The Journey

Invitation to a Journey ~ A Road Map to Spiritual Formation
M. Robert Mulholland & Ruth Haley Barton
plus
Notes and writings on Spiritual Formation from the
Institute for Spiritual Formation, Biola University

Lesson 5—Being and Doing
Opening Prayer

1.  Thoughts from last time?
·      Compare Eve and Mary in terms of parallels and differences.
·      How did writing a Christmas letter to Jesus affect your week?

2.  Jesus’ Temptation—and Ours
·      How was the Holy Spirit involved in Jesus’ ministry and temptations?
·      Who led Him into the desert to be tempted?
·      Temptation and Calling—where are we the most dangerous to Satan’s plans?

3.  Being and Doing
·      What is the difference?
·      If our value isn’t in how well we DO something, then how do we measure it?
·      How do you introduce/describe yourself to a stranger?
·      Suicide rate-- higher in seniors than young people.  Why?

4.  In Christ
·      What is the value of a Christian?
·      How do you live—is BEING or DOING more important to you?
·      Who are you at your core?
·      Where does God place value?
·      Who is the agent of Transformation?  (Romans 12:1, 2)

5.  The Great Reversal
·      God’s Plan in an Instant Gratification World
·      Spiritual Formation is Surrender to God: from habitual expectation of closure to patient, open-ended yieldedness.
·      “Doing” in the Spirit (see Spirit/Flesh chart from last lesson)
·      Doing becomes an outflow of being in a relationship with Christ through the Spirit—a response, not a first action.
·      Spiritual Formation “is a journey of learning to yield ourselves to God and discovering where God will take us.”


PRACTICE:  Silence

Silence is one of the primary disciplines that help us give up control—surrender—to God.  It helps us practice that state of open-ended yieldedness to God.

For the next week, try spending 10 minutes in silence each day in order to practice a state of surrender. 
Choose a time and place where you will be uninterrupted—turn off your phone and any other sounds you have control over.  (this is about your silence, not your environment’s—you may not have complete control over the environment).

Choose a position that is comfortable in a chair with your feet flat on the floor, hands in your lap.  Set a timer if you are worried about the time.

Practice an attitude of yieldedness.  Listen.  Put aside the chatter in your own mind.  It may help to keep a notebook next to you when you start to write down anything that pops in so you won’t have to try to hold it in your mind.  Just practice giving the time to God.  He may have something to say, or it may seem that nothing is happening.  Regardless of how it feels, something is happening.  The Holy Spirit is at work.

When the time is up, thank God for being present in your silence.  Proceed with your day.  Remember—you are not in charge of what God chooses to do with your silence.  Just be thankful for the time.  Your value is in who you are in Christ.



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You can share our lessons with others who can’t be here in person by referring them to http://christian-transformationblog.blogspot.com

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