Weekly Practice 11/17/25
Doing this alone: good. Doing this with others: even better!
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.
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.
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.
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.
