*We encourage you to pause the audio after any reflection moments or questions. There is also a setting on the player above to slow down the audio if that helps.
Welcome to our weekly Friday Check-in for September 12th, 2025 ✅
Here’s your weekly check in... take three deep breaths, slowing your exhale...
Let's begin with,
Page: An Invitation to Reflection
Read or listen to Matthew 3:1-12 (MSG) three times.
"While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy:
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!
John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey. People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life.
When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and flourishing? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.
“I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I’m a mere stagehand—will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” (MSG)
Spend a few minutes journaling in response to this passage:
- What stands out to you most? Is there a particular word or phrase?
- As you read through it a second time… ask God, “to what area of my life does that particular word or phrase connect?”
- And as you read a third time, be asking God, “Is there an invitation for me?” Is there a response of some kind that God is inviting you into?
Next up is,
Person: An Invitation to Connection
Thanks to many of you who were able to attend the Semi-Silent retreat on Saturday - so good to see your faces and retreat with you!! Our theme for this month is “consistency.” We’ll continue to meditate on this theme and Colossians 1: 9-12 in the coming weeks.
Just as John’s life and words consistently pointed beyond himself to Jesus, pause now to ask yourself: in my conversations and actions, am I directing others toward hope, grace, and truth... or toward myself? How might I embody humility today by pointing someone I love toward God’s presence rather than my own agenda?
Finally we have,
Plan: An Invitation to Intention
Take 5–10 minutes in silence and pray the simple phrase: “More of You, less of me.” Notice where pride, hurry, or self-focus rises in you, and gently release it back to God. Write down one way you will practice repentance today, a small turning back toward Jesus’ way of love and kingdom-living. What helps you to consistently ‘turn back’ to Jesus?
A prayer to close:
“Lord Jesus, help me turn from all that distracts me and turn fully toward You. Make my words and actions point others to Your love, not my own strength. Shape my heart to walk humbly in Your kingdom today. Amen.”
Thanks for checking in today - Blessings!