Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the second week of our Advent Devotional Series. My name is Lindsay Parnell, and I am the worship and spiritual formation pastor at Westside Church. And this week, our focus, the focus of Advent, is peace.
What does that mean for us in our actual, real, daily lives, taking this concept that is ethereal and many times seeming like the ideal and making it a reality of our lives in Christ?
So let's take a few moments now, just quiet your heart and mind and stillness before God and give him these next few moments as we examine peace and what that looks like for our lives.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 through 7, says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Peace that transcends all understanding is such a foreign concept to many of us, me included, but I know that it is something that the human soul longs for very, very deeply.
So what does that look like in our daily lives?
Pastor Rich Velotis takes that scripture, Philippians 4, 6 and 7, and he pulls out tools for us that we can use to actually cultivate peace in our lives.
Prayer, petition and Thanksgiving Today I want to look at prayer and specifically meditation, which is just the practice of focusing on Scripture or an aspect of the character of God.
And I want to do that with this Philippians 4 passage together.
So taking that scripture, begin with reading slowly the passage a couple of times, maybe read it out loud, maybe emphasize different words in the verse. And next you choose a word or a phrase that stands out to you for deeper reflection.
Maybe it's in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
You would think on that sentence, that phrase, think of a specific situation, and then just allow that Scripture to be applied to what you're thinking of, ruminating on every situation. What does it look like to petition to God?
And in doing that, I think you will find that the peace of God will transcend your situation and you'll begin to experience an inner peace that doesn't make much sense, but that is from the Holy Spirit.
Prayer and meditation do not need to be difficult or only for those for whom it comes naturally or easily. Lord knows it does not for me, but instead it's a practice that we choose to engage in because we trust or would like to trust in the promises of God. And this can be done not just with scripture, but meditate on the love of God, the joy of God. The faithfulness of God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: So pray this prayer and fill in the blank for me.
Lord, this week I am anxious about blank.
Help me to experience your peace and presence this week so I can bring your peace to others.
