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Spiritual Disciplines and Practices, #4. The Corporate Disciplines. Confession. What do you think of when you hear or see the word “confession”? An attempt to define Helps one live into the truth of being God’s new creation Opens oneself to God for transformation
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Confession • What do you think of when you hear or see the word “confession”? • An attempt to define • Helps one live into the truth of being God’s new creation • Opens oneself to God for transformation • Views oneself and one’s community first as a fellowship of sinners and then as a fellowship of saints
Confession • Why should disciples practice confession? • To replace sinful habits with healthy habits • To examine one’s “sin network,” resulting from broken relationships, unhealthy patterns, and besetting weaknesses, in order to experience transformation • To deepen relationships within the community through honesty and insight
Confession • “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). • The discipline of confession • Spiritual Classics (241-2, 248) • Spiritual Disciplines (93-94) • Confession as a response to the 10 commandments
Worship • What is worship? • An attempt to define • Cherishing and valuing God above all else • Knowing, feeling, and experiencing the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community • Responding to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father
Worship • Why should disciples worship? • To seek first God’s kingdom • To be in the presence of Jesus • To delight in the Lord • To respond to God’s truth and direction in order to practice a life of obedience • To learn how to sacrifice body, mind, and soul to the will of God
Worship • “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God” –William Temple • “The tendency of all worship to decline from adoration to demand, and from the supernatural to the ethical, shows how strong a pull is needed to neutralize the anthropocentric trend of the human mind” –Evelyn Underhill
Worship • The discipline of worship • Spiritual Classics (254, 262 discussion #2) • Spiritual Practices (46)
Guidance • What is guidance? • An attempt to define guidance: • Listening for and recognizing the voice and pattern of God’s direction, individually and corporately • Living under the immediate rule of the Holy Spirit • Trusting in God’s good intentions
Guidance • Why should disciples practice the discipline of guidance? • To take time to listen • To bring head and heart into alignment with God’s will • To seek the Guide rather than a map for one’s life • To rest
Guidance • “When the vessel is ready, the precious liquid is poured in. There is no more precious vessel than a loving soul and no more beneficial drink than the grace of God”—John Ruusbroec
Guidance • The discipline of guidance - Celebration of Discipline (181-4)
Conditions for Communal Discernment Common Purpose Good information and Good Research Resolve to Decide Together Mutual Regard and Acceptance Clearly Framed Matter for Discernment
Celebration • What comes to mind when you hear the word “celebration”? • An attempt to define follows: • Taking joyful, passionate pleasure in God and in the radically glorious nature of God’s people, Word, world, and purposes • Engaging in actions that orient the spirit toward worship, praise, and thanksgiving, delighting in the never-changing presence of the Godhead
Celebration • Why should disciples celebrate? • To live from a mentality of abundance rather than of scarcity • To rejoice always in the One who rejoices over the beloved • To enjoy the good and perfect gifts of God • To cultivate a spirit of gladness • To take oneself less seriously • To live out the joy of salvation
Celebration • “The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot”—Augustine of Hippo • “Celebration is central to all of the disciplines. Without a joyful spirit of festivity, the disciplines become dull, death-breathing tools in the hands of modern Pharisees”—Richard Foster
Celebration • The discipline of celebration • Spiritual Classics (315) • Spiritual Practices (28 and Gratitude Journal)