On Wednesday nights we have been looking at and exploring the practices in the book The Sacred Way. This Wednesday night we will be ending our look at The Sacred Way. The last session the spiritual practice we are exploring is service. Instead of us sitting around and talking about service we are going to visit Hospital Hospitality House in Nashville and help them out. We will be leaving Tusculum at 6:30PM on Wednesday. I hope to see you then.
Peace,
Nate
I am so glad you asked! We spent Wednesday night exploring those two questions. We began by watching a section of the Rob Bell video Everything is Spiritual. If you get a chance watch the whole talk but for time constraints we watched a small clip. In it Rob speaks of how human beings are the only thing in creation that is 100% physical and 100% spiritual and that the Jewish people had no concept of the modern idea of a spiritual life because to label one thing in life as spiritual is to label another thing in life not-spiritual. For the Hebrew people just being human makes you spiritual. Rob points out that the question is not if you are a spiritual person but if your eyes are open to it.
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
“I’m not religious, but I’m a very spiritual person. This, of course, is a somewhat misleading statement, for religion is simply human beings’ attempts to sort out the ways in which we seek after God.” The Sacred Way Pg 26
There are several definitions of spirituality (all of these come from the book The Sacred Way)
“Christian spirituality concerns the quest for a fulfilled and authentic Christian existence, involving the bringing together of the fundamental ideas of Christianity and the whole experience of living on the basis of and within the scope of the Christian faith.” Alister Mcgrath
“The spiritual life is simply increasing vitality and sway of God’s Spirit in us.” Marjorie Thompson
“The practice of the presence of God.” Brother Lawrence
“The goal of Christian spirituality is to be enlivened by God’s Spirit.” Tony Jones
The meaning behind the Hebrew (ruach), Greek (pneuma), & Latin (Spiritus) include “spirit/breath/wind” Jesus says in John 3, ““The wind (pneuma) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”
The point is that God at the beginning breathed the Divine spirit in all of us. It is not for us to manipulate or decide where it goes but the Divine spark in all of us is a gift. All people have a longing for the Divine because God created us with his Spirit. Those who in their longing give their life to Jesus receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is only possible to dwell in our hearts when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord but God is never far from those who have yet decided to acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
Why practice the presence of God? As a group we looked up a number of scriptures to try to answer this question.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6
1 Chronicles 22:18-19
Psalm 95:6
Matthew 6:5-15
Matthew 14:23
Mark 1:35
Luke 5:15-16
John 3:30
Acts 2:42-47
Romans 12:2
Hebrews 10:19-25
1 Peter 4:8-11
Take some time and explore each of these to see some reasons for why we desire to practice the presence of God.
“You can listen to innumerable sermons and read countless books, but the true transformation happens only when you practice the disciplines that lie at the heart of faith. As the disciplines are practiced, your life becomes more attuned to God’s life, and you become more “at one” with the rhythms of creation.” The Sacred Way Pg 31
There is just something unique and powerful when we allow God to speak directly to us.
“In the spiritual life, the word “discipline” means “the effort to create some space in which God can act.” Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.” Henri Nouwen
Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
As we begin next week practicing these disciplines there are these three questions to ponder.
What are you seeking?
What things do you hope to receive?
What doors do you hope are opened?
As we seek, ask, & knock along our journey on this sacred way my prayer is we will find our Creator, we will receive the power of His presence, and the hope of doors opened by the love of the Father.
Peace,
Nate
Eugene Cho is fast becoming my favorite blogger. He and his readers spent some time tossing back and forth what they thought was the 10 most essential books for Christians. You can read his list here http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/my-10-absolutely-essential-books-for-christians/#more-4005
I was looking down the list and can say that I haven’t read very many of those books. I have read bits and pieces probably but not all the way through. The one that I find the most essential on that list (keep in mind I am saying the most essential to those I have read on Eugene’s list) is Surprised By Hope by N.T. Wright
The sub-title is “Re-thinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.” Don’t let re-thinking fool you. N.T. Wright isn’t necessarily re-thinking but rather re-explaining what heaven, resurrection, and the mission of the church meant in the context of the early church. He peels back all the layers of tradition that has piled on top to get to the core of what Jesus and his followers believed about heaven, resurrection, and the mission of the church. It is a beautiful book that would make a great read leading up to celebrating Easter. Speaking of that I think I am going to re-read it starting today. Another book Eugene mentions on his list Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.
Irresistible Revolutionis a great book. The stories that Shane shares are extraordinary. I mean the man called Mother Teresa on the phone! It cannot be overstated for people who desire to put their faith into action I can’t think of another book that articulates what that looks like better than this book.
After reading his list and the list’s of people commenting on his list I started to think of what one book do I chalk up as essential to my journey with God. What is the one book that I
continue to look at, study, ponder, and wrestle with. The one book that I think every Christian should read. I know many of you are waiting for me to say the Bible. I know that many of us read way too much about the Bible instead of reading the Bible but that is not what I am going to say. This book is the one I go to first after I read my Bible. Most times that I read my Bible this book is close by so I can see if the author has any insight (and she usual does!) about what I have just read. To me this is the most essential book I have on my shelf.
It is called Stations of the Banquet: Faith Foundations for Food Justice by Cathy C. Campbell.
“Stations of the Banquet, a Scripture-based exploration of the Christian story of salvation as a food story, provides nourishment for those engaged in living out the food and justice challenges of the Gospel. It highlights the power of our biblical and theological traditions to name the root issues of our day, shape our hope, and define horizons for action. It is a resource for study and prayer.”
I was in a class in seminary and this book was one of the required readings. At first I had no desire to read this book. It just sat on my shelf for weeks. To be honest it wasn’t really until after the class I read it. Before every class we would pray one of the prayers found at the end of each chapter of the book. If you get the book just for that it is worth the price. The prayers are some of the most beautiful and vibrant prayers I have ever read. The rest of the book is just as vibrant and beautiful. For some it might be a bit wordy and I guess that is why I haven’t bought 10 copies and passed them out to friends and family. This book really needs to be read and digested in community. If you do decide to check it out I urge you to ask a few people to read it with you. This book is dense to say the least. I won’t give you a long drawn out overview of the book because my words couldn’t do Stations justice but here are a few quotes.
“Time spent in prayer is time spent at the heart of the universe.” Pg 54
“In the simple act of feeding the hungry, we do not just do a good thing or follow a moral imperative to care for our neighbor; we are actually invited to encounter the living Christ, the mystery of the universe from before time to after the end of time.” Pg 70
“Generosity is the impulse at the root of a gift economy. It is our contemporary spiritual challenge. It is at the core of the path of abundent life for all.” Pg 158
What about you? Do you have any essentials?
Peace,
Nate
Collaborative Preaching Preparation
“The practice of collaborative preaching is eliciting the input of multiple people in the process of sermon preparation.” In the spirit of the youth, young adults, & other adult volunteers collaborating to do the 30 Hour Famine Feb 27 & 28th I want to collaborative with you in preparing the sermon for March 1st. Fasting is a communal experience and so is a sermon. It is God’s word to the community gathered for worship. Here is how to participate if you are interested.
Scripture for Collaborative Preaching Preparation
Isaiah 58:3-12
2 Timothy 2:14-22
The quotations above come from an article that can be read by going to this site http://www.worshipconnection.cokesbury.com/content.aspx?dyn=1604
Peace, Nate
