Prayer is a spiritual practice, yet maintaining the habit can be a struggle.

For faith leaders, it can be easy to fall out-of-rhythm with spiritual practices. For those newer to faith, it can feel difficult to know how to begin. The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer seeks to help faith leaders and new believers alike in cultivating a deep, meaningful relationship with God.

This book is organized by liturgical season, but is undated, so the reader is free to begin using it at any point during the year. It is concise, easy to use, and includes scripture and other relevant texts. It's a simple tool for deepening your spiritual health.

The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer provides complete texts for Morning and Evening Prayers, with a new set of writing for each week of the year. Each set of prayers centers on a scripture passage, with an emphasis on the Psalms. The prayers draw from familiar historic, classic, and ancient Christian texts, and from Methodism’s rich hymnody. They also feature fresh, original words from new writers.

This book facilitates deep daily connection with God--a method for spiritual sustenance.

Imagine leaving everything you know, roaming through the unknown, going to a place you know nothing about to build a future. This is the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Although the lives we lead may not be of biblical proportion, sometimes we, too, find ourselves on the edge of the unknown, anxious and fearful to move forward. Let Go uses the story of the Exodus to lead us beyond fear and through our very own “wilderness” to a promising future.

We all know the feeling. We take a leap, only to land flat on our face. Just when our plan appears to be perfect, it falls apart. Life’s failures and disappointments can make it difficult to move forward; how do we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off? Fail examines the life of Jeremiah, whose failed pursuits are described in more detail and depth than any other prophet. Even though God set him apart to speak to the nation of Israel, Jeremiah’s attempts to fulfill his calling were met with ridicule, punishment, and suffering. But through it all, God never left his side.

We all dream of being happy.  But over time, it begins to seem as though lasting happiness is unattainable. Despite our best efforts, true happiness will never be a reality for us. So how do we find lasting happiness and contentment in our lives? Maybe the answer isn’t in our own lives at all. Happy connects the existential question, “Am I happy?”, with basic theology and unexpected biblical texts. Starting with the book of Ecclesiastes, considering if any "thing" can make us happy, he explores the value of relationships, a forgiving lifestyle, living in the present, feeling gratitude, and learning to release control.

Matt is the Lead Pastor of The Gathering in St. Louis, Missouri. Since Matt founded The Gathering in 2006, it has grown into a thriving multi-site congregation with three locations scattered throughout St. Louis and a vibrant online presence. The Gathering was recently named the 3rd fastest growing large United Methodist Churches. Matt is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where he majored in mathematics then completed his Master’s of Divinity at Emory University in Atlanta. He served as an associate pastor for a local UM church in St. Louis before starting The Gathering.