IT’S TIME (Teacher Guide) excerpt
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WELCOME AND GATHERING
Extend greetings and remind participants to express themselves as they feel comfortable.
CALL TO PRAYER
Invite participants into a time of contemplation and silent prayer. After a few moments, share the Jesus Prayer on page 5.
CREATE INTEREST
Who helped you grow up? (Allow for a time of sharing about parents, extended family, and friends who were influential.) What did these people add to your life? What is one piece of advice given you that you’ve never forgotten?
DIG DEEPER
What is “spiritual formation”? The basics of spiritual formation are built on several assumptions:
- We were formed by God and continue to grow in God.
- We are being conformed to Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.
- This formation happens through (but is not limited to) prayer, contemplation,
study, fellowship, service, and worship.
- We never are completely formed in our human lives but continue to strive
toward God’s will.
The Internet will lead you to more information if you want to research this more. Here are a few helpful sites:
www.spiritform.net
www.upperroom.org/
www.shalem.org/
www.pcusa.org/spiritualformation
www.renovare.org
Search the Scriptures for verses pertaining to “forming.” Here are a few: Genesis 2:7; Jeremiah 18:1-6; Galatians 4:19; Romans 8:28–29; 2 Corinthians 3:18.
What does “being formed” and “transformed” mean to your life? How does this “formation” affect your faith? How does it lead you to mission?
Pray the Jesus Prayer on page 5. How does this prayer impact you? How does this prayer lead us away from “performance based” religion? How does this prayer lead us away from “authoritative, controlling” religion?
APPLY TO LIFE
Share the five symbols for the Spirit on page 7. How do you relate to each of these? How can you live out these characteristics in ministry to others?
In your life: How can you live out a transformed life as the presence of Christ? What are the implications for your life if you begin living as the presence of Christ for others?
In your church: How can your church move toward being the presence of Christ in your community? What are the implications for your church if you begin living as the presence of Christ for others?
In your small group/class: How can your group encourage one another to be the presence of Christ in the world? What are the implications for your group if you begin living as the presence of Christ for others?
SUMMARY THOUGHT
“Our identity is in what we receive!” (p. 6).
BENEDICTION
Close by praying the Jesus Prayer again.