Church & Ministry / Church Life / Evangelism

Transcription

1 LEARNING NEW HABITS. Copyright 2005 Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. For information regarding rights and permissions, contact Discipleship Resources, PO Box , Nashville, TN ; or fax DR448 Church & Ministry / Church Life / Evangelism

2 2:12 PM Page 2 GROWING SPIRITUALLY You are on a journey Spiritual growth can be compared to a journey. The goal of this journey is to become more Christ-like. It is a strange journey because we always move toward our destination and yet, we never fully arrive there. John Wesley, an 18th century Christian disciple, is known for his teaching about this paradox. He taught that while no human being ever becomes perfect, Christians live with the conviction that we should become more like Jesus. Your spiritual growth begins with your earnest heart-felt desire to be more like Jesus. Then, for the rest of your earthly life, you continue at your own pace, as you and God work on making you a 2 Copyright 2005 Discipleship Resources. Participate in Holy Communion as often as you can. Before you go to worship, prepare yourself with prayer. Focus on your understanding of the meaning of this sacrament and invite God s revelation as you receive the elements of bread and wine. At the end of the service, you will sense the spiritual nurture and sustaining power that you need. Moving On We have explored a few of the many ways that people grow spiritually. Spiritual growth through prayer begins with understanding that prayer is communication with God, and that there are many ways to pray. Bible study is grounded in the assumption that God has a message for us today. Small group participation acknowledges Christian community as a vehicle for spiritual growth. Frequent communion connects us with the whole church. May you grow in grace and in the knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18). Safiyah Fosua follows Jesus wherever she is led, including Zaire, Cote d Ivoire, and Nashville, Tennessee. 15

3 2:12 PM Page 3 death, and we believe that we have also been redeemed from death to live a new life a life that shall continue even after physical death. In the present, we are sustained by our relationship with God through Christ. Our future is also secure, both now and in the afterlife because of the work of Jesus Christ. In life, in death, in afterlife, God is with us. The simple act of observing communion is a celebration of our past, present and future hope. Remember that when you participate in a service of Holy Communion, you stand in a line with Christian brothers and sisters who are scattered today around the world in places that are very different from your home and your church. But it is the same Jesus Christ who shares the sacrament across the geographical boundaries. When you participate in the service, you also stand in a line with Christian sisters and brothers who have acknowledged God s love across the centuries. Some of these are models of faith such as Augustine of Hippo, Sojourner Truth, Dorothy Day, and Francis of Assisi. Others remain unknown beyond a generation or two of family and yet, we stand with them in a line that spans across the ages. 14 better person. The path to spiritual growth begins with the attitude that we are not yet what we could be and not content to remain as we were. A Plan of Action Though spirituality begins with attitude, it takes further shape through our actions. The first-century evangelist Paul of Tarsus compared the discipline required for spiritual growth, which is often called spiritual formation, to that required when training for a great athletic event (1 Corinthians 9:24-25). Olympic trainees keep in mind their goal. They do not lose sight of the vision of victory! In similar ways, the Christian engages in the never-ending process of spiritual formation. From the time that we become aware of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ until the day 3

4 2:13 PM Page 4 that we enter into God s eternal presence, we strive to be recreated in the image of God. Like athletes in training, we enter into the disciplines of the inner life. In Methodism, these spiritual disciplines and the sacraments are often called means of grace. Another way to understand this term is to think about the different paths that God has made available for our spiritual growth. John Wesley s list of the means of grace included public worship, the ministry of the word either read or preached, family and private prayer, Bible study, fasting or abstinence, and communion. Spiritual Growth through Prayer When most people think of spiritual disciplines, that majority thinks about prayer. While it is a common assumption that Christians pray, so many Christians are hesitant to pray because they have never learned how to do so and they didn t want anyone else to know! Prayer need not be frightening or complicated; in basic 4 Do this in remembrance of me (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Jesus Christ issued the invitation; and Christ is present at the table. When we receive Holy Communion, we are called to remember and give thanks for God s mighty acts throughout human history. God is our creator. God sustains us. God entered into covenant with us. God redeemed us. God continues to work in our lives. At the table, the prayers and actions remind us of the life of Christ. The prayers prayed during the Communion service remind us of Jesus healing and teaching. They remind us of the ways in which Jesus proclaimed justice. As we receive the basic elements of bread and wine, we are reminded that earthly things like power and influence, know ledge and intellect do not sustain our lives; we are sustained by our relationship to God. We do not come to the table for the memorial of a dead saint; we come to the Feast of the Living Lord. Communion invites us to look to the past, the present, and the future. Christians have a shared past. We believe that Christ has been raised from 13

5 2:13 PM Page 5 More important is the movement from isolation to community in your quest for spiritual gr owth. Frequent Communion One place where disciples have traditionally experienced spiritual gr owth is at the Lord s Table in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Consider that it is a holy meal, a time to remember many aspects of Jesus ministry, a time to remember the gifts of God. John We s l ey received this sacrament an average of four times a week. You may part i c ipate in the sacrament on a weekly basis. Think about the many prayers of the liturg y. In the ritual we can imagine being with Jesus and the disciples in the upper room prior to Jesus a rrest, and we can also imagine times when Jesus fed 5,000 people with minimal resources. We can remember that meal with the fear-filled disciples and we can anticipate the great banquet that Jesus talked about in the gospels. The prayers of the liturgy often retell the story of our own spiritual journ ey. We remember that once upon a time we did not know about God s love and we confess that, but then we affirm the love and acceptance of God for all people. 12 terms, prayer is communication with God. For each person, that communication may take a slightly different form. Over the ages, a number of people have approached prayer as a conversation with God. Some people are comfort a ble using their own words for this conversation. Others appreciate using written prayers, verses from the Bible, or the traditional version of the Lord s Prayer. Some people keep a prayer journal, preferring to write their thoughts, almost as letters to God. Some people find that yielding to God their thoughts in the stillness of early morning and in the solitude of a quiet walk are more effective ways to pray, and other people gr ow closest to God in the company of others who are praying aloud. Still others prefer to approach God by painting or sketching pictures or through the medium of their favorite a rt form. Some people find great meaning in breath prayers quietly repeating a basic prayer (such as Give us peace or Lord, have mercy ) with each breath. Others may pray while 5

6 2:13 PM Page 6 using a religious icon. These are all prayers. These are ways to become open to God and to root our lives in God s great being. How you pray is up to you. Experiment. Ask sisters and brothers in Christ about their approaches to prayer. No matter how you pray, engage in regular and honest communication with God. Spiritual Growth through Bible Study Another way to grow spiritually is by studying the Bible. We study the Bible to learn about God. God s self-revelation begins in Genesis and continues through the Book of the Revelation. Who could doubt God s love after reading the gospel of Jesus Christ? Who could question God s power after reading about the Resurrection? When we study the faith stories and historical accounts of the Bible, we learn that God never abandons humanity. 6 How is it with YOUR soul? Not many of the teachings of Christ can be practiced in isolation. We were meant to live in community and express our faith in community. This points to our need to pray and study with others as we struggle to gr ow spiritually. Covenant Discipleship groups and Faith Incubator groups follow the principles used in the early Methodist covenant groups and may be ava i l a ble in your community. Companions in Christ, Witness, Disciple Bible Study, and other Bible study experiences off e r opportunities to pray and study and be honest with other Christians. As you consider opportunities to participate in a small group, be honest with yo u rself about the kind of commitment you are able to keep. Some find it helpful to begin with a commitment to short-term (4-6 week) study. Others find early-morning groups on Saturdays or groups that meet over lunch help them enter the life of small group participation. Initially, the length of time you meet with the group is not as crucial as is the commitment to meet with others regularly. 11

7 2:13 PM Page 7 Spiritual Growth through Small Groups The Methodist movement began in England with a group of people who were aware of their personal shortcomings and really wanted to be more Christ-like. They began with weekly small group meetings, often in homes where they prayed together, studied the Bible together, and received the sacrament of Holy Communion together. There they would also discuss their spiritual progress. How is it with your soul? Spiritual growth is not always easy. Those who attended the early Methodist small-group meetings learned to be honest with each other about the struggles that everyday Christians experience as they grow spiritually. Each week they would meet and honestly assess their spiritual progress. They confessed their successes and failures, and then they prayed for each other. Then, they made plans to be better Christians in the coming week. They did not allow their shortcomings to become permanent stumbling blocks. 10 Not only do we learn about God when we study the Bible; we also learn about ourselves. When we read the Old and New Testaments, we learn that human beings make certain mistakes again and again. Throughout history human beings have demonstrated a need for God. God, who is faithful and loving, continues to meet our needs in spite of our shortcomings. We find ourselves drawn to the faith dimensions of people in the Bible. You may learn about yourself because of an affinity with Esther or Ruth or David. You may learn positive traits from James and John. You may learn about character flaws or moral flaws through a person such as Ahab or Ananias and Sapphira (see Acts 5 to learn about them). The Bible contains a wealthy treasury of people who tried to live faithfully. We also study the Bible to learn what humankind could be. Human beings have an awesome potential. We have power to transform the world and to live transformed lives. We have been given an awesome opportunity to share God s love and forgiveness with the entire world. 7

8 Here are some suggestions for studying the Bible either alone or in a small group: Just read the words! Read and reread a passage, either silently or aloud. Hear the words as though they had been written to you, or to your family, or to your congregation, or even to your country. So many portions of the Bible were written to someone for their spiritual growth. Understand the text. Using a Bible handbook and a Bible dictionary, look up anything that is unfamiliar. Even in more modern translations of the Bible, there are unfamiliar objects and landmarks, customs, and idioms that are critical to our understanding of the text. For example, when Elisha asked Elijah for a double share (2 Kings 2) he was not just asking for more; he was asking for the portion normally reserved for the oldest son in Jewish culture. Ask questions about what you read: Who was speaking and who was being spoken to? What was the historical context? Can you tell if the times were peaceful or were the people involved at war? Were the people living at home or in exile? Did something trigger the writing of the text? How did the people who originally heard the text respond to it? For example, when David heard Nathan s parable and realized that it was about him, he repented (2 Samuel 12). Or, when Mary heard that she would bear the Messiah, she responded with joy and gratitude (Luke 1:46-55). Contemplate. Far too often, Bible students stop after these first two directions without applying the text to their own lives. In order to move the words of the Bible from the page to the heart, we need to pause and think about them. If you had been the person or part of the group hearing one of the letters of Paul, how might you or your group respond? Would you rejoice, would you become angry and recoil; would you change something about the way you lived with your neighbors? What would you do? What will you do? 8 9