SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES AND
PRACTICES, #4
The Corporate Disciplines
Confession
Confession Worship
Confession Worship
Guidance
Confession Worship
Guidance Celebration
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 transformationViews 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 habitsTo 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 confessionSpiritual 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 elseKnowing, 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 kingdomTo be in the presence of JesusTo delight in the LordTo respond to God’s truth and direction in
order to practice a life of obedienceTo 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 listenTo bring head and heart into alignment with
God’s willTo seek the Guide rather than a map for
one’s lifeTo 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
Resolve to Decide
Together
Mutual Regard and Acceptance
Clearly Framed
Matter for Discernment
Good information and Good Research
The meeting to discern
Discussion toward ResolutionModerator asks for comments and observations that
have arisen out of prayer A “sense” may emerge that there is more agreement
among the group than originally thought possible
Prayer and Silent ReflectionMeeting for Clearness Extended time of listening prayer
Open DiscussionThreshing Meeting Issues, concerns, observations, and perspectives are
freely expressed
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 GodTo cultivate a spirit of gladnessTo take oneself less seriouslyTo 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)
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