|
"Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold." --Luke 8:8
Harrisburg United Methodist Church
4560 Hwy 49 S
PO Box 970
Harrisburg, NC 28075
704-455-2311
Members can click here to go to MemberConnect |
 Lent 2012
Tools for Cultivating Relationship with Jesus: The Spiritual Disciplines
Week 6: Holy Week
Monday Read the story in John 12:1-11 of how Mary lavishly anoints the body of Jesus. Out of reverence to Christ this week, how may you humble yourself in service to the one who gave his life for you? Tuesday Spend time studying John 12:20-36 and/or 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. Dig into God’s word, into the notes in your bible, go to http://www.textweek.com/festivals/tuesday.htm for good resources of commentaries and study materials on these texts. Ask, “What does this say about God? What does it say about humans and God? What does it say about my relationship to God?” Wednesday Read John 13:21-38 and mediate on how you have betrayed and denied the Savior. Confess your sins and let God forgive you. Holy Thursday Consider the servant heart of Jesus as you read of his last supper with the disciples as you read John 13:1-20. Today practice the spiritual discipline of service by some act of kindness to another. Good Friday Consider the passion – the suffering – of Jesus. Consider fasting one meal as a spiritual discipline today. Holy Saturday Observe a Holy silence today as you mediate on the truth that Jesus was died and was buried for you. Will you die to self so that you can live with Him? Sunday – The Day of the Lord’s Resurrection Read the Easter Good News and give God all the Glory
Week 5: Submit
Monday Read Philippians 2:5-8. Jesus willingly submitted himself to God the Father and to humanity, being willing to do this in order to take on our sin and shame and conqueror it. Send time today in praise of Christ who humbled himself for the sake of your salvation.
Tuesday In Mark 8:34, Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Submission to Christ requires denial of self, today spend some time in honest reflection with God about what is hardest for you about self-denial and then ask God to open your eyes to see what self –denial would look like in your spiritual journey.
Wednesday Richard Foster writes, “The call for Christians to live the cross-life [of self denial] is rooted in the cross-life of Jesus himself. The Discipline of submission has been terribly misconstrued and abused from failure to see [its] wider context. Submission is an ethical theme that runs the gamut of the New Testament. It is a posture obligatory upon all Christians: men as well as women, fathers as well as children, masters as well as slaves. We are commanded to life a life of submission because Jesus lived a life of submission, not because we are in a particular place or station in life. Self-denial is a posture fitting for all those who follow the crucified Lord.” (A Celebration of Discipline, p. 117) What does this mean to you? Does understanding submission not as a state of being but rather a choice to be subject another change your perspective on it?
Thursday Ephesians 5:21 says, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” How does our denial of our own desires, plans, wishes (our “laying down our life” - 1 John 3:16) for the sake of our God, our loved ones, our community, or our church, show reverence to Christ? Spend some time in prayer for those closely linked to you (family, friends, church).
Friday What things of the flesh (i.e. material things, human desires and ambitions, etc.) do you find yourself in submission to? How is God calling you to a life in the Spirit? What would it mean for you to willingly submit to Christ as the greatest authority in your life?
Saturday Make me a captive, Lord,
And then I shall be free;
Force me to render up my sword,
And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms
When by myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms,
And strong shall be my hand.
“Make Me A Captive Lord” by George Matheson, United Methodist Hymnal #421
What would it mean for you to find freedom in willing submission of your life to Jesus Christ?
Week of March 18th – Service Special Worship, Monday March 19th @6:30: Evening Prayer with Communion
Monday “Spiritual practices don’t justify us. They don’t save us. Rather they refine our Christianity; they make the inheritance Christ gives us on the Cross more fully our own. The spiritual disciplines – such as regular prayers, and fasting, and tithing, and attentiveness to our bodies – can form us as Christians throughout our lives. Are be obligated to observe these disciplines? Not generally, no. Will they get us into heaven? They will not. Practicing the spiritual disciplines does not make us Christians. Instead, the practicing teaches us what it means to live as Christians. The ancient disciplines form us to respond to God, over and over always, in gratitude, in obedience, and in faith.” - Lauren Winner, Mudhouse Sabbath, p.xii How is God forming you through the practice of the spiritual disciplines? Give thanks.
Tuesday Read Matthew 10:20-28 Our humanity recoils against feeling we are the least. Where do you feel in your soul a desire to be seen as the greatest and reluctance to be the least? Speak with God about this in your soul and ask His gracious help to be free Practice the service of guarding the reputation of others by making a choice not to engage in gossip or slander of another. When tempted to speak, hold your tongue and pray instead.
Wednesday The heart of a true servant is marked by humility and yet humility is not something that we can gain by seeking it. Rather, humility is a work God does in us by opening our eyes to see that He alone is Lord and God. Read and meditate on James 4:6-10 - Ask the Lord to open your eyes and work our the grace of humility in your life. Practice the service of listening by making yourself fully present with another in a spirit of compassion and patience. Listen without interruption and offer to pray for them.
Thursday The greatest enemy to true service as a spiritual disciple is our desire for recognition. We are captivated by the “outward show” or as the scripture says, “the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches”. Read 1 John 2:15-17 and consider your motivations in acts of service. Ask God to remove any desire for “outward show” from your heart. Do a small act of service for someone today anonymously seeking only to honor God in your service.
Friday Read and meditate on the mind of Christ: Philippians 2:1-11.
Saturday Read and meditate on Mark 9:33-37. Take at least 30 minutes in silence considering the call to servanthood. How will you respond to God?
Sunday Read Psalm 116 – “What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of his people.” Consider the service of sharing the word of life. What truth has God revealed to you in your life that has been water in the desert to your soul? Share that truth today with someone who needs to hear it.
Week of March 11th – Study Special Worship, Monday March 12th @6:30: Lenten Hymns and Carols
Week 3: Study--The Renewing of Your Mind Monday Yesterday, we looked at Romans 12:1-2. Read the whole of Romans 12 today and consider what you think Paul is trying to say about transformation in the context of the whole chapter. Tuesday Read and study 2 Timothy 3:14-17. What does it mean to say that all Scripture is "inspired by God" or "God-breathed"? How are you putting God's word to use in your spiritual life? Wednesday In The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes: "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy, for which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake the man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him... Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price,' and what has cost God cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God." Read this quote several times and study its meaning. How do you understand grace (God's unmerited favor)? What do you think Bonhoeffer means? How are we shaped by God's grace? Thursday Study Philippians 2:5-11. What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? Go back and read from the gospels a bit and think about who Jesus really is and what it might mean to let the same mind be in you. Friday St. Augustine (354-430) begins his Confessions saying this: "Can any praise be worthy of the Lord's majesty? How magnificent his strength! How inscrutable his wisdom! Man is one of your creatures, Lord, and his instinct is to praise you. He bears about him the mark of death, the sign of his own sin, to remind him that you thwart the proud. But still, since he is a part of your creation, he wishes to praise you. The thought of you stirs him so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you." What do you think Augustine is saying about our creation? Read Genesis 1-2. What does the Bible say about our creation? What do you think about the nature of humanity? Saturday Study Philippians 4:4-9. Richard Foster writes, "The mind is renewed by applying it to those things that will transform it." (A Celebration of Discipline, 62) Do you agree? What sorts of things do we think about that do not renew us? What things do? Why do you think we are resistant to transformation? What new insights are you gaining through this Lenten time of study and reflection on Spiritual Discipline? Sunday Study Mark 11:1-11 Did you know that "Hosanna!" means "Save us!"? Most of us assume it means "praise" or something like that. How does this meaning change the way you hear the acclamation of the people and what they were saying about Jesus? What does it mean to call Jesus "savior"?
Week of March 4th – Prayer and Meditation Special Worship, Monday March 5th @6:30: Concert of Prayer
Week 2: Prayer and Meditation: Encounter with the Living God Monday Read Matthew 12:34-37 Jesus reminds us that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Prayerfully consider today the true condition of your heart. Have you been trying to will holiness by outward behavior, all the while harboring deeper sin that you need to release to God's grace and rely on His power at work in you? Tuesday Psalm 119:97 reads, "O, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long." - Read Psalm 119 today and dwell in its words, asking the Lord to make Himself known to you today. Find a verse/s that speak to you and rewriting them in your own words. Wednesday Read and meditate on Psalm 1. Consider the Discipline of prayer and meditation (quiet time with the Lord) in your life. Do you delight in God's word? Is the tree of your life planted by God's stream of living water? Thursday It has been said that the purpose of prayer and meditation is changed behavior as a result of encounter with the living God. Read Psalm 119 again today, and spend some time with God meditating about what it means to be changed by His word alive in you. Friday "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God." (Colossians 3:16) What does it mean for you to let Christ's words dwell in you? What would it mean for you to dwell (or take up residence) in the life of God? Saturday "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God." (Colossians 3:16) Take time today to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. Commune with the Lord in prayer and give thanks! Sunday "If we expect to succeed in the contemplative way, we must pursue 'holy leisure' with a determination that is ruthless to our date books." - Foster, A Celebration of Discipline, p. 28 We are all very busy, but God calls us to make intentional time to step away and commune with Him. Think today about the week to come and where you can be ruthless with your date book in defense of your much-needed time alone with the Lord. Remember, this time will make every moment of every day richer, and will help you begin to see the presence of God in the ordinary.
A few suggestions for how to do prayer and meditation Getting started: Find a quiet place to be alone with the Lord Be comfortable (sit, stand, lie, kneel, whatever you like) Begin your time with your hands open, palms up as gesture of being receptive to God. Pay attention to your breathing. Relax. Eyes can be open or closed, whichever works for you. Spend a few moments of quiet, letting go of things and allowing God's presence to fill you
Meditate on a passage of scripture:
Take a walk and look at creation, letting God speak to you through it. Where do you see God at work and what is God's promise to you as a part of creation?
Make your car a rolling sanctuary. At every stop light, pray for your family. At every church, pray for your church family. At every hospital or doctor's office, pray for the sick. As you pass schools, pray for your children or the children of the church. Come up with other ideas that work for you. At all times, be mindful of God and seeking His presence.
Week of February 26th – Fasting Week 1: Fasting to Feast on the Word of God Monday As we begin our daily journey of Spiritual Discipline we remember that it is called Discipline for a reason. It is hard to control our impulses, to change our priorities, to make time and space for God in our lives when we are not used to that. Discipline implies correction, intentionality, and the reordering of our lives. Those who follow Christ are called disciples, a word that shares the same root word as discipline. The journey asks excellence and attention from us. “Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort.” (Richard Foster, A Celebration of Discipline, 11) Take time today to talk to God, both in confession and in hope, about your best efforts in the past, present, and future.
Tuesday Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” – a sentiment echoed by Jesus in his temptation (Matthew 4:4). Read and meditate on either Deuteronomy 8 or Matthew 4:1-11 and ask God to nourish your soul today. Wednesday Read and meditate on Matthew 6:16-18. Biblically speaking fasting specifically means abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose. Jesus says, “When you fast…” Are you willing to accept this teaching of Jesus? Is God calling you to fast? (*Caution* read the information about the means of fasting below before entering into this discipline)
Thursday Read Acts 13:1-3. Is there some challenge in your life where you need the Lord to lead you? Acts reminds us that the disciples fasted and worshiped to discern God’s direction. Take time today worship, seeking God’s direction for you. Friday Read Isaiah 58: 1-9 What are the ways you have had the form of religion (the outward appearance of fasting, reading scripture, serving the church, etc.) without the substance of religion (motivated by response to God’s loving kindness and not the desire to look good in the eyes of the world)? How is God calling you a different way of being in relationship with the LORD? Saturday John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, encouraged fasting 2 days a week and offered this instruction, “First, let [fasting] be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven.” If you have given up something this Lenten Season examine your motives and your practice. Are your eyes fixed on Jesus? How are you seeking to glorify God through your self-denial? Sunday What has God revealed to you this week through your devotion? If you accepted the challenge to fast what did the Lord reveal to you about yourself and your Spirit? Take time to prepare your heart for worship this morning. Read Psalm 46 and worship! This week’s Challenge: Sanctify a real Fast, abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose Do not fast if you have diabetes, a heart condition, are pregnant or nursing, or have a medical condition where such would be ill advised. Consider another way you can fulfill this challenge by denying something significant to you that takes your time and energy on a daily basis. If you have never fasted before begin with a partial 24 hour fast. Refrain from eating from Lunch to Lunch (you will only be skipping 2 meals, supper and breakfast). Drink juice and water to sustain you. If you have fasted before or if you are able to take on the challenge try a full 24 hour fast. Refrain from eating from for a full day (skipping breakfast, lunch, and supper). Drink lots of water and some juice. Your flesh will surely grumble but do not give in, remember that you are the master of your stomach, not its slave. Devote your normal eating time to meditation, scripture and prayer. Remember and meditate on Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 6 – fasting is not to draw attention to yourself but to draw you closer to the one who nourishes your body and soul.
Week of March 25th – Submission Special Worship, Monday March 26th @6:30: Taize Worship April 1st – 8th Holy Week - Confession April 1st (Palm/Passion Sunday) April 5th – Maundy Thursday Worship @ 6:30 April 6th – Good Friday Stations of the Cross (all day) April 8th – Easter (both services as normal) *Join us every Wednesday during Lent at 12 noon in the Sanctuary for prayer and fasting. If you cannot come because of your work schedule, consider fasting your lunch time and taking that time to pray *
|
|
