The Play within the Play – What Christmas is All About

Summary When Charlie Brown famously asks, “Doesn’t anybody know what Christmas is all about?!” Linus responds by reciting the King James Version of Luke 2. As it turns out, Philippians 2 is also a good answer, leading us to pray about the wonder of God becoming flesh. Merry Christmas! Episode 41: The Play within the […]

Sing a New Song (Beauty and Brokenness Pt 3)

Summary For the fortieth episode of Teach Us To Pray I discuss the first few verses of Psalm 40, one of my favorites, and also one of the best U2 songs ever. Prayer is about waiting, and about God stooping to hear us, and about God putting a new song in us that we can […]

Beauty and Brokenness # 2: Because the Night

Summary In part 2 of this series, I return to the Jesus and Peter conversation on the beach scene, and raise the question of how God might want to talk about painful memories, the idolatry of work, and using our wounds to heal others – but don’t worry, this episode is merrier than you might […]

Beauty and Brokenness # 1: Questions and Charcoal

Summary This is the first of three episodes on the convergence of beauty and brokenness as found in Scripture, and how we might learn to pray about God’s redemptive activity in our lives. In this episode, I explore the famous conversation between Jesus and Peter on the shore of lake Galilee, examining how Jesus might […]

God Loves Work #4: Scarcity, Imagination, and Work

Summary Are you ever frustrated by not having enough information, foresight, and understanding, particularly in your work? Do you ever wish that things were just more clear? What if this lack, this scarcity, is by design? What if it could fuel your imagination for how God wishes to use you in your work? In this […]

God Loves Work #3: Our Work as Making, not just Producing

Summary How surprising that the very first human mentioned in the Bible as being indwelled by God’s Spirit is a craftsman! In this episode we address what this might mean for our work, inviting a prayerful focus on human flourishing. Episode 36: God Loves Work #3: Our Work as Making, not just Producing (Exodus 31:1-11) […]

God Loves Work #2: How Work Goes Wrong

Summary The Tower of Babel is a story about how our work can go wrong, including using technology thoughtlessly, and working so as to “make a name for ourselves.” The only antidote for these work mistakes (and others) is prayer. Episode 35: God Loves Work #2: How Work Goes Wrong (Genesis 11) Hosted by Jeff […]

God Loves Work #1 (Genesis 1 – Seeing Pennies)

Summary This is the first of a four part series called God Loves Work, tied to a four day devotional you can do alone or with someone you trust. In this first episode, I look at the first book of the Bible, and invite you to consider how you can prayerfully see God’s wonder in […]

All Boldness and Without Hindrance (Acts 28:30-31) Part II

Summary The book of Acts ends with Paul under arrest, living out his vocation “with all boldness and without hindrance.” In the second episode exploring this verse, Jeff examines how we can enjoy obscurity in our lives and how kingdom impact can often happen in unseen moments. Episode 33: All Boldness and Without Hindrance (Acts […]

All Boldness and Without Hindrance (Acts 28:30-31) Part I

Summary The book of Acts ends with Paul under arrest, living out his vocation “with all boldness and without hindrance.” In part one of two episodes on these verses, I examine how we can pray toward the vocational freedom offered in this passage by coming to understand the relationship between freedom and constraint. Episode 32: […]

Praying Toward Resilience with Tod Bolsinger

Summary  In this special guest episode of Teach Us To Pray, Jeff interviews Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains and Tempered Resilience about the necessity and practice of prayer for leaders who are leading through adaptive change. Episode 31: Praying Toward Resilience with Tod Bolsinger Hosted by Jeff Hoffmeyer, Denver Institute’s Vice President of […]

It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us: Decision Making and Christian Unity

Summary Acts Chapter 15 records how early church leaders came to a compromise regarding a sharply divisive issue. This episode explores how that story can guide our own prayerful decision making, as well as how we can pray and act toward the unity of the Church. Episode 30: It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit […]