall explores the message of hope that the Messiah brings. With Mary’s tenacious faith as his model, he encourages us to “to live in hope [as our lives unfold] in the strange, wondrous, demanding in-between time all Christians indwell.”

Chris Hall

December 6, 2018

Worship: A Practical Guide

In this practical guide to the discipline of worship, Adele Calhoun notes that worship is how we reveal what we most value. True Christian worship, she reminds us, means a right ordering of our hearts by putting “God first in our lives.” Adele shares some ways to do this in this post.

Adele Calhoun

December 5, 2018

Understanding Worship

Turning to Isaiah and John’s responses to the glory of the living God as models, Richard Foster gives us a brief introduction to the practice of worship, reminding us that, whether our encounter with God is one of divine fireworks or a still, small voice, we must answer with awe, wonder, and praise.

Richard J. Foster

December 4, 2018

Breaking Through to Community

In this excerpt from Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer highlights the necessity of confession in the Christian community for removing the power of sin over a believer’s life and restoring fellowship.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

November 30, 2018

Confessing and Countering Lust

Rebecca DeYoung joins us with some wise counsel on combating the sin of lust. While abnegation of temptations is certainly a useful tool, she contends that cultivating a community that embodies chastity is even more powerful.

Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung

November 28, 2018

Why Thanks-Giving is Life-Giving

A profound and always timely piece from Henri Nouwen on the power and necessity of gratitude.

Henri J. M. Nouwen

November 22, 2018

Loving Yourself for God's Sake

When you cannot believe in yourself, or forgive yourself for what you have done, God can. Adolfo Quezada gives counsel on steps we can take to tap into God’s unfailing love and support as we struggle toward self-forgiveness.

Adolfo Quezada

November 21, 2018

The Christian's Authority to Forgive Sin

“The followers of Jesus Christ have been given the authority to receive the confession of sin and to forgive it in his name.” Richard Foster unpacks the privilege and power of confession in this Celebration of Discipline excerpt.

Richard J. Foster

November 16, 2018

Free from the Darkness

The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous helped Nathan Foster admit the exact nature of his wrongs and receive the power of forgiveness which comes through the discipline of confession.

Nathan Foster

November 14, 2018

Articles

By Series

By Author