Weekly Practice 12/1/25

After doing this week’s practice, try to share your experience with a friend.

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Scripture

Revelation 22:7-21 NLT

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”

Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near. Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”

“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.

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Practice

Pray “Come, Jesus”

“Come, Jesus” is the simplest and most pointed Advent prayer you can utter. Our greatest hope is to be in the loving presence of our Lord. But our hearts are often bogged down by the here and now: love for our family and friends, adventures we still want to experience, dreams we still desire to live out. (All good things.) We want to be with Jesus, but our desire for his return can sometimes be muddled by our attachments to the now.

Yet, our “everyday” prayers of asking Jesus for help (or wisdom, peace, joy, patience, self-control, etc.) are still Advent prayers. We are asking for God’s future kingdom and his holy presence to invade our lives today. As we pray this way, we experience God’s transforming love and power, and our desire for him and the fullness of his kingdom will grow. 

This week, pray, “Come, Jesus” with an honest and open heart. God is eager to be with you, no matter where you're at in the journey. Even if you’re not quite sure about God, asking Jesus to reveal himself to you is a perfectly valid Advent prayer.

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A poem

The Glance, by George Herbert. Fine words to begin the Advent season.

A playlist

Songs specially curated for waiting. (On YouTube or Spotify!)

And an album

Thanksgiving’s over, people. No more excuses. It’s time for Christmas music, and this album absolutely shreds. (Yes, Hanson. Just listen.)

Weekly Practice 11/24/25

After doing this week’s practice, try to share your experience with a friend.

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Scripture

Psalm 139:7-12 MSG

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?

    to be out of your sight?

If I climb to the sky, you’re there!

    If I go underground, you’re there!

If I flew on morning’s wings

    to the far western horizon,

You’d find me in a minute—

    you’re already there waiting!

Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!

    At night I’m immersed in the light!”

It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;

    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

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Practice

Examen Your Story

Remember, examen is a noticing kind of prayer where we pay attention to the places in our day or week—or even further back—where we sense ourselves moving towards or away from God’s love.

This week, spend some time looking back over your life story with God. Ask him to guide your mind and highlight specific times of when and how he was with you, even if you didn’t see it at the time. If you’re not very good at reflecting or remembering, you may be at an advantage here. The idea is not to wrack your brain, but let the Holy Spirit show you whatever he wants to show you. Whatever God reveals to you, offer it back to him with thanks. God has loved you your entire life, whether you could see it or not at various times. Let this fact wash over you. May God fill you with trust in his ever-present love.

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It was this or Mariah Carey

No, Advent does not start until next Sunday, but here is an album to get us started. The first track is called “Thanksgiving,” so technically it’s perfect for this week.

Weekly Practice 11/17/25

Doing this alone: good. Doing this with others: even better!

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Scripture

Philippians 1:3-11 MSG

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

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Practice

Pray For Each Other

Maybe once a week I carve out some time to pray for each person at Trellis by name. But when I do, I’m pretty overwhelmed by the love that God has for each of us. Sometimes I get something specific that I sense God wants me to share with someone, but most of the time, it’s just a wave of his affection. God loves us, guys, and he wants to love us through each other.

This week, carve out some time to pray for the individuals at Trellis. By name. You may not know everybody that well, but that’s okay. The Holy Spirit within you knows them and knows what they need. Think of this as an opportunity to love each other with God.

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Wide Awake

Here’s the latest newsletter from our friends in Ukraine. Please take a few minutes to actually read it, as it will give you an idea of the day to day work they do, and how we can be praying for them. If you’d like to receive their weekly newsletter, you can sign up here.

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For the Bible nerds 

Here’s a link to the video we watched on Sunday, in case you missed it or want to watch it again.

Weekly Practice 11/11/25

Hey, all. Especially this week, try to process the practice with others.

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Scripture

Proverbs 12:26, 18:24, 27:6, 27:9, 27:17 ESV

One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, 

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, 

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; 

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Oil and perfume make the heart glad, 

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Iron sharpens iron, 

and one man sharpens another.

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Practice

Spiritual Friendship

Spiritual friendship is an unforced and genuine relationship among a few people who share a commitment to the love of God and the love of others. They are the handful of people with whom we can be vulnerable and fully ourselves. Unfortunately, friendship is hard for many of us, let alone spiritual friendship. It takes time and trust and, frankly, God. Maybe you have these people already. Maybe you don’t. Maybe God has new people he is inviting to befriend.

This week, prayerfully consider these questions:

• Who do I truly share my life with? With whom do I allow myself to be intimate and vulnerable?

• With whom might I cultivate spiritual friendship? Whom might God be inviting me to pursue in friendship?

• How might deeper friendship in my life help me more fully follow Jesus?

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Unrelated, but still good

If you haven’t heard about The Surprising Rebirth of the Belief in God podcast, I highly recommend it. It covers a variety of topics around how the secular world is starting to reconsider Christianity. I’d suggest starting from the beginning.