Overview
This is the third episode of The Gathering Podcast. Today’s “conversations with the congregation” episode is a conversation between Scott Wessell and host Peter Varberg around the history, concept, and practice of God's Presence.
Discussion
0:00- 11:00 Scott explains what joy/happiness are and why they seem so elusive.
11:00- 23:00 Scott explains how to learn to experience consistent joy and happiness by understanding where joy comes from and how to “choose joy.” They also talk about Isaiah 26:3
23:00- 30:00 Scott explains the Nehemiah ch 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is my strength and what it has to do with choosing joy. He explains what to do with inappropriate emotional responses.
30:00-38:00 Scott explains how the act of focusing on something raises the importance of the thing you are focusing on.
38:00-42:00 Scott explains his favorite spiritual practice and how it helped him deal with lies he had been believing since his childhood.
42:00- 52:30 Scott explains how you can practice the presence of God and some practical tips to incorporate it into your life.
52:30- 54:55 Scott explains how to get out of your own way and shares an illustration about our how God desires closeness to us.
54:55- 59:17 Scott runs an experiment of Peter and walks him through an powerful process called “transferring emotions.”
Extra Resources
The Practice of the Presence of God
Book on Amazon
Youtube Audiobook
Click Here
Hope Christian Meditation
Mindfulness App