Midweek Worship

As we all know, this is an unprecedented time in our world. Things we took for granted are no longer an option. It can be incredibly intimidating not knowing when everything will return to “normal”.

But in our desire to return to the familiar, we may be missing what God is doing in us through this time. Could we seek to focus our attention not on escaping our current circumstances, but rather on Him?

A ideal way to do this is to learn more about spiritual disciplines. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting background information about spiritual disciplines and how to practice them. We hope these posts are an encouragement to you during this time.

Blessings as you embark on this journey — God is good! May we be formed by Him together.

Practicing Humility | Judy Wiebe

On the weekend of May 2-3 Pastor Clyde preached on Drinking From a Dry Well: Trusting the God of a Different Agenda. I was intrigued by the connection he made between trusting God as we wait, and the need for humility. As I’ve thought about it for a couple of weeks now, I am becoming more aware of the tension within me, the tension between the invitation to exercise child-like trust as I wait, versus my tendency to want to plan, to control, to understand, to explain, to return to “normal”.

Breath Prayer | Judy Wiebe

Deep breathing exercises are often cited as an excellent way to cope with stress or anxiety. For centuries, Christ-followers have practiced a contemplative form of breath prayer as a way of engaging heart, mind and body in focusing on God. And it has the added benefit of regulating our breathing during times of stress.

Prayer of Examen | Judy Wiebe

Over the centuries, Christians have practiced the Prayer of Examen as a way of intentionally noticing the places where they have been aware of God’s presence and activity, as well as the places where they may have resisted Him or ignored His presence. The Examen involves setting aside a few minutes each day to review the past day and prayerfully listen to the Spirit of God as you pose the two questions above: where was I aware of God’s presence and where did I resist God.

Parish Ministry | Myra Brown

You and I - we aren't Clyde or James or Jayne, right? But at Southview we've been taught that we are all ministers of the Gospel. Both in pre-Covid 19 gatherings and still now in our online liturgies, we pray for different kinds of ministers each weekend—teachers, overseas missionaries, healthcare workers, caregivers. The list goes on. Our understanding of the "priesthood of all believers" has moved us more and more towards what the Bible actually says about who we are. Each of us is called to be God's person in this world and to work towards expanding His Kingdom at school, at work, and by engaging with other cultures in Calgary and around the world.

Bible Reading | Jon Coutts

I find series like this helpful because we get to hear how our fellow-disciples do the Christian life. But if you find the variety of spiritual disciplines overwhelming, just remember that they all fit into three basic categories: Whatever we do, the point is to develop vital habits of (1) Scripture reading, (2) prayer, and (3) service. The discipline I want to highlight this week is Scripture reading.

Taking Scripture to Heart | Bill McAlpine

The one spiritual discipline that has had as much, if not more impact on my own spiritual journey than any other is the discipline of Scripture memorization. About 15 years ago a young friend invited me to join him in memorizing not just some verses of Scripture, but a whole book in Scripture, specifically the book of Revelation!

Centering Prayer | Judy Wiebe

Most of us are familiar with the words from Psalm 46:10 to "Be still, and know that I am God," but in these days of global pandemic, hourly updates filled with alarming statistics and dire warnings, it can be challenging to still our anxious thoughts. One spiritual discipline which I have found to be very helpful is Centering Prayer, which is a form of contemplative prayer that helps to quiet scattered thoughts in the still centre of Christ’s presence.

The Spiritual Practice of Solitude | Doug Wiebe

I recall being severely disciplined as a child. Dad’s razor strap hung in the basement stairway, and while I only directly encountered it once, it did nevertheless have a powerful influence on my behavior by just hanging there. The more severe punishments were “Go to your room” and “No supper for you”! Thus, it was instilled in me from an early age, that the worst things that could happen to you were to be denied community and food. A little later in life I learned (but not by personal experience) the negative connotations of “isolation” and “confinement”, the worst of all being “solitary confinement”.

ACTS Prayers

The ACTS prayer format is simple and likely familiar. Use the acronym ACTS as a guide: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. For each of the categories, feel free to pray your thoughts or feelings, or to read scripture aloud. If you are alone, consider writing your prayers and responses in a prayer journal.