Any meaningful goal will take effort and discipline. In most cases, long term goals will require dedication to rhythms of intentional effort. Following Jesus is really no different. Growth in the Christian life does require our dedication to rhythms and practices called the spiritual disciplines.

As Jesus is teaching His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, He addresses their generosity to the poor, prayer, and fasting. We should notice that He does not say, “If you pray,” or “If you fast,” or “You might consider giving to the needy.” Jesus assumes that this will be part of the normal rhythms of His disciples’ lives, but wants to make sure that the way they go about these things comes from the proper motivation and toward the ultimate goal of knowing Jesus in a deeper way.

Today we will show how the disciplines of prayer, generosity, fasting, worship and gathering with God’s people, and witness are key ingredients for discipleship. Our goal as a church is to help people implement these disciplines and provide resources for these means of grace.