Together #forSalem

It is possible to really see concrete proof that God sees you, knows you, cares for you, and is intimately involved in your life. This kind of life… this kind of faith and trust comes from practicing the Art of Following Jesus… And Jesus said there was one practice that grows our faith like nothing else.

We all have the ability to be the change we wish to see in the world. But this type of life doesn't just happen by accident. It’s the result of conscious and committed choices about how we live… but we don’t have to do it alone. The secret to becoming the change we wish to see is discovered when we practice the art of following Jesus.

For many people the idea of knowing God seems impossible. If he or it even exists, it’s “out there,” distant, intangible, too large and removed for us to really know what he/it is on any concrete level… At most God is something we can only catch glimpses of.

But Jesus gave us a different picture. A picture of a heavenly Father who knows us and who we can know personally and intimately.

According to Jesus, your life has infinite importance. You aren’t here by mistake. You were made on purpose for a purpose. That purpose is only fully realized and experienced when we practice the art of following Jesus.

Can we actually listen to God? What does it mean to be guided by the Holy Spirit? Is it just a Christian version of following our hearts? How do we know we aren’t just hearing what we want to hear? If we really want to be able to listen to God we need to practice the art of following Jesus.

What does it actually mean to be a Christian… to follow Jesus? Just believe the right stuff, follow the right list of rules and you’re good to go? Honestly, that sounds terrible. There’s another way. It’s time we practice the art of following Jesus

Easter is so much more than just an annual religious holiday. It’s so much more than a nice story we hear once a year that inspires us to be nice people. The true story of Easter has transformed people’s lives for 2000 years. And it can still transform ours.

Most of us think we have a pretty good idea of who Jesus was and what he was all about. While at the same time, we can’t seem to agree on what he'd be for and what he'd be against in our current state of affairs. What would happen if we let Jesus speak for himself?

For the next two weeks as we lead into Easter let’s have Psalm 63:1 be our prayer. Search for him, and ask him to fill our lives. Maybe for the first time, or as a restart for a dry and dusty faith.

Okay, we just spent the last nine weeks studying the Holy Spirit. But how can we actually experience the Holy Spirit in our real, daily, regular lives? In this final episode of our series, we think the answer to that question is simpler and more powerful than we can imagine.