SMPL is biblical meditation that incorporates the ancient practice of the prayer of recollection (re-collecting your fragmented and distracted thoughts to focus on Jesus) with other forms of thought-based biblical meditation like “TACS” (teaching, adoration, confession, and supplication).
It will help take your personal relationship with God to a new level with daily life-giving time with him. You will find encouragement and connection with others in your spiritual journey in the small group experience. Along the way, we will pursue the delighted exploration of indescribable and unbounded riches of Jesus as we learn a deeper trust and faith in him.
SMPL is great if you:
Want a daily connection with Jesus through the Bible.
Have daily time with Jesus and the Bible, but are looking for something that will permeate from your head more deeply into your heart and life.
Are looking for a community of brothers and sisters to share your relationship with Jesus.
Have found Bible study boring or academic, not leading to a softened heart and increased love for him.
Biblical meditation, unlike some forms of eastern meditation, does not attempt to empty the mind, but rather to fill it and guide it with biblical truths and into a relationship with Jesus.
Psalm 1 describes how meditating on the law of the Lord (the Bible) day and night will help us become like trees planted along a riverbank. We become stable, rooted, and have an overwhelming sense of peace and well being, regardless of the rainfall and circumstances. This is contrasted with chaff that is easily scattered by the wind. One little gust of difficulty blows it away.
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
Meditation can be seen as the gateway between Bible study and prayer. Study of the Bible shows us what God is saying to us. It is a living and active power. As we meditate, we take his word into our hearts and lives and in prayer we respond to him.
The benefits of meditation are cumulative over time. It is best experienced as an ongoing daily practice.
Meditation brings us to taste and delight in the Lord, praising, giving thanks, and experiencing conviction and repentance.
Check out these testimonials.
To learn more about how Teresa of Avila practiced the prayer of recollection, check out this explanation.
To learn more about thought-based biblical meditation, check out these resources from Timothy Keller.
Sermon: Disciplines of Grace: Meditation
Youtube video: Meditation thoughts from Psalm 1
"Scripture is not an encyclopedia of God facts, but a portal into the divine mystery. The modernist reading of Scripture is obsessed with facts and information. But more empirical data is not what we need. What we need is a deeper experience with the sacred mystery of Christ."
"Don’t look [at the crucifixion] with modern eyes and see only a postmortem medical phenomenon. Look with the eyes of faith and try to perceive the spiritual meaning of this miracle."
Zahnd, Brian. The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross (p. 30 and 33). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
SMPL study resources from other books of the Bible. These include reading plans and printable texts.
Check out these resources for:
How to use spiritual practices -suggestions for bringing spiritual practices more effectively into your life so that you can cultivate a deeper love and trust.
Spiritual practices index - a list of great spiritual practices. Each one provides step by step instructions.
Private mini-retreats - use these "itineraries" to guide your solitude time with God. Time alone with God has a powerful and unique way of fueling our transformation in him.
For more information contact us at smplpractice@gmail.com