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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