This week we will be focused around giving generously. In Acts 6 we find that the early church is struggling with everyone trying to do everything, and so the position of deacon is created. Elders teach, preach and provide Spiritual guidance, the deacons cared for the widows, orphans and those in need. How is God calling each of us to use our own gifts and passions to serve others in our community, to meet the needs all around us.
Growing up I had a narrow picture of fasting: don’t eat food for some period, which as a student sounded challenging. In Matthew 6 and all over scripture we get a rich picture of fasting as an opportunity to grow closer to God, to challenge the status quo in our lives, and dig deeper into prayer.
It feels like prayer and reading the bible are two of the most common things that we are told are important as Christians. Jesus lays out in Matthew 6 a picture of the heart and posture for prayer that we can model in our own lives.
Churches often talk about the importance of reading the bible, which is good, and needed. In Psalm 1 though we hear about loving and meditating on God’s Word. That God’s Word would be interwoven throughout our lives, that what the bible says would leak into every aspect of our lives. That God’s Word would give us a foundation to lean on in all seasons of life and in all circumstances.