Living Through the Spirit

A Course Using Life Experiences, Spiritual Practice and the New Testament

Offered by Friends in Christ

Greenbelt Middle School, Room 108
8950 Edmonston Road, Greenbelt, Maryland

Wednesdays, 7:30 - 9 PM
May 19, 1999 - June 16, 1999

Although this series is over, you may find it interesting to review it, and perhaps read the scriptures and consider the queries provided. We invite you to our current series.

Introduction

Welcome! In the five sessions of this course, we will explore some of the challenges of the human condition, which confront us all. We will also become acquainted with the wonderful gift of God's love, which transforms these challenges into new living.

Each session will address a particular need or challenge to living a fulfilled life. We will use parables (stories illustrating a spiritual truth) told by Jesus of Nazareth. Through these readings, we will become familiar with Jesus and God's revelation through him. We will also look deeply into our own life experiences. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, we will discern God's leading in our lives and in those around us. Finally, we will explore methods of meditation and prayer to aid in our awareness of our relationship with God. We will experiment with the use of silence (silent worship or contemplative prayer) as a means to God.

Mind and Heart

There are dangers along the path of seeking spiritual insight. The first danger is to see the path as an intellectual effort at knowledge. We like to use our minds. By analyzing, comparing and contrasting, we control ideas. We like to keep the spiritual journey in our mind so we can control it. Unfortunately, as long as we keep the search solely intellectual, we will fail. The essence of the journey is to let go and receive the Divine Other.

The second danger is to see the path as only one of the heart and emotions. Ecstatic revelry, not grounded in revealed wisdom and tempered with good judgment, is shallow and dangerous. Our emotions alone are an unreliable guide.

The goal of our inquiry here is to stand with the mind in the heart before God. We will not abandon our minds, but we will not be ruled by our minds. We must put our minds in our hearts, the core of our whole being; the center of our emotions and physicality. So, beware of overemphasis on thinking or overemphasis on emotion. We need to allow God to direct both our minds and our hearts.

Session #1, May 19: Spiritual Growth
led by Frank Massey

One way to see the parable of the sower is as a story about spiritual growth. At different times in our lives, we react differently to God's plantings.

Read Matthew 13:3-8 (parable of the sower)

Sharing ideas:

• Share an experience in your life when spiritual growth began and then was choked out or withered. Be specific about what happened.
• Share an experience when spiritual growth flourished in your life. What was happening in your life to encourage this growth?

Session #2, May 26: A Father's Love
led by Frank Massey

The parable of the prodigal son is really a tale of two sons. Each, at different times, refused to be in his father's house. Each had different reasons for his refusal, but both reasons flowed from the same essential feeling. Both, in a sense, wanted to control or earn their way. The father always joyfully invites his sons home.

Read Luke 15:11-32 (parable of the prodigal son)

Sharing ideas:

• Relate an experience when you were distant from God for reasons like the younger son. Like the older son.
• Share an experience of coming back to God. What was it like? How did it happen?

Session #3, June 2: Missing and Finding
led by Bill Samuel

Although Jesus may have been talking about God's actions, the parable of the lost coin also raises issues about the sense of something missing, searching and the joy of finding.

Read Luke 15:8-10 (parable of the lost coin)

Sharing ideas:

• Relate an experience when you felt that something important was missing from your life. What was the effect spiritually of this sense?
• What role has your spiritual life played in fulfilling this sense of "something missing"? Give examples from your experiences.

Session #4, June 9: Fairness vs. Generosity and Forgiveness
led by Bill Samuel

Anyone who has ever lived with children knows that fairness is a major concern of theirs. We continue this concern as adults in our desire for justice - people should be treated fairly. This concern is important to a just civilization. On the other hand, an overemphasis on fairness can squeeze out generosity and forgiveness, leading to a spiritual hardening.

Read Matthew 20:1-15 (parable of workers in the vineyard)

• Relate an experience in your life when fairness and justice were very important and positive.
• Share an experience where God's love or generosity or forgiveness overrode concerns for fairness.

Session #5, June 16: True Security
led by Bill Samuel

All of us are a bit afraid of life's uncertainties and unexpected problems. We try to protect ourselves; we hoard money, love, friendship, and our own talent. While being logical, this process can also wither us spiritually.

Read Luke 12:13-21 (parable of the rich fool)

Queries:

• How have you protected yourself from life's uncertainties? In finances? In friendship? In love?
• What spiritual and psychological problems come from hoarding? How can you avoid these? Answer from your experiences.

Friends in Christ
11445 Neelsville Church Road
Germantown, MD 20876-4145
E-mail fic@friendsinchrist.net

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