Above and Beyond: F(e)asting at God's Table

In this sermon, Ray Machen-Gray challenges the church to reframe the way they think about fasting, not as a gloomy act of self-neglect but as an exciting opportunity to feast on Spiritual food at God's table. We explore the history of fasting in the bible and the early church, why we should fast, and how we can joyfully participate in this practice together to redeem its identity and experience the physical and spiritual benefits of trusting our heavenly Father to satisfy and sustain us.  But ultimately, through this sermon, we learn that fasting is a gateway to consistent, powerful, and authentic prayer, that our hunger pangs can actually lead us into a more active and honest relationship with God. Through Jesus teachings on fasting in Matthew 6 and 9, and Paul's teachings in Colossians 2 and 3, we continue to see that this spiritual practice should not be a "discipline to perfect" or a religious rule to obey, but rather a "dependance to surrender to" and a pathway to proximity with God. Will we accept the invitation?