vive la vida VIVRE SA VIE LIVE LIFE

Transcription

1 vive la vida VIVRE SA VIE LIVE LIFE VIVA VA A VIDA ishi maisha

2 0 1 2 SETUP FAST PRAY GIVE THANK SERVE 6 REFLECT 7 CELEBRATE 2

3 SETUP WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE LIFE TO TRULY LIVE LIFE AS GOD INTENDED US TO LIVE? At some point, we all wrestle with the purpose of our life or question if we re going in the right direction. Jesus said he came so that we could experience life to its fullest. In John 10:10, he says, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. It is by the grace of Jesus that we are able to experience the full life he talks about in John 10:10. Often we focus our lives on things of life we think will be fulfi lling; but then we do not fi nd fulfi llment in them. Our role in experiencing life to its fullest is opening our lives to Jesus and creating space for him to guide us toward the full life he desires for us. But what does it mean to experience life to its fullest? Is it living a life that is full of activities? Is it a life filled with constant happiness? Is it being able to purchase things to make life more convenient? Is it a life without worries or hardship? Is it a life without need or want? The concept of life in all its fullness is exciting, but it can also be confusing. Over the next six weeks, in preparation for Easter, we re going to explore what it means to experience life to its fullest by looking at Jesus s life and teachings in the form of weekly challenges. HERE S HOW IT WORKS: Each challenge focuses on a different teaching of Jesus. After we explore that teaching, we ll practice it in our life and then share that experience with each other. Along the way, we ll follow the stories of youth and university students from different areas around the world. This journey is best taken within a small group of 3 or 4 people who meet to complete and discuss each week s challenge together. Each weekly challenge starts on a Sunday, but you can complete it with any day of that week that works best for you group. We also hope you ll share your journey with the larger global community. Throughout the world, small groups are meeting to learn what it means to live life to the fullest as God intended. Groups will share what they are learning and doing on our Web sharing platform at This is a great opportunity to learn from each other and about how others, from different countries, cultures, and languages, follow Jesus. But we can only learn from each other if we share our experiences - so join in! 0 3

4 GETTING STARTED Many Christians around the world prepare for Easter by participating in Lent, a tradition built upon Jesus teachings on prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. In Matthew 6, Jesus challenges his audience s understanding of these spiritual disciplines. In the next six weeks, we ll try to experience these teachings in new way. In doing so, we hope Jesus will challenge our understanding of what it means to live life to its fullest. Read Matthew 6:1-6 and Consider how and why Jesus is challenging the status quo. (read Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-28) What Jesus teaches is counter cultural to the ways his audience was giving, praying and fasting at the time. This teaching was shocking to the audience. Even today, we can fool ourselves into thinking we are living life as God intended us to by simply doing the right things: praying, fasting, and giving to the poor. But at the core of Jesus teaching in Matthew 6 is a challenge of our motivations. He teaches us not to do the right things for show or credit or admiration from those around us, but to do these things to honor God. SETUP Action & Share We re starting our journey during a week traditionally called Shrovetide. This is a preparation week, and then we ll move into a full weekly challenge on the following Sunday- the traditional start day of Lent. Before we take on our fi rst challenge on Sunday, February 17, we want to examine our life as we re living it now. This week is not about fi nding the right answers but about honestly assessing our priorities, how we spend our time and energy, and what motivates our actions. Here s what we want you to do: 1. Complete the Life Audit on the global sharing platform. It is also available in printable pdf form. 2. Form your small group. Share what you discovered from the Life Audit. 3. Organize a Pancake Party to kick off Lent, a traditional Shrove Tuesday event! Get together as a small group and invite others who may be interested in participating in Live Life. Try some recipes from around the world included in this week. And share what you hope to learn over the next six weeks. Matthew 6:1-6, Giving Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Prayer 5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Fasting 16 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfi gure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Treasures in Heaven 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 4

5 SETUP Life Audit Live Life is a six-week journey to explore what it means to truly live a full life, as God intended us to live. Jesus said he came so that we could each have life and have it to the full (John 10:10) but how many of us really feel as though we are experiencing life in all its fullness? We re going to explore this idea of life in all its fullness through six weekly challenges, which will focus on fasting, prayer, giving, thankfulness, and service. Each week will include a teaching of Jesus, a story of how young people are living life in creative ways, and a challenge for how we can incorporate that week s discipline in our own lives. But before we begin, we re going to take a Life Audit to examine how we re currently living our lives. An audit is an examination or inspection. In financial terms, an audit is when a person or organization examines how they are using and spending their resources in order to uncover new ways to better achieve their goals. We re going to use this Life Audit to explore how we already define life in all its fullness, how we spend our time, and what goals we d like to make for our next six weeks. Take the Life Audit online at in order to see how the global community has collectively answered and are collectively living life. WHAT DOES LIVING LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS MEAN TO YOU? 1. What does life in all its fullness mean to you? 2. Which of the following do you think contributes most to a full life? Being respected and admired by others Making a difference in the world Having a close relationship with God Living a moral life Being happy Being an active citizen in your community Maintaining good health Not needing to worry about money and finances Being able to find meaning in work and vocation Having a good marriage and family 3. Do you think your life currently fits your definition of a full life? Yes? No? 4. What are some things you d like to change in order to live a more full life? HOW ARE YOU CURRENTLY LIVING? Where do you spend time the most? (check ONLY 3) Spending time with family Spending time with friends School and education Playing sports Working/chores Spending time with God (prayer, worship, church) Hobbies/interests Service and helping others Free time 2. As you think about how you will spend your time this week, which activity excites you most? Spending time with family Spending time with friends School and education Playing sports Working/chores Spending time with God (prayer, worship, church) Hobbies/interests Service and helping others Free time 3. As you think about how you will spend your time this week, which activity causes the most stress? Spending time with family Spending time with friends School and education Playing sports Working/chores Spending time with God (prayer, worship, church) Hobbies/interests Service and helping others Free time 4. As you think about how you will spend your time this week, which activity would you like to spend more time on? Spending time with family Spending time with friends School and education Playing sports Working/chores Spending time with God (prayer, worship, church) Hobbies/interests Service and helping others Free time SET SOME GOALS Over the next 6 weeks, we will focus on learning to more fully live the life Jesus invites us to. Before we begin this journey, it s important to create space in your life for Jesus to work in your life. Our life may be full, but how do we live into the kind of fullness Jesus intends for us? 1. Where could you create more space in your life? What are distractions you could remove? 2. What do you hope to learn from this journey? 5

6 SETUP Activity- PANCAKES In early traditions of Lent, the 40 days before Easter, observers stopped eating all animal products. This meant no eggs, meat, dairy, fi sh, or milk from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. Some traditions allowed animal product consumption on Sundays during this time, but others did not. In order to consume all animal products before the start of Lent, and therefore not waste the food, Pancake feasts within communities took place on Shrove Tuesday. We re not asking you to remove animal products from your diet during Lent (Though, you can if you want to!), but we think it would fun for you and your small group to celebrate the start of Lent a traditional Pancake Feast! You don t have to do this on Shrove Tuesday (12 Feb) either, just when it s convenient for your small group. You can make any kind of pancakes you d like, and you ll fi nd some recipes from various cultures in the Recipe Appendix. The important part of this is being with your community and discussing about what it means in each of your lives to prepare for Easter and our 6 week journey to Live Life! 6

7 1 FAST Imagine your ideal day if you had a whole 24 hours to spend however you d like-- how would you spend it? You d probably plan to do some things you usually don t have the time for in a normal day. Most days, it probably seems like there s not enough time in the day to do everything you want and need to do. You might want to have quiet time with God, go for a run, work on a painting, or explore a part of town you ve never been to, but the busyness of life can get in the way. In order to do things that bring us joy, rest, or productivity, we have to be intentional about the way we spend our time. We have to consciously make space for things that should be a priority, even when that means giving up one activity to make room for another. Intentionally making space by sacrificing one activity for another is similar to fasting from something. Many Christians prepare for Easter by fasting from something for 40 days. Sometimes, people fast in order to live a healthier life by fasting from chocolates or other sweets. Others fast from certain purchases to steward money more wisely or fast from technology and certain websites to spend their time more effectively. It can be challenging to give up something you re used to for six full weeks, but it can be easier to do when you replace it with something new. This week, we re exploring what allows us to experience life to its fullest by examining how we define a full life and what distracts us from living life as God intends us to live. Often, the way we are tempted to define a life to its fullest is different than the way God intends us to. In Luke 4, Jesus prepares for his public ministry by fasting for 40 days. During this time he is tested with three temptations. Consider how each of these temptations differs from life to its fullest as God intended. (read Scripture: Luke 4:1 13) Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness Luke 4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. 4 Jesus answered, It is written: People do not live on bread alone. 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours. 8 Jesus answered, It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 12 Jesus answered, It is said: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. 13 When the devil had fi nished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (TNIV) 7

8 1 FAST - CONTINUED What does it mean to experience life to its fullest? In this text, Jesus is tempted to put a human definition on life to its fullest rather than God s definition. Jesus rejects the fi rst temptation to break his fast by choosing instead to continue trusting in God rather than his own self-reliance. Next, Jesus rejects the idea that life is about his own power by choosing to worship God rather than power and the things of the earth. Lastly, Jesus rejects the devil s temptation to test God s will. When things are difficult or not going our way, it is easy to test our relationship with God, trying to bend God s will to meet ours. Each temptation offers part of what many would view as a full life, but Jesus instead chooses a faithful life. How do you sometimes choose your own definition of a full life rather than God s intention? Before we move on, take time now to complete the activity attached to this week, Fast. After you think through and complete the activity, then continue to this week s challenge. 8

9 FAST Activity STEP 1: Answer each of the following questions write each answer within its own box. Be honest and respond to each question as you assess your thinking and defnition of a full life. STEP 2: Cut out along the lines and pray over each of your answers. Place them somewhere where you can pray over these distractions again. How do you define a full life? Do you think your definition aligns with God s definition of a full life? What distracts you from living life as God intended? What are ways in which you are tempted to test or challenge God s will or intentions? 9

10 FAST Story Youth are fi nding creative ways of fasting to connect with God. Check out how youth in New York, USA are making room for Jesus in their lives by challenging the role of cultural consumption and convenience habits in their lives. Often it is hard to be conscious of how our actions impact our neighbors, let alone someone on the other side of the world. However, in a world that is becoming more globalized, we are all connected. Much of the food we eat, clothes we wear, and things we purchase are from other parts of the world. In particular, not all products have an ethical supply chain. Some products are made in places with poor working conditions, where workers are unsafe, are abused, overworked, or underpaid. More than 27 million people are trapped in forms of slavery around our world today. Many of the items we purchase on a daily basis are made using slave labor. Most of the time we just don t know about how things are made. Even if we do, we often don t think twice about making slave free, organic, local, or fair trade purchases because these can be difficult to find or seem overly expensive. In 2011, InterVarsity university students in New York City started a movement called LOGOFF, which stands for Local Green Organic Fair-trade and Slave-Free. The movement challenges each of us to realize how our everyday choices connect and affect us all. Many students are joining the call to love their global neighbors by participating in the LOGOFF movement. Hannah, a university student involved in LOGOFF, has been able to speak about purchasing fair trade items at her university, even making changes to what some departments purchase. The choices you make can either perpetuate inequality or be a catalyst to freedom, she says. It requires a sacrifice, but making decisions that help the greater good of others brings us into better relationship with our neighbors, and ultimately leads to experiencing a full life. It is often tempting to take the easy way out and continue making daily decisions without thinking about where things come from or how it impacts others. In Luke 4, Jesus faced temptations, but he pushed past them to do follow God s will. And in Matthew , Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord and to love your neighbor as yourself. Our neighbors are not just the people in our communities; loving your neighbor means being aware of how your actions affect lives around the world. 10

11 FAST CHALLENGE: Action & Share THIS WEEK S CHALLENGE: fast from at least one thing that distracts you from experiencing God and life to its fullest. This could be an activity or an obligation, but it can also be a relationship, a way of thinking, or a manner in which you interact with someone. Fasting will help you create time and space for the next six weeks as we explore new ways to experience life serving God and those around us. Next, create a visual reminder that will inspire you to stay committed to your fast. This can be a piece of art, a photograph, poem or writing anything that is meaningful to you. Keep it somewhere you will see it often. Lastly, share what you are fasting from for 6 weeks with others by creating an action on the global sharing platform. 11

12 2 PRAY Ten years after Mother Teresa of Calcutta died, a book was released called Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta. The book caught the world s spotlight as it revealed a side of Mother Teresa no one had known about a side of deep spiritual struggle. In writings to her superiors, Teresa spoke of the great distance she felt from God during all of her work caring for the most destitute in Calcutta. She especially expressed how hard it was to pray, that at times the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear. Do you ever feel frustrated with prayer? The writings of Mother Teresa, someone viewed as spiritually esteemed, show that feeling frustrated with prayer is more common than we may think. Can you relate with any of these frustrations? I don t feel like I hear anything back from God. I don t know how to pray. It doesn t seem to be necessary in my life. It s hard to make time and space in my life to pray. I m not sure God is interested. Prayer is a mysterious endeavor. It s a continuous conversation with our Creator. It takes silence and stillness to hear God s voice. It takes faith to believe our prayers are being heard. It takes humility to follow and trust God s will instead of our own. It can be diffi cult, and there s no reason to be shy about it. In Matthew 6:5-13, Jesus teaches us how to pray. He assures us that God does not care how loud, long, or elegant our prayers are and that God already knows what we need before we even ask him. (read Scripture: Matthew 6:5 13) Read the Lord s Prayer in Matthew 6:9 13 and consider how this can be a model for prayer in your daily life: 5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (TNIV) The core of Jesus prayer is for God s will to be done on earth for earth to be more like God s perfect kingdom. In the Message version of the Bible, it reads Set the world right; Do what s best as above, so below. What would it look like for the world to be set right in your world in your life, in your community, and in our world? Take time to complete the prayer activity for Pray found on the next page. Then continue reading. 12

13 PRAY Activity Last week, we explored some of the distractions that keep us from experiencing life to its fullest as God intends us to live. This week s challenge is to consider how prayer helps experience life to its fullest when we pray for a world set right. Let s do this by using the Lord s Prayer as a model. STEP 2: Create a daily prayer for this week that incorporates some of these things. Share your new prayer with others. If you feel ready, upload it and share it with the global community. Our father... STEP 1: Try thinking of as many answers as you can to each of the following questions: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME... Where have you seen God s faithfulness in your life and in your community?...your KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN... What places and things need to be set right in your community?...give US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD... In what ways is God s presence needed in your daily life?...forgive US OUR DEBTS, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS... Where is forgiveness and reconciliation needed in your life and throughout your community?...lead US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE. What are ways you have to trust God in your life and how can that impact your community? 13

14 PRAY Story Youth from Armenia, Albania, Lebanon, Romania, and Pakistan are all coming together to take a stand for the issues evident in their communities. In each of these countries, a group of students is taking part in Photo Voice, a program that trains youth in the art of storytelling through photography. Students learn how to tell stories and take better photographs, while also identifying major issues within their communities. As they go through their day, the youth take photographs of what they see, experience, and learn. These photographs capture both the joy and hardships in everyday life, showing an honest look at what each young adult experiences within their communities. they live in and the people around them, the youth are speaking up about what is right and wrong, shedding light onto areas generally unseen. In Albania, the youth have created a book of aphotographs on the issue of human trafficking, while the youth in Pakistan and Lebanon have both held photo galleries to share with others in the community what they see. By being aware of their surroundings and engaging with others, the youth are calling out the issues in their communities, and looking more closely at what in their world needs to be set right. They are not ignoring the problem, but fi nding their voice through photography, and calling attention to areas that need change. Though the culture and experiences are different many of the students, in the fi ve countries where Photo Voice is established, have chosen to focus on a similar issue: Human Trafficking. By photographing the environments 14

15 PRAY Action & Share THIS WEEK S CHALLENGE: Think critically about what God s kingdom on earth would look like in your community. What are the people, places, or things in need of restoration? What issues are prevalent in your community? Brainstorm these answers in your small community and take a photo of what could be set right in your community. Then upload these photo with a prayer for each on our global sharing platform. 15