Walking the Narrow Way | Devotional Guide(lines)

The Sermon on the Mount is more than a collection of inspiring teachings or moral rules. In Matthew 5–7, Jesus offers his disciples a vision of an entirely different way of life: a life shaped by humility, mercy, integrity, trust, love, discernment, and faithful practice.

This devotional guide accompanies our sermon series, The Narrow Way: The Cost of Following Jesus. Its purpose is not simply to help us learn more about Jesus’ words, but to help us become people who increasingly live them. To integrate our head and heart and our hands.

Each weekday includes four simple movements:

1. Read — Spend time with a short passage of Scripture.
2. Reflect — Consider how the reading connects with the way of Jesus.
3. Consider — Sit with a question that invites honest attention to your own life.
4. Practice — Take one small, concrete step toward putting the teaching into action.

You do not need to rush through the guide or find the “right” answer. Read slowly. Notice what stands out. Pay attention to any resistance, comfort, conviction, or invitation that emerges. You may wish to journal your responses, discuss them with someone else, or simply carry the day’s question with you.

The practices are intentionally small. Discipleship is rarely formed through one dramatic decision. But rather discipleship  grows through repeated practices. Over time, these ordinary practices help cultivate a life with Jesus, like Jesus, doing the things Jesus did.

Use the guide in whatever rhythm works best for you: individually, with your family, with a friend, or in a small group. Missed a day? Simply begin again. The goal is not perfect completion. The goal is to keep returning to Christ and learning to walk with him on this Narrow Way.

Week 1 - Devotional Guide

A Vision of Flourishing

Theme: Vision
Formation goal: Discipleship begins with a vision of who we are becoming.

Monday (8/3/26)

• Read: Matthew 5:1–12
• Reflect: Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount by redefining what a blessed or flourishing life looks like. He names people the world often overlooks or character traits the world often undervalues, declaring that God’s kingdom belongs among them.
• Question: Which Beatitude feels most surprising or difficult for you to embody?
• Practice: Choose one Beatitude and read it aloud three times throughout the day.

Tuesday (8/4/26)

• Read: Psalm 1
• Reflect: The Psalmist compares a faithful life to a tree planted beside water. Flourishing does not come from chasing every passing influence, but from being deeply rooted in God.
• Question: What has been shaping your imagination and desires lately? What is feeding your soul? Is it nourishing? 
• Practice: Spend ten minutes away from your phone, television, or other media. Sit quietly and notice what rises within you (even if what rises is discomfort, sit and get curious about the rising).

Wednesday (8/5/26)

• Read: Matthew 4:18–25
• Reflect: Before Jesus teaches the disciples how to live, he invites them to follow Him. John Mark Comer compares discipleship to a mentor who takes on an understudy, an apprentice. Discipleship begins with movement: leaving one way of life and entrusting ourselves to another.
• Question: What might Jesus be inviting you to leave behind or hold more loosely?
• Practice: Take one small step toward something you sense Christ has been inviting you to do.

Thursday (8/6/26)

• Read: Philippians 2:1–11
• Reflect: Jesus’ vision of flourishing looks less like achievement and more like humility, service, and self-giving love. The “Christ Hymn” in Phil. 2 offers a beautiful vision of the life of Christ which is the pattern for the life of a disciple.
• Question: Where are you tempted to protect your status, comfort, or importance?
• Practice: Perform one unnoticed act of service without mentioning it to anyone.

Friday (8/7/26)

• Read: Matthew 5:13–16
• Reflection: Salt and light do not exist for themselves. Jesus forms disciples whose lives preserve what is good, illuminate what is true, and help others glimpse the love of God. As disciples we are called to bring flavor to the world and illuminate the dark with the light of Christ. 
• Question: Where has God placed you to become salt or light?
• Practice: Offer one specific word of encouragement to someone who may feel unnoticed.