In the final message of our prayer series, guest speaker Jeff Whitebread encourages us to speak continually with our Father who is always close and available to us. Please note: the audio quality for this message was damaged.

This week's reflection questions are below:

1. The sermon contrasts a "transactional" view of prayer-trying to extract blessings-with a "relational" view of a giving Father. Is your prayer like leaving a
"voicemail for a busy CEO" or conversing with a present, interested Father?

2. The "Grand Amen" declares God's kingdom the most solid thing in your life. What is your most pressing current reality (e.g., deadline, stress), and how does God's desire to be with you change your view this week?

3. The "tyranny of the immediate" —stress over "forgotten bread" or looming deadlines-often creates a fog that obscures God's presence. What specific
 "immediate" concerns have been making it difficult for you to sense that God is near and accessible today?

4. Growth comes from reflecting on experiences, like through the Examen. In the past 24 hours, where was a small, overlooked moment of grace?

5. Like a vine needing a trellis in a storm, we require "spiritual structures" to stay connected to Jesus. Is your current "trellis" helping you thrive, or does it feel like powerless "religious obligation"?

6. Richard Foster is quoted saying that God's heart is an "open wound of love" because He "aches over our distance and preoccupation". How does the idea of God longing for your presence, rather than judging your performance, affect your desire to draw near to Him?

7. Many feel prayer is like talking with an old walkie-talkie-short bursts with bad reception. What would it look like in your specific job or daily routine to move toward "constant contact," talking to God about what you are doing together while you do it?

8. The teaching suggests that as we spend time with God, our "little kingdom" begins to look more like His. What is one area of your "little kingdom" (your home, your workspace, your social media) where you are struggling to surrender control to His governance this week?

Guest Sam Spatafore sits down with Alex to talk about having a healthy prayer life, as a bonus episode in our Reteach Us to Pray series.

We continue our series on prayer in our Feb 15 Sunday gathering. This week's discussion questions are below:

Discussion Questions

1. When you hear the line “lead us not into temptation,” what has it meant to you in the past? Did anything in this sermon change or clarify your understanding?

2. The sermon described three dangers:

disordered desires within us

tests around us

lies from the enemy


Which of these feels most real in your life right now?

3. What are some everyday “temptations” that don’t seem dramatic but slowly lead you away from the life Jesus invites you into?

4. The Didache talks about two ways: the way of life and the way of death.
What are some small daily choices that move you in one direction or the other?

5. Have you ever gone through a “test” or difficult season that revealed something about your faith or character? What did you learn from it?

6. Which of the lies mentioned in the sermon felt most familiar or personal to you?

7. Why do you think it is often easier to believe lies about ourselves or God than to believe the truth?

8. This week’s practice is to ask: “God, where am I believing a lie?”
What would it look like to build that into your daily prayer rhythm?

In our Feb 8 Sunday gathering we continue to explore the Lord's Prayer. This week's discussion questions are below:

1. When you think about prayer, what do you usually ask God for? How does that compare to the idea of “daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer?

2. What do you think Jesus is teaching us by telling us to ask for what we need today instead of what we might need tomorrow?

3. Why do you think daily dependence on God can feel uncomfortable or even scary?

4. In what ways do we try to control the future instead of trusting God to provide for us?

5. The sermon said, “Daily bread teaches us to trust God as provider, and forgiveness teaches us to trust God as judge.” What does that idea mean to you?

6. Is there a difference between forgiveness and removing consequences? Why is that distinction important?

7. How has God already provided for your real needs in this season of your life?

8. Is there someone you are struggling to forgive, or a hurt you’re still carrying? What would it look like to “release it to God” this week?

9. This week’s practice is to ask two questions each day:
What do I really need today?
What do I need to release today?
How might that change the way you pray or live this week?

In our Feb 1 Sunday gathering we continue our series on prayer. 2/1/26

Discussion Questions:

Phillip Yancey describes prayer as “power sharing.” What do you think about that idea? Does it challenge or affirm how you normally think about prayer?

The sermon describes the kingdom as “already available, but not yet fully realized.” Where do you see signs of God’s kingdom breaking in right now? Where do you most feel the tension of the “not yet”?

Using Dallas Willard’s definition of kingdom as “the space where your will gets done,”what are the main “territories” of your personal kingdom right now? Which ones are hardest to surrender to God’s rule?

“Your kingdom come” assumes something is wrong with the world as it is.
What realities in our world, community, or personal lives most stir you to pray this prayer honestly?

The sermon claims that not everything that happens on earth is God’s will.
How does that idea sit with you emotionally and theologically? How does it affect the way you respond to suffering, sin, or injustice?

Peter Greig says we can’t pray for the kingdom until what breaks God’s heart breaks ours. What do you think breaks God’s heart today—and how aware are you of those things in your daily life?

Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane models “not my will, but yours.” Have you ever had to pray that kind of prayer? What did surrender look like in that situation?

The sermon suggests God often answers kingdom prayers by moving us. Can you think of a time when prayer changed your perspective or prompted you to act rather than wait?

This week’s practice is to pause and ask what God would want done before praying. How might that reshape the way you pray for your family, work, finances, or future this week?

In our Jan 18 Sunday gathering we continue our series on prayer, working line by line through the Lord's Prayer. Discussion Questions:

1/18/26

Do you think how much we enjoy being with God is a good indication of spiritual maturity? Why or why not?

What kind of thoughts do you have about the word “father”. How do those feelings effect how you feel about calling God, father?

What are some ways that you can hallow the name of God? What are some things that you have done that un-hallow his name?

Tyler Staton argues that the biggest barrier to prayer is our inability to accept the relentless love of God for us. Do you agree or disagree? What do you think the biggest barrier is?

Jesus teaches us to pray Our Father, not My Father. How does communal prayer shape us differently than private prayer? Where have you experienced being sustained by the prayers of others?

The sermon describes hallowing God’s name as treating him as “weighty” and sacred—not casual, but also not distant. How do you tend to drift in prayer: toward flippancy or toward fear? What helps restore a healthy balance?

The sermon describes using imagination (throne room imagery, biblical visions) to remember who God is in prayer. How do you feel about using imagination in prayer? What practices might help you become more aware that you’re meeting a real Person, not just saying words?

If prayer is primarily about being with someone rather than getting something, how might that change the way you pray this week? What is one small, concrete practice you could try?

We kick off our first series of 2026 about Prayer! Alex explains the power of reciting the Lord's Prayer daily. This week's discussion questions are below:

Discussion Questions January 11, 2026

1. When you hear Jesus’ disciples ask, “Lord, teach us to pray,” what

stands out to you? Why do you think seasoned disciples still needed

to ask this question?

2. The message names a gap between “I should pray” and “I want to

pray.”

Where do you see that gap in your own life right now—if at all?

3. Jesus does not shame the disciples for needing to learn prayer again.

How does that shape the way you think God views your current

prayer life?

4. The sermon describes prayer as “relationship, not performance.”

What kinds of pressures or expectations have made prayer feel like a

performance for you?

5. Dallas Willard defines prayer as “talking to God about what we are

doing together.” How does that definition challenge or expand how

you normally think about prayer?

6. The early church practiced praying the Lord’s Prayer multiple times a

day. What reactions do you have to the idea of repetition or ritual in

prayer—positive or negative?

7. The invitation is to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day. What do

you think might be life-giving about that practice? What might be

difficult?

8. When words are hard to find, the message encourages us to “borrow

the words of Jesus.” Where in your life right now do you feel tired,

stuck, or unsure of what to pray?

Guest speaker Tim Imber continues our 2025 series in our first sunday gathering of 2026. Due a snowsotrm, his message originally intended for December was preached on January 4, 2026 and he discusses Mary and Joseph and their willingness to follow God's plan even when it was difficult.

In our online only service for December 28, we look at the fourth Advent candle, the candle of love. This week's discussion questions are below:

Discussion Questions:

1. Alex says the angels’ message can be summarized as “Do not be afraid—God loves you.” Where do you most need to hear that message right now?

2. Fear is described as the opposite of love. What fears tend to shape your decisions, reactions, or relationships? How might love change those responses?

3. 1 John says love begins not with our love for God, but with God’s love for us. Why is that distinction important for how we understand faith and obedience?

4. Alex (quoting Willard) claims that because of Jesus, the universe is ultimately a “safe place” for us. What does “safe” mean in a world where pain, loss, and injustice still exist?

5. Which part of the Christmas story (Mary, Joseph, shepherds, angels) best reflects your current emotional or spiritual state—and why?

6. The message says some of our deepest anxieties come from feeling alone, hopeless, or that our suffering is meaningless. Which of these feels most real to you right now?

7. How does believing in resurrection—things lost being restored—shape the way we grieve or hope today?

8. Alex describes biblical love as “wanting the best for someone else, even at cost to yourself.”What might that kind of love look like in one specific relationship this week?

9. Fear leads to scarcity; love leads to generosity. Where might God be inviting you to live more generously—with time, forgiveness, attention, or resources?

We continue our Advent series in our December 21 Sunday gathering. Please note: there was a microphone recording issue, and the audio quality is damaged. This week's discussion questions are below: 1. Where do you find joy hardest to access right now, and why?

2. Have you ever felt pressure—inside or outside the church—to appear joyful when you weren’t? What did that do to your faith or emotional life?

3. How would you describe the difference between happiness and joy in your own words or experience?

4. What might it look like to hold both joy and grief at the same time in your current season of life?

5. When have you felt unseen, unimportant, or overlooked? How does the shepherds’ story speak into that experience?

6. What fears most easily shape how you see the world or your future right now? How might joy offer a different way of seeing?

7. What does it look like, practically, to slow down and “ponder” God’s work in your own life? What gets in the way of that?

8. Can you name a moment when God’s light changed the direction of your story? How might revisiting that memory cultivate joy now?

9. What would it look like for you to return to your “ordinary life” this week carrying Advent joy—not because circumstances changed, but because Christ has come?