PATTERN

THE INVitATION

Pattern is an invitation to a way of life rooted in and shaped by Jesus. It’s an invitation for the whole Church to a journey that is both individual and communal. It will look different for all of us but we will share a collective focus and language to help us to encourage one another on our journeys.

A pattern is commitment to four key practices (detailed below) that we believe are essential to enabling us to live a life shaped by Jesus for the renewal of his world. Our patterns will look different from one another but have a shared overall shape and language. The aim of the four practices is to help shape the story you live out of towards the Jesus story, shape positive habits in your life that open you up more to God and to do all of this in the context of a community that is cheering you on as you share this journey together. Your individual pattern is the sum of these four practices and how they will fit into your life (ie daily, weekly, for 5 minutes etc).

Life gets busy. When we assume the spiritual life should be spontaneous it often doesn’t happen as other things crowd it out. Pattern is about deciding how you want to live ahead of time, spending time on the things that are the most important before other things crowd it out. That is why we would strongly recommend you don’t just pick practices, but choose a time and pattern to how you will practice them.

The invitation is to start where you are and take the next step

BEING

How do you practice being with Jesus? Being with Jesus isn’t about doing things for him, nor is it simply learning about him, instead it is focused on how we spend time with him. It is all about relationship. This can be a challenge, there is so much in this world to distract us and keep us busy that easily real relationship with God gets squeezed out. Having a being practice is an act of resistance. It is a conscious decision to slow down and make space in your life to know God and be known by him. There is no one or right way to do this but the below list should give you some ideas. Choose one and choose your pattern of how and when you will do it.

PRACTICE IDEAS

  • Silence - spend a few minutes each day in silence

  • Practice the Examen prayer

  • Read slowly through a psalm making it your own

  • Go for a slow walk inviting God to be present with you, listening for his voice.

  • Put on some worship music and use it to focus you on being with Jesus

  • Pray through the one or more of the Church of Englands daily prayer services. Or try their app.

  • Try the daily devotional app Lectio365. It gives a guided time of contemplative prayer for either the evening or the morning.

READING

We live in a world where there are many competing stories to live by. As those who apprentice our lives to Jesus we believe he gives us the true story of who he is, what the world is, who we are and how we should live. We want to immerse ourself in that story so it becomes our own; the story we live out of. To do this we need to take time to read scripture. This can be hard, its an old text written in a different time and culture. As a result there are times we don’t understand what we are reading. Don’t let this put you off. Trust that God is still immersing you in his story and keep going. Even just a little bit regularly makes a huge difference. Think of it like a dripping tap with a bucket underneath- at first it doesn’t seem to make any difference but over time the bucket is filled bit by bit. Pick a time to read the bible, choose what you will read and how much. Below our some ideas and resources that might help.

PRACTICE IDEAS

  • Try using the Alpha Bible in one year app (they also sell physical copies) This give a little bit of Scripture a day, a psalm and then a reading from the old and new testaments. Feels like too much- they also have a new testament in a year option with less to read. You can read it or listen and there is an optional commentary to read.

  • The Lectio365 app is a great app that encourages a more contemplative and reflective approach to reading scripture. This is a great way to combine a reading and being practice.

  • The Bible Project have produced an enormous range of videos and resources that are really engaging and helps you understand the bible better. They have some super helpful overview videos for each book of the bible, a podcast and even a new lecture series for those keen to go deeper.

  • Scripture Union produce a printed set of notes that takes you through a bit of the bible each day. You can subscribe to these to get them through your door.

  • The YouVersion Bible app give you the bible on your phone. It also comes with an incredible array of different reading patterns that you can shape to your individual preferences.

Resting

Life is busy. We often feel tired, overworked and anxious. Rest is not something that is easy to come by in a world where work follows us home, the phone continually vies for our attention and the 24 hour news cycle weighs us down with yet another depressing story. We need rest, indeed we were made for rest. Jesus has given us a practice that is designed to lead us into the pattern of rest we were made for and draw us deeper into an awareness of his presence and love for us- he called it sabbath. Sabbath is a 24 hour period in the week that we give over to rest, delight and worship. It’s the time we ditch the to do list, do the things that replenish us, do things that we love and delight in, thank God for all the good things he’s given us and focus afresh on him.

PRACTICE IDEAS

  • Listen again to our sermon series on sabbath (part 1, part 2 and part 3) to help you reflect on what sabbath could look like for you.

  • Choose a day to practice sabbath, if possible try to make it the same one each week. For many Sunday is a good day but it can be any 24 hour period, it can even stretch across two calendar days.

  • Decide where to begin- for some a 24 hour sabbath is an impossibility but a 12 hour or a 6 might be doable. Start where you are not where you feel you should be.

  • Get it in the calendar to ensure you shape other things around it.

  • Do something to mark the start of your sabbath. You could light a candle, spend time in prayer and worship, have a meal that you love, do an activity you love etc.

  • Plan your day and prepare in advance so you don’t have to spend the day planning, doing last minute jobs or popping to the shops for the thing you forgot.

  • Reflect on what rests you and draws you closer to God and what drives you further away and drains you. Do the former and avoid the latter.

  • Don’t judge your time. Some weeks will be great, others a failure, but trust in what God is doing in you through it over the long haul.

  • Consider switching off your devices and avoiding watching TV.

SHARING

The life with Jesus is never just about us. It’s always about others. He blesses us so we can in turn be a blessing. We are called to share the good news that we have experienced so others can join in. This can seem scary but it doesn’t have to be. It is simply about being honest about your experiences with those whom you know and love. For some of us the best place we can start is by making space to deepen our relationships to better value those God has put around us. When we do this sharing what we experience becomes more natural.

PRACTICE IDEAS

  • Put time in the diary to spend with your friend or family member

  • Pray- come up with a list of people you want God to bless. Set a weekly or daily time to pray for them and spend a minute or two doing so.

  • Plan a random act of kindness for someone you love.

  • Think about how you can be more honest about your faith experience with your children. Give them a window to what is going on within you.

  • Invite a friend to Alpha or church.

  • Reflect on who in your life might need that bit of extra support right now. Make a plan to call them.