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Defaults: Examining Our Pictures of God

The Practice Church Podcast

Release Date: 03/08/2026

Through the Disciples' Eyes: Eat My Flesh show art Through the Disciples' Eyes: Eat My Flesh

The Practice Church Podcast

Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...

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Imaginative Prayer: Rich Young Ruler show art Imaginative Prayer: Rich Young Ruler

The Practice Church Podcast

This imaginative prayer is focused on Jesus and his conversation with the rich young ruler.

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Through the Disciples' Eyes: Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler show art Through the Disciples' Eyes: Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

The Practice Church Podcast

Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...

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Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Heal's the Centurion's Servant show art Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Heal's the Centurion's Servant

The Practice Church Podcast

In this imaginative prayer, we watch as Jesus is approached by a Roman centurion asking for his servant to be healed.

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Through the Disciples' Eyes: Jesus and the Centurion show art Through the Disciples' Eyes: Jesus and the Centurion

The Practice Church Podcast

Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...

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Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Calms the Storm show art Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Calms the Storm

The Practice Church Podcast

In this imaginative prayer written by Joan Kelley, we find ourselves on the boat with Jesus and the disciples in the midst of a storm.

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Through the Disciples' Eyes: Real Fear show art Through the Disciples' Eyes: Real Fear

The Practice Church Podcast

Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...

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Imaginative Prayer: Feeding the Multitudes show art Imaginative Prayer: Feeding the Multitudes

The Practice Church Podcast

In this imaginative prayer, we imagine ourselves watching and participating in Jesus's miracle feeding of the multitudes.

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Through the Disciples' Eyes: Feeding the 5000 show art Through the Disciples' Eyes: Feeding the 5000

The Practice Church Podcast

Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...

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Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Calls the Disciples show art Imaginative Prayer: Jesus Calls the Disciples

The Practice Church Podcast

In this imaginative prayer written by Ashlee Eiland, we imagine ourselves with disciples as Jesus invites us to follow him.

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C.S. Lewis once said that our ideas about God are not “divine ideas.” As much as we’d like to believe that our views of God are always biblical, we all bring assumptions and default beliefs to the table through our lived experience. Our culture, relationships, childhood hurts, and even our churches can all wrongly influence and shape our beliefs about who God is – often without us even realizing it. Rather than following  the one, true God, we end up worshiping a God shaped by our own experiences. 

In this series, we’ll examine some common default views of God many of us carry – often unconsciously – and ask whether they tell the whole story. We’ll invite God to shatter some of these false images to make way for a clearer view. And as we do, we’ll pray to be reshaped into the kinds of people who don’t project our fears onto God but rather reflect God’s wisdom and ways into the world.  

This week, we explored the role of expereinces, emotions, and explanations in our default pictures of God. How do they shape meaning in our lives and impact the way we relate to God?

If you would like to practice a reflection on our pictures of God here is one we did in Practice Tables 

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