The Spiritual Importance of Washing Your Face

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Several months ago we read as Jesus taught (paraphrasing), “When you fast, do not look gloomy, but wash your face!” Jesus makes a point about how we practice our righteousness (in secret), but he also alludes to the spiritual discipline of fasting.

Fasting is not a part of regular life for most people (even most Christians), yet Jesus assumes we will fast. This morning we look specifically at fasting: what is it, why is it still relevant to Christians, and how should we approach this unique discipline?

The Spiritual Importance of Washing Your Face (Matthew 6:16–18)
Chris Dunaway
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Pray Until You Pray

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“When you pray,” Jesus begins as he teaches about prayer. Jesus assumes we will pray—that prayer will be a part of our daily life. But many of us find prayer to be a difficult discipline. We get distracted, or feel too busy, or don’t know where to start. How do we break through these barriers?

First we have to recognize what prayer is and what prayer is for. Then we can begin to press into prayer.

Pray Until You Pray (Matthew 6:7–8)
Chris Dunaway
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Deliver Us From the Evil One

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Most of us don’t think about evil very often—even less about Satan. He is neither a pleasant nor popular topic of conversation. Which makes him all the more effective.

Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” How does Satan work in the world, and how can we resist him?

Deliver Us From the Evil One (Matthew 6:13)
Chris Dunaway
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Forgive or Forget?

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“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” Jesus teaches us to pray.

Forgiveness is one of the hardest spiritual practices, yet God nevertheless calls us to forgive one another as he has forgiven us. What is the true nature of forgiveness? Why is it so hard? And how is it possible to forgive, even when it is so difficult?

Forgive or Forget? (Matthew 6:12)
Chris Dunaway
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Daily Bread or Annual Bread?

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“Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus teaches us to pray. In ancient cultures, when workers got paid at the end of each day, and when life was more day-to-day, this was easier to understand. But today we buy groceries for the week, get paid every two weeks, pay our rent every month, and our taxes once/year. How do we know if we’re praying for daily bread or annual bread? What’s the difference between responsibility and excess? And does God really care about something as insignificant as my next meal?

Daily Bread or Annual Bread? (Matthew 6:5–15)
Chris Dunaway
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Thy Kingdom Come

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Everyone has a source of authority – something or someone whose word we accept as truth. For some of us it’s God; for others a philosophy or political cause; for still others it’s ourselves. But we all submit to something or someone.

When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” he challenges us to identify who our authority is, and he urges us to commit our whole self—head, heart, and hands—to that cause.

Thy Kingdom Come (Matthew 6:5–15)
Chris Dunaway
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Holy Confusion

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Christians believe in the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit often gets the silent treatment. Whether we don’t understand the Spirit or fear what submitting to the Spirit might look like, we all have objections.

What happens when we acknowledge and face those objections? What happens when we let the Holy Spirit into our lives?

Holy Confusion (Acts 2:1–13)
Doran Morford
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Standing Out Quietly

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Have you ever heard someone say, “I swear to God”? What does it mean to swear to God? This morning Jesus teaches about when we make vows and oaths, and he challenges us to look at our heart-level motives in the process. Why do we feel the need to make vows, oaths, and promises, and what if there’s a better way?

The comic referenced can be found at https://xkcd.com/993.

Standing Out Quietly (Matthew 5:33–37)
Chris Dunaway
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Divorce and Remarriage: an unreasonable standard?

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In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus confronts us with an exceptionally high bar for morality. This morning he addresses his most challenging topic yet: divorce and remarriage. How do we view those subjects as Christians?

The answer will challenge us, but when we remember that marriage is meant to reflect God’s love for us, the pieces start to fall into place.

Divorce and Remarriage: an unreasonable standard? (Matthew 5:31–32)
Chris Dunaway
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Been Poolside Lately?

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In John 5 Jesus asks a blind man a startling question: “Do you want to be healed?”

Still more startling is what Jesus does not ask the man: “What do you believe?”

Is it possible that God operates on his own terms and not ours? Is it possible that Jesus touches whomever he pleases regardless of whether we deem them worthy?

Been Poolside Lately? (John 5:1–15)
Rev. John Houlker
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The Eyes and the Heart and the Eyes of the Heart

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In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus begins to confront us with a shocking high bar for morality. This morning he makes this bold claim: “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Is Jesus just being dramatic? A killjoy? What heart conditions does he have in mind, and how do we pursue the purity of heart to which Jesus calls us?

The Eyes and the Heart and the Eyes of the Heart (Matthew 5:27–30)
Chris Dunaway
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Salt and Light

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Jesus loved to use everyday illustrations to illustrate profound truths. This morning we look at two famous statements: “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world.”

What does it mean that we are salt and light? What does “salty” faith look like? And how can we be a light in a dark world?

Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13–16)
Chris Dunaway
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