CS 501 Introduction to Christian Spirituality The Journey of the Christian Life.

CS 501 Introduction to Christian SpiritualityThe Journey of the Christian Life

Deadly Thoughts and Godly VirtuesGluttony

Anger

Greed

Envy

Pride

Lust

Indifference

Melancholy or depression

Temperance

Mildness

Generosity

Happiness

Humility

Chastity

Diligence

Wisdom

Gluttony overcome by Temperance

Gluttony – the insatiable

desire to take things in, to

consume, and to attempt to satisfy desire

through gorging

Gluttony overcome by Temperance

Gluttony – the insatiable

desire to take things, in, to consume and to attempt to satisfy desire

through gorging

Temperance – recognizes

that there will always be

more to come and that, due

to trust in God, God will

provide

Anger overcome by Mildness

Anger – arises from a sense of

violation of self, of

agreements, and of

principles, and from a feeling

of threat to social status or the desire to control others

Anger overcome by Mildness

Anger – arises from a sense of

violation of self, of

agreements, of principles and from a feeling

of threat to social status or the desire to control others

Mildness – the capacity for self-restraint

due to confidence in

God

Greed overcome by Generosity

Greed – boundless in its grasping for money or fame and its need to fill

others’ minds with ourselves

Greed overcome by Generosity

Greed – boundless in its

grasping for money or fame and its need to

fill others’ minds with ourselves

Generosity – recognizes that

the greatest good is found in sharing with

others in community due to recognizing the sufficiency

of God’s provision

Envy overcome by Happiness

Envy – awakens when

feelings of inadequacy about one’s

gifts and abilities lead

to resentment of the gifts

and abilities of others

Envy overcome by Happiness

Envy – awakens when

feelings of inadequacy about one’s

gifts and abilities lead

to resentment of the gifts

and abilities of others

Happiness – recognizes one’s own

competencies and celebrates the skills and

abilities of others

Pride overcome by Humility

Pride – results from a

disproportionate sense of one’s own

contribution, manifested in an inordinate belief in one’s

own importance

Pride overcome by Humility

Pride – results from a

disproportionate sense of one’s own

contribution, manifested in an inordinate belief in one’s

own importance

Humility – recognizes that one’s own gifts

and abilities need to be developed

further without feeling

threatened by the

achievements of others

Lust overcome by Chastity

Lust – results from

egocentrism and the belief

that the person after whom we lust exists only to satisfy one’s

unbridled desires

Lust overcome by Chastity

Lust – results from

egocentrism and the belief

that the person after whom we lust exists only to satisfy one’s

unbridled desires

Chastity – works to properly

balance love with the

capacity to be loved by someone,

honoring and caring for

those we love

Indifference overcome by Diligence

Indifference – reflects a belief that what one is

doing has no outcome worthy of

respect due to a loss of

confidence that one’s life

matters

Indifference overcome by Diligence

Indifference – reflects a belief that what one is doing has no

outcome worthy of

respect due to a loss of

confidence that one’s life matters

Diligence – reflects the

perseverance that helps one through tough

times, believing that the ultimate

purpose of life rests in the

hands of God

Melancholy overcome by Wisdom

Melancholy and depression

– concludes that the

priorities by which one has structured his or her life will

have no lingering effect after he or she

is gone

Melancholy overcome by Wisdom

Melancholy and depression

– concludes that the

priorities by which one has structured his or her life will

have no lingering effect after he or she

is gone

Wisdom – recognizes the role one’s life plays in the

greater affairs of the world,

finding contentment in

one’s contribution to

it

THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

The Corporate Disciplines• Augustine said that the Christian

should be an alleluia from head to foot or, as Anthony Campolo said, the Christian should be a party waiting to happen!

• Psalm 98• Psalm 150

Celebration

The Corporate Disciplines• Augustine said that the Christian

should be an alleluia from head to foot or, as Anthony Campolo said, the Christian should be a party waiting to happen!

• Psalm 98• Psalm 150

Celebration

• Disciples are those who intentionally discern the direction and leadership of the Holy Spirit corporately.

• John 16:13-15• Galatians 5:24-26

Guidance

The Corporate Disciplines

• The Discipline of Confession brings an end to pretense. God is calling into being a Church that can openly confess its frail humanity and know the forgiving and empowering graces of Christ. Honesty leads to confession, and confession leads to change. May God give grace to the Church once again to recover the Discipline of Confession (Richard Foster).

• Psalm 51:6-7• James 5:13-16

Confession

The Outward Disciplines

• This is what worship looks like to the world.

• Romans 12:1, 2 • 1 Peter 4:7-10

Submission and

Service


• This is what worship looks like to the world.

• Romans 12:1, 2 • 1 Peter 4:7-10

Submission and

Service

• We must seek out the recreating stillness of solitude if we want to be with others meaningfully. We must seek the fellowship and accountability of others if we want to be alone safely. We must cultivate both if we are to live in obedience (Richard Foster).

• Psalm 46:10-11

Solitude


• To live life in the courage, the wisdom, and the strength to hold the kingdom of God as the number-one priority of our lives is to live in simplicity (Richard Foster).

• Matthew 6:19-21, 33-34

Simplicity

The Inward Disciplines

• In study there are two “books”—verbal and nonverbal. Books and lectures are one part, the world of nature and the careful observation of events and actions are the primary nonverbal fields of study. The principal task of study is a perception into the reality of a given situation, encounter, book, etc. We can go through a major crisis, for example, without any perception of the real nature of the tragic situation. But if we carefully observe and reflect upon what occurred, we can learn a great deal. Study is well worth our most serious effort.

• 2 Timothy 2:15• Isaiah 55:8-9

Study

The Inward Disciplines• Some have exalted religious

fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it (John Wesley).

• Isaiah 58:6-9

Fasting

The Inward Disciplines• Some have exalted religious

fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it (John Wesley).

• Isaiah 58:6-9

Fasting

• Christian meditation, simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word

• Psalm 1:1-3• Hebrews 12:25-29

Meditation

The Inward Disciplines• Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is the

most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father. Meditation introduces us to the inner life, fasting is an accompanying means, study transforms the mind, but it is the Discipline of Prayer that brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit. To pray is to change and to see things from God’s point of view. Listening to God is the necessary prelude to intercession. We must hear, know, and obey the will of God before we pray it into the lives of others.

• Romans 8:26• Ephesians 6:18

Prayer

The Inward Disciplines

• Worship is an ordered way of acting and living that sets us before God so that he can transform us.

• John 4:23-24

Worship

A PRAYER FOR THE INCORPORATION OF THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Father of Beauty, how great is your creative power! Give me eyes to recognize every “tool” in your hands as you work to reshape me in the immortal image of your Son . . . all the words and people and circumstances that gouge, as well as those that smooth.I trust you, Father. Shape in me the beauty of a life set apart for you.

RESPONDJournal your answers to these questions

What did you hear from God during the reading and reflection on the disciplines?

How will you respond to what you heard from God?

Which of the disciplines are disciplines for you?

Which of the disciplines are not disciplines for you?

THE ULTIMATE GOALEvagrius

• The state in which every thought, desire, and action is properly ordered.

Apatheia


• In this state, the passions of the soul are overcome by love of God and neighbor, and the passions of the flesh are overcome by self-discipline.

Apatheia


• “The proof of apatheia is had when the spirit begins to see its own light, when it remains in a state of tranquility in the presence of images it has during sleep, and when it maintains its calm as it beholds the affairs of life.”

Apatheia


• “To achieve apatheia is to achieve a full and harmonious integration of the emotional and spiritual life under the direct influence of God’s divine love. It creates a state of deep calm based on obedience to the commandments of God and the practice of virtue.”

Apatheia

THE JOURNEY OF SUFFERING

Definitions – 1 Peter

Physical suffering – 1:6

• Abuse• Poverty• Disease

• Persecution




• Persecution

Consequences of wrongdoing

- 2:19-20




• Persecution

Consequences of wrongdoing

- 2:19-20

Willingly giving up

one’s rights in obedience to

Christ – 2:21ff; 3:18;

4:1,2,12ff

Desert and Wilderness

Desert

• The choice to separate oneself for discipline, instruction, solitude, preparation

• Examples• Paul – Gal 1:13-19• Desert Fathers, i.e., Anthony, John

Cassian

Desert and Wilderness

Desert

• The choice to separate oneself for discipline, instruction, solitude, preparation

• Examples• Paul – Gal 1:13-19• Desert Fathers, i.e., Anthony, John Cassian

Wilderness

• A time of sending by God to learn from God through discipline; may include consequences of sinful behavior

• Examples• Children of Israel – Num 14:26-35; Heb 3-4• Jesus – Mt 4

A Final Word

•12So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— •13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. •14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. •15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” •16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, •17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:12-17

CS 501 Introduction to Christian Spirituality The Journey of the Christian Life.

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