Examine

SCRIPTURE—MEDITATION

Scripture is the Spirit-given word of God, living, active and revealing his truth and grace for the world. As such, spending regular and consistent time in scripture is essential to knowing God, understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ, and becoming more like him. We rightly come to scripture for the deep inner formation of our minds and hearts by the power of God’s word as he speaks to us with wisdom and love and guides us in our thoughts and actions (Heb. 4:12).

In our core spiritual practices, we recognize that there are two distinct ways to engage with scripture: study and meditation. With the practice of meditation on scripture we prayerfully and attentively read and reflect on a short biblical text, remembering that we are reading the very words of God and listening for what he has to say to us. In biblical meditation we open our hearts and minds to how God wants to form us, and we desire to hear his voice and obey his word (Ps. 19:7-11).

CONFESSION

With the practice of confession we participate in the healing and freedom accomplished for us by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Through personal confession we come to God in prayer, and we are honest with him about our sins and need of his forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9). The practice of confession also includes mutual confession in Christian community. By mutually confessing our sins with trusted friends in Christ, we acknowledge that we are not alone in our sin, that we need the close communion of others to allow us to be honest about our weaknesses and failures, and that we grow through the support of others for our continued strength and healing (James 5:16).

SILENCE & SOLITUDE

In the practice of silence and solitude, we choose to be alone and apart for a time from the social habits and patterns of our regular interactions with others to be intentionally attentive to our relationship with God. Solitude frees us to develop an inner strength and depth of knowing who we truly are in Christ that is formed in a place apart and renews us for our return to our social and relational life (Matt. 6:6). Silence allows for solitude by removing the constant sounds that fill the foreground and background of our lives and that can be an obstacle to our inward listening to the condition of our souls and the health of our relationship with Jesus.