Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus.
In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they respond, and how are we invited to consider our response to these stories from the life of our teacher? We will learn from these stories, and we will use our imaginations to enter into them. The spiritual practice of imaginative prayer gives us an opportunity to meet with Jesus as we respond to his presence and ministry.
Letting Go and Following Jesus
September 6th with Nicole Howe
On Sunday, Nicole Howe began our journey of looking at some well known Gospel stories through the eyes of the disciples. We explored the calling of the disciples found in Mark 1: 16-20 and Luke 5:1-11. It is easy for us to miss the complexity and difficulty in what it meant for the disciples to leave behind their work and the choices or possibilities they had for their lives when they chose to follow Jesus. The call, “follow me”, means letting go of other possibilities and paths. What was it like for the first disciples to wrestle with what they had to let go of in order to make the choice to follow Jesus? Nicole challenged us to consider how we often want Jesus to bless what is already happening in our lives rather than hearing his call of what is “yet to be”.
Kingdom Practices
For this series we are engaging in the practice of Imaginative Prayer. This is a well established practice within the church. We use our imaginations to connect with the presence of God in our lives. To help us lean into this practice we have created a separate poducast, Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Calls the Disciples. This week, we invite you to imagine what it was like for the first disciples to be called by Jesus. Imaginative Prayer allows us to play out the story from our perspective.
Snapshots of the Provision of God
September 13th with Kirsten Hitchcock
This week we engaged with the story of the feeding of the 5,000 found in Luke 9. As she guided us through the story, Kirsten Hitchcock, invited us to notice God’s provision in the narrative as well as in our own lives. When Jesus fed the people, after teaching and healing them, his action linked back to past provision of God. Recalling the story of God providing manna and quail in the wilderness for Israel (Exodus 16) and of the feeding of a hundred with the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4: 42-44) the disciples witnessed for themselves God’s care and provision. Like their ancestors of the past, the disciples that day experienced how God was in control and how he continues to provide. As we place ourselves in the story, consider how God’s provision fosters trust in him and shows his presence in our lives. And when God provides we have an opportunity to share with others thereby extending his blessings.
Kingdom Practices
For this series we are engaging in the practice of Imaginative Prayer. This is a well established practice within the church. We use our imaginations to connect with the presence of God in our lives. Imaginative Prayer allows us to play out the story from our perspective. To help us lean into Imaginative Prayer we have created a separate podcast that will guide you through the practice, Imaginative Prayer: Feeding the Multitudes. This week, imagine yourself with the disciples as they witnessed God’s provision in action, the feeding of thousands.
Week 3
September 20th with Dr. Dennis Edwards
On Sunday, our guest speaker, Dr. Dennis Edwards, challenged us to consider, where is our faith? The story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4: 35-41 is the first story in a narrative section that addresses fear, faith, and amazement. Our fears, like the disciples’ fear that day in the boat, often lead us to question God’s willingness and care. We may believe God is powerful and able, but when storms and difficulties overwhelm us, we find ourselves questioning whether God cares. Faith is the antidote to fear. Faith rises when we are afraid. Dr. Edwards reminded us that it is never a question of how much faith, but of where we place our faith. We trust in Jesus, like the first disciples, to get us to where we need to be.
Kingdom Practices
For this series we are engaging in the practice of Imaginative Prayer. This is a well established practice within the church. We use our imaginations to connect with the presence of God in our lives. Imaginative Prayer allows us to play out the story from our perspective. To help us lean into Imaginative Prayer we have created a separate podcast that will guide you through the practice, Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Calls the Storm. This week, we invite you to imagine yourself with the disciples and Jesus in the boat crossing the sea of Galilee during a storm.
Week 4
October 4th with Jason Feffer
Week 5
October 11th with Dr. Malcolm Foley
Week 6
October 18th with Jason Feffer
Additional Resources
Books and Articles
Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer
Imaginative Prayer by Jared Patrick Boyd
New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin
Meeting God in Scripture by Jan Johnson
Shaped by the Word by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.
Wisdom for Faithful Reading by John Walton
A More Christlike Word by Bradley Jersak
Humility Illuminated by Dr. Dennis Edwards
Podcasts & Videos
Call of the King a guided meditation by Father Michael
Spiritual Practices
Imaginative Prayer Guide by the Practice Church
Imaginative Prayer a series of reflections we produced in 2018
Imagining Prayer a series of reflections by Pray As You Go
Music
I Will Follow, a song by Jon Guerra
Where Your Treasure Is, a song by Jon Guerra
Art
Loaves and Fishes by various artists
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, a painting by Rembrandt
The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, a painting by Raphael
Miraculous Draught of Fishes, a painting by Peter Paul Rubens
Calming the Storm by various artists
Miscellaneous
The Chosen TV Series
If you have a story to share about how you have been encountering God in this season, we would love to hear it!
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