CLOSER
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

Is there a greater challenge in 2026 than for Berean to draw closer to God? As Christians, we are called to live intentionally, focusing on God and cultivating meaningful relationships with others. However, our devices often pull us in the opposite direction - distracting us, consuming our time, and disrupting our ability to connect with God and those around us. This year, draw closer to God through a few strategic and intentional steps - Cancel, Commit, and Connect.  Let this year be a time to reset, refocus, and rediscover what it means to live a life free from unnecessary distractions as we draw near to God. 

Why CLOSER?

Ready to shake up your relationship with the Lord? Join us for Closer – a year-long adventure that’ll help us take a fresh look at how we use our devices. We’ll walk through three phases together: Cancel, Commit, and Connect. Everyone will engage at their own pace, but the real excitement happens when we do this as a whole church. This journey might just transform the way you think about your phone (and trust us, that’s a good thing!). The best part? As we learn to spend less time scrolling and more time being present, we’ll find ourselves growing closer to each other and to God each day.

1. CANCEL
REDUCE DISTRACTIONS

Cancel is a strong word that often comes with negative connotations. But we need a strong word to remind us that we need to cancel anything that distracts, disrupts, and destroys our spiritual affections for God. Our iphones, ipads, TV’s, and laptops easily do that if we are not careful. If we are serious about cancelling what distracts, disrupts, and destroys we need to be serious about our devices.  But what would that look like?  Let me challenge you to cancel devices in 3 specific ways:

  • Cancel devices for 1 hour every day
  • Cancel devices for 1 day every week
  • Cancel devices 1 week every year

Canceling devices in this way is a start! Use the times when you’d normally reach for your phone as a prompt to pray and thank God for the world He’s given you and ask Him for the peace to be present in it. But growing Closer to God will require more than just “cancelling” the distractions. We need to commit to those things that build up.

2. Commit
READ THE WORD | PRAY THE WORD

Jesus and the apostles taught us that God’s word and prayer play a central role in our discipleship. God’s word grows us (1 Pet 2:2), matures us (Heb 5:11-14) and equips us (2 Tim 3:16-17). Prayer on the other hand brings us into fellowship with God himself. Therefore, in 2026 we must be committed to both God’s word and prayer. But what does this commitment look like?  Commit to Read the Word and Pray the Word in 2026.

  • Read the Word - You won’t grow without God’s word! We need God’s word daily in our lives. Commit to finding a daily Bible reading plan for 2026. (Let us help! Look for Berean’s recommended Bible Reading plans below.)
  • Pray the Word - If you have ever struggled in your prayer life, the problem is probably not you, but your method! Learning to pray using God’s word will help. Don’t pray the same things about the same things! Pray God’s word. (Pick up Donald Whitney’s little book “Praying the Bible.” Now that you have some free time from devices, you can read this short book that will greatly help.
3. Connect
DEVOTE YOURSELF

One final challenge to draw us closer to God: there is no such thing as “lone ranger Christianity.” When God saves us, he puts us in community, His church. No Christian will grow apart from the church. When we view the church with indifference, or as irrelevant, or an inconvenience, it is clear we have adopted a version of Christianity unrecognizable in the scriptures and we are sure to stunt our spiritual growth. Our third and final challenge is to connect to the church. But what does that connection look like?

  • Connect to corporate Worship - Every Sunday we are commanded to gather with God’s people in worship (Heb 10:24-25). Connect to Berean by showing up every week for worship. Don’t miss a Sunday! Get here 15 minutes early and stay a little late. Talk, mingle, and connect with others!
  • Connect to a Grow Group - In Acts 2 we learn that early Christians “devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers.” In other words, small groups of Christians gathered together to learn from God’s word, pray for each other, and enjoy a meal. Our Grow Groups are how we do just that. Don’t just sign up for a Grow Group. Connect to a Grow Group by faithfully attending each week.

So there you have it! Do you want to grow closer to God in 2026? Then cancel, commit, and connect. These three practices I believe will dramatically impact our spiritual discipleship for God’s glory and our good.

- Pastor Jamie

Ready to draw CLOSER in 2026?
Commit Today

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