SELAH Commonwealth: Recent Episodes
Commonwealth Knoxville
Taking time to read, listen, and reflect on scripture is a way to encounter Jesus anew, grow daily as his disciples, and bear witness to His love and mercy. Lectio Divina is a form of rest, being present, learning to listen, and invites the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide us each day.
"I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"
These grave words from Jesus reveal his primary desire for our lives - that we would know him intimately. More than correct doctrine, more than all our religious activities, he desires our time and our hearts. Jesus knows that one the ways we grow in intimacy with him is by following after mentors and leaders who have it themselves. Therefore, he warns us to look out for those who might lead us astray.
Jesus says that all who hear his words in the Sermon on the Mount are faced with a choice between two ways. Are we going to choose the easy way and live our lives however we see fit? Or are we going to choose the harder way of apprenticeship to Jesus? Jesus says that following him and his teachings, though difficult and risky, is the way towards experiencing true life.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Tim Keller, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, Eugene Peterson, NT Wright, and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Fr. Foye shares some wisdom about the importance of cultivating deep friendships with God and others. The phrase anam cara comes from ancient Celtic spirituality and means "soul friend". In an age of perpetual loneliness and catastrophic isolation, we all need to hear this!
John O'Donohue's Anam Cara
https://commonwealthknox.org
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Tim Keller, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, Eugene Peterson, NT Wright, and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Jesus says, "When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you” (Luke 10:5-6). A person of peace is someone who welcomes you, shares their life with you, blesses you as you bless them, and opens you up to more relationships. Jesus calls us to get outside of our Christian bubble and build relationships with people of peace.
Our All-Family Gatherings begin with a short training on microchurches and missional living followed by table discussions. This training is about building relationships with people of peace.
How we engage with each others faults, shortcomings, and mistakes matters to Jesus. We tend to do this in a way that is destructive, divisive, and dehumanizing. Jesus offers a way that is loving and restorative.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, Eugene Peterson, NT Wright, and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Every summer, we host a regional conference in partnership with our friends from the Creo Collective. Creo is a family of churches, organizations, & covocational friends committed to multiplication through relationships, innovation, and a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This weekend is a highlight of our year together!
We are excited to be able to make these recordings available to all who were not able to attend. Though the best parts of the conference are the discussions, prayer, and other interactions that happen around the tables, we hope this gives you a taste of this special gathering!
https://www.creocollective.org
Every summer, we host a regional conference in partnership with our friends from the Creo Collective. Creo is a family of churches, organizations, & covocational friends committed to multiplication through relationships, innovation, and a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This weekend is a highlight of our year together!
We are excited to be able to make these recordings available to all who were not able to attend. Though the best parts of the conference are the discussions, prayer, and other interactions that happen around the tables, we hope this gives you a taste of this special gathering!
https://www.creocollective.org
Every summer, we host a regional conference in partnership with our friends from the Creo Collective. Creo is a family of churches, organizations, & covocational friends committed to multiplication through relationships, innovation, and a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This weekend is a highlight of our year together!
We are excited to be able to make these recordings available to all who were not able to attend. Though the best parts of the conference are the discussions, prayer, and other interactions that happen around the tables, we hope this gives you a taste of this special gathering!
https://www.creocollective.org
Every summer, we host a regional conference in partnership with our friends from the Creo Collective. Creo is a family of churches, organizations, & covocational friends committed to multiplication through relationships, innovation, and a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This weekend is a highlight of our year together!
We are excited to be able to make these recordings available to all who were not able to attend. Though the best parts of the conference are the discussions, prayer, and other interactions that happen around the tables, we hope this gives you a taste of this special gathering!
https://www.creocollective.org
Every summer, we host a regional conference in partnership with our friends from the Creo Collective. Creo is a family of churches, organizations, & covocational friends committed to multiplication through relationships, innovation, and a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This weekend is a highlight of our year together!
We are excited to be able to make these recordings available to all who were not able to attend. Though the best parts of the conference are the discussions, prayer, and other interactions that happen around the tables, we hope this gives you a taste of this special gathering!
https://www.creocollective.org
Every summer, we host a regional conference in partnership with our friends from the Creo Collective. Creo is a family of churches, organizations, & covocational friends committed to multiplication through relationships, innovation, and a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This weekend is a highlight of our year together!
We are excited to be able to make these recordings available to all who were not able to attend. Though the best parts of the conference are the discussions, prayer, and other interactions that happen around the tables, we hope this gives you a taste of this special gathering!
https://www.creocollective.org
In Matthew 6:22-34, Jesus reveals that generosity, or a lack of generosity, reveals the true condition of our hearts. Therefore, becoming the Kingdom people that he desires for us to be is not a matter of action or will power, it is a matter of what we worship. Jesus invites us to reorient our hearts towards him and his Kingdom through worship, so that we may become people of radical generosity.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, Eugene Peterson, NT Wright, and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount. Special thanks to Theresa Dunn for her contributions to this episode.
What are we to think when Jesus seems to contradict or ignore parts of the Old Testament? Despite the suspicions of the religious leaders of the day, Jesus did not call his kingdom community to do away with the Scriptures. Instead, he called them to be the fulfillment of the very heart and intention behind them.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Tim Mackie, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Tim Mackie, Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, R.T. France, NT Wright and Cornelius Planting for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Robert Capon, Tim Mackie, Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan, NT Wright, Cornelius Plantinga and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Tim Mackie, Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts through Jesus' Sermon On The Mount.
Special thanks to Dallas Willard, Stanley Hauerwas, Gerhard E. Lenski, John Mark Comer, Frederick Dale Bruner, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, Dave Johnson, Brian Zahnd, Ray Vander Laan and R.T. France for their contributions to this series of podcasts.
This Advent we invite you to join us for a series of reflections on the names of Jesus. The daily devotional text and any additional material will be on our App. Simply click the EVENT tab and select the day you wish to participate in. If you do not have the app, you can search and download ‘Commonwealth Knoxville’ on your app platform preference.
For more about the community of Commonwealth, visit us at www.commonwealthknox.org.
This Advent we invite you to join us for a series of reflections on the names of Jesus. The daily devotional text and any additional material will be on our App. Simply click the EVENT tab and select the day you wish to participate in. If you do not have the app, you can search and download ‘Commonwealth Knoxville’ on your app platform preference.
For more about the community of Commonwealth, visit us at www.commonwealthknox.org.
Special thanks to John Ortberg for his work "Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus," a contributing source for this episode.
This Advent we invite you to join us for a series of reflections on the names of Jesus. The daily devotional text and any additional material will be on our App. Simply click the EVENT tab and select the day you wish to participate in. If you do not have the app, you can search and download ‘Commonwealth Knoxville’ on your app platform preference.
For more about the community of Commonwealth, visit us at www.commonwealthknox.org.
This Advent we invite you to join us for a series of reflections on the names of Jesus. The daily devotional text and any additional material will be on our App. Simply click the EVENT tab and select the day you wish to participate in. If you do not have the app, you can search and download ‘Commonwealth Knoxville’ on your app platform preference.
For more about the community of Commonwealth, visit us at www.commonwealthknox.org.
Special thanks to Robert Capon, Chad Bird, Daniel Emery Price, Erick Sorenson, Russ Johnson, Tony Sorci and Stanley Hauerwas for their contributions to this episode.
Special thanks to Dave Johnson, Lois Tverberg and Ray Vander Laan for their contributions to this podcast.
Special thanks to Brian McLaren, Dave Johnson and Ray Vander Laan for their contributions to this podcast.
What do you do when confronted with your unmet expectations? ...the places you were suppose to already be... or maybe the timing you had hoped for seems to have taken longer than expected. God is far more concerned at any given moment in who we are becoming, than what we are doing or where we are going. This "in between place" of becoming and doing is both a humbling and beautiful place. Today, our prayer is that there is no hesitation to bring all of who you are so He can do his work of restoring and redeeming the person he has created you to be.
There is "nothing new". Really? This is a common phrase that is easily laced with cynicism. But is it a true statement? What have we missed by adopting this posture? The words of scripture and actions of Jesus tell us something different. Embedded in creation to the kingdom now and to come He is making all things new. Be reminded of it. Look for it. Hear it. Recognize it. He is still creating and recreating in and through us.
How many times have you asked, "where exactly is the peak of what we are experiencing in 2020"? For some of you, it's not just the events of this year, but it is rather, surviving a month, a week, a day, or a moment. Seems like most days just feel like fatigue on top of fatigue. What does this season leave you longing for? Where do you go? Our prayer is that you will long to simply ABIDE daily in the deep ways and work of Jesus, and allow Him to shape how you love, how you interact with family, friends, and co-workers, and how you join in HIS rest.
Are you working more and more and resting and laughing a lot less? Growing tired and stressed more easily? Are you struggling to be present? It is easy to get there quickly no matter what your stage in life. Jesus invites us to a different path, a simple expression, a content space that has all the components of true rest in your walk and work with him.
A saturated life is a life of constant activity, more information, and ever-increasing speed. Creating a space to be still, rest, listen, and allow the Spirit to speak is not a natural outcome of a saturated life. Through the ancient tradition and model of Lectio Divina, it is our hope to create an environment, a sacred space, to sit in the presence of Jesus, listen to the word, and allow the Spirit to do its work in us in the stillness.