Coming out of Sunday Feb 28 teaching, Letting Go of Success, spend some time in prayerful reflection and dialogue with your Home Church/Friends/Family around any combination of these questions:
Read Luke 22:24-30, Matthew 4:5-7 and Philippians 2:5-8 before starting. Pray and ask God to speak.
- Lent is a season where we are invited to “let go”. Let go of our sin, let go of shame and let go of anything that may hinder us in our relationship with God. How do you think success interferes with people’s relationship with God and with others?
- The disciples begin to dispute who among them is the greatest (Luke 22:24). Why do you think the disciples fought about the pecking order among them so often? Do you relate?
- Jesus says that the greatest among us should be like the youngest (Luke 22:26). Why does he continually call us to be like children?
- Jesus says that the greatest is the one who serves (Luke 22:27). Why does service make you great in the kingdom of God? Look at Philippians 2:5-8 and discuss how Jesus models that.
- Dan suggested that many of us struggle with “I am what others think of me” and that one of the antidotes is looking to God for our affirmation. Discuss Matthew 4:5-7 and how Jesus’ resistance to temptation provides a model for what it looks like to receive our affirmation from God.
- When you look at your own life, how would you define success? Are you pursuing greatness in the Kingdom of God or in the Kingdom of _____ (fill your name in here!). What would it look like to let go of your own pursuit of success and ask God to help you become more Christlike.
Dan invited people to spend time in prayer and solitude. We discussed how it is integral to our spiritual life to learn how to hear affirmation from God and for us to hear his voice affirming who we are.
Here are some ways that you can practice solitude:
Spiritual Exercises for Solitude (from the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun)
- In a place where you can’t be interrupted, intentionally place yourself in the presence of God. Recognize that the Lord is as near as your own breathing. Inhale God’s breath of life; exhale all that weighs on you. Simply be alone with God. When it is time to return to others, leave the presence of God gently. Carry the sense of being alone with God with you into the next thing.
- Spend fifteen minutes or more alone with God. You can do an activity if you wish: walk, run, drive, iron. Dedicate the time ahead of you to God. After the time is up, consider how it was for you to be alone with God. Was it hard? Good? Did God speak to you in any way?
- Make the time you spend in the shower each morning your alone time with God. Present yourself to your Creator- all of your body, all of the dirt that has accumulated in your soul, all that God has made you to be. Let the water from the shower remind you of the water of life that nourishes and changes you. Let the warmth touch you with love. If you like a cold shower, let the bracing impact call you to live your life to the full. Offer yourself to God for the day. Thank him for the alone time he spends with you.
- Set aside half a day for time alone with God. Go to a retreat centre, quiet chapel or park. Don’t stay in your home. Take only your Bible.
