Now, maybe you’re thinking: All of that sounds great. But I know Jesus wants me to treat others with love and care. And I mess that up. A lot.

You and me both. And every Christian who’s ever lived. We’re never going to be perfect Jesus followers in this life. But there are some things we can do to help ourselves learn from Jesus and put His love into practice. And these things are called spiritual disciplines.

Now, before the word “discipline” scares you off, just hear me out: This doesn’t have anything to do with correction. Think of “discipline” like an academic discipline: a particular subject or teaching.

You’re probably not surprised to find out that the words “discipline” and “disciple” are related. If a disciple is a student, a discipline is the subject they’re learning. Spiritual disciplines are practices we can use that line up with how Jesus lived. Many of them were developed over the course of the last 2,000 years.

As women and men of the past considered the life of Jesus and how they could live more like Him, they created disciplines which followed His example. Some of those disciplines are well-known, like prayer. Others, like silence and solitude, aren’t as well-known.

When we practice spiritual disciplines, they help bring us closer to Jesus and live more like Him. We find it easier and easier to extend love and grace to other people. When faced with a tough situation, we have more wisdom to handle it well. And we increasingly live in the peace and confidence of knowing Jesus is near.

So, being a Christian is all about learning from Jesus and putting his love into practice, and using spiritual disciplines is one way we can get better at both of those things. For the rest of this season, we’re going to look at five different types of spiritual disciplines you can try to grow closer to Jesus: Prayer, Worship, Bible Reading, Spending Time in Community, and Rest.

We’ll talk about how Jesus practiced those disciplines in His own life, some of the ways those practices have developed over time in the church, and ways we can learn from them and practice them now.

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