Sermons

Current Series: The Ancient Road 

A Sermon Series on 6 Historical Practices Vital to the Christian Tradition 

According to Richard Foster’s Streams of Living Water 

On the eve of the 21st century, the great author and theologian Richard Foster published a book exploring six “great traditions of Christian spirituality and their role in spiritual renewal.” These streams of water are rooted in the profound truth and invitation of Jesus’ words, “Out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Foster longs for the Christian faith to be more than academic/doctrinal exercise and a life of deep holistic formation. He writes:

Remember, we are calling people not merely to accept a set of beliefs about Jesus that will somehow trip the divine lever and get them into heaven when they die. Oh, no! We are calling people to turn to Jesus as their life. We are inviting people to believe in Jesus by becoming his disciples, and as his disciples (or apprentices) to enroll in his school of living. Thus people become trained in the Way, increasingly taking into themselves Jesus’ hopes, dreams, longings, habits, and abilities. This is how they learn “to obey everything that I have commanded you.” There simply is no other way.

As we move past Resurrection Sunday and our Lenten Journey through the life of Joseph, a study on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, in collaboration with ancient spiritual practices that can revive, reform, restore, and renew the soul, seems fitting. The 6 streams are:

  • The Contemplative Tradition – Discovering the Prayer-Filled Life
  • The Holiness Tradition – Discovering the Virtuous Life
  • The Charismatic Tradition – Discovering the Spirit-Empowered Life
  • The Social Justice Tradition – Discovering the Compassionate Life
  • The Evangelical Tradition – Discovering the World-Centered Life
  • The Incarnational Tradition – Discovering the Sacramental Life 

Each week we will unpack the scriptural truth of each tradition and use Foster’s book as a guide in our journey of discovery. This resource has practices and scriptures for each of the different streams. We will continue to affirm the centrality of Scripture as our foundation of knowledge and hope, the patterns and habit of Jesus (and the saints) as our example, and an invitation to our community to dip their toes or dive deep into the stream. There will be room for stories, space for practicing the practices, and opportunities to share the wins and loses along the way. As we continue to lead in our little, broken community, may we always effort to lead our pilgrims to Jesus and create an atmosphere of holy formation. May we trust the Spirit’s wild leading in our midst over these next six weeks.

For His glory, and not our own. Amen.

Mike Lawrie, Lead Pastor

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