Ridgedale Students

Last week we looked at staying near to Jesus in order to sustain a hungry faith that looks more like desperation than complacency…but what have we been given to live this out?

In his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson touches on our world’s love for sensation. We long to be wowed by something, but we value less what Peterson calls a, “long obedience in the same direction.” To walk a path in good seasons and bad ones toward a singular goal. Jesus does not leave us without a category for this kind of life. In fact, He commissions us into it. “Make disciples…” The way we stay is through the path of discipleship.

What’s the key to sustaining a hungry faith?

So often we’re conditioned to want things quickly, easily, and without resistance. But rarely is this the experience of disciples of Jesus. To draw nearer to Him is to move further from the world, and the world does not take that kindly. Walking with Jesus is a war of attrition, of perseverance, and the only way to sustain it for the duration is to remain.

In week 2 (we had some recording issues week 1) of Hungry Faith, we will examine two stories of people who remain to see what staying near to Jesus looks like in order to live that out in our own lives.

After three weeks of in depth examination on worship the question still remains; How do I live this in the normal routines of my days? The answer, “Through the practice of Living Worship.

As worship is integrated into the regular rhythms and routines of our life we come to actualize the fact that we are not participants in worship services, rather, we are worshippers. Through the simple practices of followers of Jesus throughout the years we come to embody that reality and experience God in a way that both satisfies the longings of our hearts and leaves us hungry for more of Him.

When worship is first mentioned in the Bible, it isn’t in the context of a rocking concert setting, or an intimate gathering of people singing songs to God. It’s in the context of sacrifice (Gen. 4, Gen. 22). God presents Himself to people and the natural outpouring of what they see in Him drives them to offer up something of cost.

In week 3 of our series Heart, we look at this often forgotten side of worship through Genesis 4 and 22, Amos 5, and Romans 12. What we find is that worship requires sacrifice, and true sacrifice is always costly. Whether that cost is our autonomy or will or our actions to the person we don’t prefer to be around, the cost is non-negotiable. And when we offer our songs, but we don’t offer our hearts, God isn’t appeased, but appalled.

“How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of "accepting" Christ, and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him.” -A.W. Tozer

In our series Heart we want to dig deeply into worship.

Week 1 takes us to Psalm 115 and 27 where we look at hearts consumed with beholding God and allowing what they beheld to fill their minds and guide their worship.

A.W. Tozer summed it up best with this word, “I want the presence of God Himself, or I don't want anything at all to do with religion...I want all that God has or I don't want any.”

How much of us does God want?

What does it look like for me to live with God with all my being?

This year in RSM we want to answer these and other questions as we seek to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This year, we’re seeking to live as whole people.

Our audio wasn’t working for the first two teachings from HouseCamp, but we were able to get the third!

In our final teaching from the week, we wrap up Psalm 27 after hearing night 1 about our need to seek out God as light, and night 2 on how we see God properly. In this final teaching we look to the hope of Jesus available to us all here and now and David’s confidence in claiming that hope for himself.

How do we respond to God’s answer in prayer?

Through the posture of yielding we learn to listen and respond in a way that honors God and leads to our flourishing.

Asking is uncomfortable, isn’t it?

We fear asking for a variety of reasons. We believe it reveals weakness in us in a society that prizes strength. We believe it shows us to be needy in a culture of self-sufficiency.

What we find in the Scriptures is a very different vision of going to God with our need in prayer. Charles Spurgeon informs us that asking is the currency of the Kingdom of God. That we come to the Father in our need and He meets us in it with His abundance in order to form the Kingdom deeply within us.

Tonight we have the joy of hearing from DJ Zayed, one of our longtime small group and worship leaders and one of the most beloved people in our community.