Before the Session

As you prepare for this week’s session, read all the way through the lesson. Pay attention to which questions and activities you have the most energy around. As the facilitator, your own connection to the material will energize the group. If you have more energy around one idea over another, feel free to adjust, or to simply spend more time on that activity.

In this week’s session, you will be discussing the importance of developing practices that help us to create a space in which we can more readily experience God’s presence with us. Remind your group of what we discussed with last week’s verse. “We are being built” — we do not grow ourselves through our actions. Rather, by engaging in forms of spiritual disciplines, we create the space for God to help us grow. It is like preparing the soil before something is planted in it. Spiritual practice on its own does not build a life of faith. Rather, it is God moving in the space that is created by spiritual practices that does the building. Our job is to simply make the space and hold on to hope and assurance that God is at work in us.

Gather these items

• Old magazines
• Computer and cardstock paper
• A collection of art supplies including: scissors, glue, crayons/markers, sequins, feathers, string, etc.
• Copies of the Spiritual Discipline handout (PDF link below)

 

Leading the Session

Open (5-7 minutes)

Begin by welcoming everyone back to the group. Be sure to allow everyone some time to catch up with one another. As you begin, invite people to think about their at-home-work from the last week. Encourage conversation about the at-home-work by asking questions like the following:

• How did it go?
• What worked? What didn’t work?
• As you took the time to think back over the day, were you able to remember where you had experienced God’s presence?
• When you looked back over each day, did you see patterns to the times that you experienced God the least?

Create (12-15 min)

In today’s “Create” activity, participants will take the time to journal or make a collage to demonstrate ways that they feel close to God and areas of their lives in which they would like to feel more close to God. Be sure to have all the art supplies, paper, and old magazines easily accessible. It may be best to set up a big table and allow the group to work around it together with all the materials in the middle.

Say something like, “Today’s scripture tells us to love God with our hearts, our souls, and our minds. Take a piece of paper. You may choose to journal or create a collage. On one side of the paper, create or write something that demonstrates the areas of your life in which you feel the most connected to God. On the other side of the paper, create or write something that demonstrates the areas of your lives in which you want to feel more connected to God.”

Leader’s note: This may not take the suggested time limit if most of your group chooses writing. After the activity is over, encourage reflection on the activity with questions like the following:

• Where/when are you the most close to God?
• How do you know you are close to God?
• Where do you struggle to feel close to God?
• How do you know when your relationship with God is struggling?
• Do you notice any patterns that affect either of these in your life?
• Do you have a desire to change any of this or are you content?

Discuss (25-30 min)

Leader’s note: As you move into the “Discuss” section, remember that it may take your group some time to warm up to one another — even in this second week. Use the questions to encourage discussion, and don’t be afraid of silence as you wait on one another to process their thoughts.

Read the passage for today, Deuteronomy 6:4-8, and then watch the FaithElement video, Studies for Women: Living Intentional Lives, Holy Practice. After the video is over, ask your group to respond to it. You can ask them what they thought about it and the text. After they have had an opportunity to respond to the video, use the following questions to encourage discussion.

Nikki talks about different daily faith practices. Begin by celebrating some of the things you already do. (i.e. go to a weekly worship service, pray before meals, light a candle when you pray, daily bible reading)

The scripture talks about loving God with our whole selves — our heart, our soul, and our mind. Talk about the areas of your life in which you feel like you honor and love God well. Talk about the areas in you life in which you could do more to demonstrate your love for God.

• What different kinds of spiritual disciplines have you tried? What worked and what didn’t?
• What kind of spiritual discipline are you interested in trying? Why?

Nikki talks about how spiritual disciplines do not make us faithful people, but they help create the space for faith to flourish. Do you agree with this idea? Why or why not?

Share (7-10 min)

Leader’s note: Before each time of sharing, it may be a good idea to give the group some time to reflect quietly. If there are introverts in your group, you will want to give them time to think about what they want to say before you ask them to participate in a discussion.

Begin by giving your group some time to reflect on the creations they made at the beginning of class. Ask them to think specifically about the areas of their lives in which they would like to feel more connected to God. Then encourage them to look at the list of spiritual disciplines that you have made copied for them.

Say something like, “Look at this list of spiritual disciplines and see what stands out to you. Many people like to divide spiritual disciplines into different catagories: abstinence and engagement, personal and corporate, internal and external. These are helpful, but knowing about spiritual disciplines is different than actually practicing them. If you do not try one, you will not know if it is a helpful practice for you or not. It is important for us to try different spiritual disciplines without judgment. We all have different personalities and different learning styles, and that means that some disciplines are more suited to a person than others.”

For those who resist the idea of spirituality as a discipline, it may be helpful to consider the practice side of it. Engaging a new spiritual practice is a lot like beginning a new journey, except this journey does not have a specific destination. Allow the practice to be a guide for your journey of faith and see where it takes you. If you stick with it long enough, you may be surprised.

Let your group that the handout does not provide a complete list of spiritual disciplines, but it is a good place to get started.

After they have had and opportunity to look over the list, ask them if they think any of disciplines might help them feel more connected to their faith and to God — particularly in the areas that they are hoping to grow. After they have had time to reflect, encourage them to share their reflections with the group. If they struggle to discuss on their own, encourage them with questions like:

• Which discipline appeals most to you? Why?
• Which discipline seems like it would be difficult to practice? What makes it that way?
• How do you think any of these might help in ones relationship with God?
• How does it make you feel to think about beginning a practice like this?

 

Pray (3-5 min)

Invite anyone who wants to pray to participate tonight. You can begin by opening the prayer. Then invite anyone who wants to say a prayer to do so. After you feel as though everyone who wants to pray has prayed, close the prayer. (Note: Do not be afraid of silence — especially at the beginning. Give plenty of time and space for someone to be the first to participate in the time of prayer.)

 

At Home Work

For the next week, invite your group to practice the breath prayer that Nikki discussed in the video. Encourage them to practice it two or three times each day and write down what their experience was like in their journal.

 

Handouts