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 5 Devotional Guide 

Living Together

Theme: Community
Formation goal: Faithfulness is lived in relationship, not isolation

Monday | Matthew 7:1–5

• Reflect: Jesus encourages discernment. Here, particularly, he confronts the self-righteous habit of examining others without first becoming honest about ourselves. 
• Question: Whose faults are easier for you to see than your own? How discerning are you about your own inner life? 
• Practice: Before criticizing someone today, name one way you may be contributing to the situation. Remember: we’re all connected somehow.

Tuesday | Matthew 7:6–12

• Reflect: Jesus joins discernment, prayer, trust, and the Golden Rule. Faithful relationships require both wisdom and a willingness to treat others as we wish to be treated.
• Question: What would love require from you in one difficult relationship?
• Practice: Today, do for one person what you wish someone would do for you.

Wednesday | Micah 6:6–8

• Reflect: God desires justice, mercy, and humility more than religious display. These virtues are not abstract ideals; they shape how we walk with other people.
• Question: Which is hardest for you right now: justice, mercy, or humility? Why?
• Practice: Choose one: correct an unfairness, extend mercy, or admit you may be wrong. Remember: saying “I’m sorry” is a full sentence and sometimes means more than you might think.

Thursday | Romans 12:9–21

• Reflect: Paul imagines a community shaped by sincere love, hospitality, patience, empathy, and non-retaliation. Christian community becomes visible through ordinary relational practices (many of which are counter-cultural to the practices of secular soceity).
• Question: Which instruction in this passage most challenges your normal way of relating?
• Practice: When someone frsutrates you, pray a silent blessing for them: “Lord, bless ____ that they may receive your grace and love.” 

Friday | Colossians 3:12–17

• Reflect: Compassion, kindness, humility, patience, and forgiveness are described as clothing we intentionally “put on.” Community requires repeated choices: putting on Christ’s attire. 
• Question: What quality do you need to “put on” before entering your next interaction?
• Practice: Before entering your home, workplace, or gathering, pause and choose one Christlike quality to carry with you. Imagine literally putting that quality on like a shirt.