The Town Church / Fort Collins

When you think back on your life, what has spiritual formation looked like for you? Has the key emphasis been a growing love for God? What are some pitfalls we can face when we view love for God as the main goal of spiritual formation? We examine these questions and more on this week's Afterword. Please bear with Vince's hosting skills. It gets better. 

The term "spiritual formation" is often defined in different ways by different people. As we enter into a short series on spiritual formation, two pivotal questions are examined: What is the true aim of spiritual formation? How does that connect to the way we live? 

Our series through Advent has made it clear that God chooses the lowly and imperfect to accomplish His purposes. As we conclude the Advent season, we celebrate the coming of Jesus, who is enough.

Brock joins us this week as we reflect on Sunday's sermon.  How does the fulfillment of prophesy we've seen throughout Advent increase our own certainty in the validity of Scripture? Are there times we've wrestled with the reliability of the Bible? 

The visit of the wise men is an important story in the Christmas narrative, especially as we consider how these Gentile men even knew about this prophesied Jewish Messiah.From Genesis to Revelation, God has declared that the gospel will reach every nation. God's heart for the whole world is why we, like the Magi, get to know Christ and worship Him as our Lord. 

As we look at Christ's birth, it is evident that God was clearly at work in each piece of this story. From fulfillment of prophecy to the details given to the shepherds, none of this happened by chance.In our conversation today, we address some other questions this story brings up: How have we seen God clearly orchestrating events in our own lives?Is there any relevance to the angel appearing to the shepherds?Especially for those who've grown up in the church, the familiarity of the Christmas story can often make us numb to the beauty of it. Do we have any practices in place that have helped us push against this?

As we consider the gospel, do we see it as good news of great joy? What causes us to neglect to see it this way? This passage reminds us of the significance of Christ's arrival to earth and challenges us to consider whether the gospel spurs us on to joyful worship. 

We are joined this week by none other than Jon P. Pfeil to unpack Zechariah's prayer and the way his story hits our hearts. Are we entering into this Advent season with joy? How did Mary and Zechariah respond differently to the news Zechariah brought? When we don't see God fulfilling the desires of our hearts, how can we find encouragement in who God is and what He is accomplishing? 

In Zechariah's prayer at the end of Luke 1, we see what it looks like to joyfully worship God for who He is. With this as our guide, how can our own hearts be drawn to joyful worship?

It's Advent! This week we discuss our own practices for the Advent season and zoom into the Magnificat with some helpful questions from Austin. How do we slow down and prepare for Advent? How should we approach songs/poetry that we encounter in the middle of narrative sections of the Bible? Why did Mary choose these themes as she praised God? What comfort can we bring to those who are sitting in seasons of long silence and waiting for God's deliverance? 

We enter into Advent by looking at The Magnificat, Mary's Song of Praise. Her joyful worship is a response to God's glorious mercy. According to this passage, how does God reveal Himself through His mercy? 

This week, we get to hear stories from listener of how God moved in hearts through our time in Colossians. Before that, we unpack a couple of questions from the text: How have we seen collaboration among local churches? What role do our own stories play in prompting encouragement and worship in the Christian life? 

The conclusion of Colossians provides a glimpse into the Church and how it functions as one body with many members. 

In this passage, Paul calls the church to be faithful in prayer and in seeking opportunities for the gospel. How would we describe our own prayer life? What is an encouragement for someone who is struggling with prayer? What can it look like to engage in gospel opportunities now, rather than just in the future? 

Do we seek out gospel opportunities wherever we are planted? Is this a focus of our prayers?In this passage, Paul encourages the church to pursue opportunities to share the gospel and provides instruction in how to pray. 

This week from The Loft, we share how this text hit each of us personally. We also recognize that the household roles highlighted in the passage do not apply to everybody, so we talk through a few different scenarios that fall into different categories. Regardless of where we find ourselves, the most important thing for us to see through this text is that our pursuit of relationships is meant to point us to the glory and lordship of Christ. 

If we believe Jesus is Lord over all things, this should influence the way we pursue relationships. In this passage, Paul specifically addresses how Jesus can be honored through relationships within the household. 

This week, two special guests join us as we consider what it means to put on the new self. 1. What personally stuck out in this passage? Anything particularly encouraging or convicting?2. How do we think about the tension between the necessity for God's enabling grace to do anything good and Scripture's clear commands for obedience?3. Are you willing to share particular sins are you are battling (or have battled) and some practical ways you've put sin to death and grown in godliness?

This passage serves as a call to action for those who have been raised with Christ. One important question forms the foundation of our response: Is our way of life consistent with who we are through Christ? 

In Eric's return as host, we approach some important topics and how it looks to navigate those as Christians. What are some philosophies / worldviews common in our culture that could be examples of what Paul is warning the believers in Colossae about? What's an example of one that we've personally wrestled with? What are some red flags that a particular philosophy or practice we hold to, or the way we hold to it, is becoming what Paul warns us about?Paul also warns against empty practices - so how do we approach spiritual practices in our lives?