Relationships and Community on Spiritual Formation

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Author

Dallas Willard

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Scripture

John 14:15, James 1:22, Philippians 2:8, Genesis 22:1-19, Romans 12:1-2

Obedience is an essential outcome of Christian spiritual formation.

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Developing an Anthropological Foundation for the Spiritual Disciplines

Author

James Bryan Smith

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Scripture

Genesis 1:26-27 , Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Jeremiah 31:33, Matthew 23:25-26 , Romans 12:2 , Psalm 51:10

Before my mentor, Dallas Willard, passed over to glory, I asked him what he thought about the rapid rise of the Christian spiritual formation movement. He said, “It is a wonderful thing, but my fear i...

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Discovering Your Unique Purpose

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 4:11

Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you...

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Doing the Work Before the Work

Author

Stephen W. Smith

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Scripture

Proverbs 24:27, James 1:5, Matthew 7:24-25, Proverbs 21:5, Colossians 3:16-17, Isaiah 40:3-4

In his highly insightful work, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith provides an important analogy about the importance of spiritually preparing ourselves for the adversity and challenges that come with su...

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What Is a Family For?

Author

Andy Crouch

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Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Proverbs 22:6, 1 Samuel 1:27-28, Luke 2:51-52, Ephesians 6:1-4, Psalm 127:3-5

I want to suggest a pretty radical idea about what family is for. Family is about the forming of persons. Being a person is a gift, like life itself—we are born as human beings made in the image of Go...

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Struggle is Not Failure: A Lesson from the Desert Fathers

Author

Andrew Arndt

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A Story from the Philokalia A story is told in The Philokalia about a young monk who went to an older monk to confess a struggle. The older monk was appalled, telling the young monk that his strugg...

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Our Spirituality and our Sexuality are Linked

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:23-25, Song of Solomon 7:10-12, Hosea 2:19-20, 1 Corinthians 7:3-5, Ephesians 5:31-32, Psalm 63:1-5

As we begin to awaken fully to the spiritual, social and sexual dimensions of ourselves in God’s presence, we find that they are inseparably intertwined and not to be compartmentalized. In fact, many ...

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Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:16, John 15:12-13, Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, John 17:21

The vision that Jesus gives us is this: That I am unconditionally loved, that I belong to God, and that I am a person who can really trust that. When I meet another person who also is rooted in the he...

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Author

Julie Canlis

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Scripture

2 Samuel 9:6-13, Exodus 4:22-23 , Romans 8:14-17, Ephesians 1:3-6, Psalm 68:5-6

Adoption … is not the cause merely of a partial salvation, but bestows salvation entire…

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Author

Watchman Nee

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Gaining spiritual life is conditional on suffering loss. We cannot measure our lives in terms of "gain"; they must be measured in terms of "loss." Our real capacity lies not in how...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

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It is easier to find guides, someone to tell you what to do, than someone to be with you in a discerning, prayerful companionship as you work it out yourself. This is what spiritual direction is.

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From Dropout to Disciple-Maker

Author

Bobby Harrington

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:1-10, Psalm 40:2-3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Luke 15:20, John 1:5

I (Josh) know a young man named Mark who was on the brink of self-destruction. He partied away his first semester of junior college and was later kicked out of school. He was devastated by his loss an...

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Author

Craig Johnson

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"I sometimes forgot about how spiritual Henry was. I had been raised as a Methodist where the highest sacrament was the bake sale."

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1 Corinthians 1:3 7 & 8 "May God our Father and the Lord

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Corinthians 1:7-8

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong t...

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Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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There is nothing that more tends to strengthen the faith of the young believer than to hear the veteran Christian, covered with scars from the battle, testifying that the service of his Master is a ha...

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Armor for a Soldier, not a Warrior

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-18

In most western societies, what do people think of when you say "armor of God"? I wouldn't be surprised if the image that comes to mind is the kind of plate armor you see in movies abou...

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Therese of Lisieux's Prayer

Author

Richard J. Mouw

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 34:6–7, Genesis 50:19–21, 2 Samuel 9:1–13, Luke 18:1–8 , Luke 7:36–50, Psalm 103:8–14

I personally get some inspiration for getting at the nature of this work from a story told by one of my favorite spiritual writers, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Thérèse was born in 1873, to a devout Cath...

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A Hungry/Thirsty Soul

Author

Beth Moore

Keywords

Scripture

John 4:null

The soul can also manifest physical symptoms of need. I like to think of it this way: Just like my stomach growls when I’m hungry for physical food, my spirit tends to growl when I’m in need of spirit...

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A Comprehensive Picture

Author

John R. W. Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 42:1-2, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:3-12, Luke 6:20-22

The beatitudes paint a comprehensive portrait of a Christian disciple. We see him [or her] first alone on his knees before God, acknowledging his spiritual poverty and mourning over it. This makes him...

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Author

Carolyn Custis James

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-12

Paul tells the bride in Ephesians 6:10-12 that her enemies are 'not...flesh and blood,' but the unseen spiritual forces of evil and darkness. She is called to arm herself for battle, to 'b...

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Adapted from “Spiritual Helps” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Arthur Bennett

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:10-11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:103, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:26, John 3:16

Pastor: Eternal Father, it is amazing love, that you sent your Son to suffer in my place, that you have given me your Holy Spirit to teach, comfort, and guide me. Because of Jesus’ death in my place, ...

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Lord, we believe your Word when you say

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Lord, we believe your Word when you say that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. You have given us all that we need to live faithfully as your chosen people. But just as often as we tu...

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Adapted from 1 Corinthians 12 (ESV)

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Leader: "Now concerning spiritual gifts," brothers and sisters, "there are varieties of gifts," People: "But the same Spirit;" Leader: "And there are varieties o...

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We Are What We Love

Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:17, 1 John 3:18, Matthew 22:37-40

Identities—what makes us who we are, the kind of people we are—is what we love. More specifically, our identity is shaped by what we ultimately love or what we love as ultimate—what, at the end of the...

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Adapted from Romans 12:1-2

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, bu...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

There is no justification without sanctification, no forgiveness without renewal of life, no real faith from which the fruits of new obedience do not grow.

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Eating Together as a Family

Author

Terry A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:20, 1 Corinthians 10:16, Proverbs 15:17, Isaiah 25:6, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Acts 2:46, Psalm 128:3

We become who we are in the environment of home. We are shaped by our families. Home is formative. Sociologist Cody C. Delistraty explored the most recent scientific literature for Atlantic Monthly an...

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Adapted from Colossians 3:12-17

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-17

Leader: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience All: bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against an...

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Myths About Faith and Work

Author

Kara Martin

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:12, Genesis 2:15-20, Colossians 3:22-24, John 5:17, 1 Corinthians 7:17

Myths about Faith and Work Faith is to be lived out 24-7-52. For many Christians this involves living out our faith at work. But several myths about faith and work can prevent us from being effecti...

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The Tragedy of Missed Opportunities

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 8:20, Matthew 23:37-38; 25:10, Luke 9:61-6, 2 Corinthians 6:2 , Acts 24:24–27, Hebrews 3:7–13

History records the Battle of Cannae as perhaps Rome's most devastating military defeat, orchestrated by the tactical genius of Hannibal of Carthage. In the aftermath of this crushing victory, the...

relationships and community on Spiritual Formation

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