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| Lent 2007 - Five Steps to a Faith that Works |
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Take part in the Lent groups online...
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| You are invited to read and consider the questions below, all based on our Lenten small group theme for 2007 – Five steps to a faith that works – by Rev Elder Nancy Wilson. These questions are designed to help you reflect and pray with God about your faith journey.
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| 1: Asking the right questions |
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Consider a time when you asked a question about faith or belief and people put you down for it, or made you feel as if the question was stupid.
- Has this happened within the context of Church, in the past or even now?
- How did you feel?
- What impact did this have on your faith and journey with God?
Rev. Troy Perry, the Founder of MCC would say,
“ I never want to belong to a church where I cannot ask a question, even if, to some people, it seems like a stupid question.”
In what ways can we create a positive climate for asking questions about faith and belief, whilst still respecting our differences and opinions? How can you contribute to this at MCC Edinburgh?
The Bible is full of questions, often without direct answers.
- What question, or questions, would you love to ask God this day?
Spend time in prayer with those questions and note down any thoughts or ideas that come to you.
Remember that the online yahoo group provides a space for you to share your own thoughts and questions about this first session.
lent2007subscribe@yahoogroups.com Come on and join the yahoo group today!
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| 2: Deepening Your Faith |
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Think of someone who has helped deepen your faith to "see God in the situation" and identify what tools or special experiences they brought to your faith growth.
Marcus Borg says that “faith is at the heart of Christianity.” He has four meanings of faith that I think are worth considering as we think about taking responsibility for deepening our faith:
- a. Faith as "assensus": believing the right things
- b. Faith as "fiducia": radical trust in God
- c. Faith as "fidelitas": faithfulness in our relationship with God
- d. Faith as "visio”: seeing the big picture
Which of the above definitions do you agree with most? Which challenges your thinking about ‘faith’? How do these four meanings develop your own understanding of faith?
This week pray for those people who have blessed your walk with God. Consider how your own understanding / experience of faith has changed or developed over the years.
Remember that the online yahoo group provides a space for you to share your own thoughts and questions about this first session.
lent2007subscribe@yahoogroups.com Come on and join the yahoo group today!
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| 3: Jesus and Faith |
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- Do you remember when you first learned about Jesus (or if you did)?
- What was your image or concept of him then?
Nancy Wilson, the moderator of MCC, offers a summary of Marcus Borg's work on Jesus - five roles essential to Jesus’ self-understanding:
1) Jesus as Jewish Mystic: a mystic is one whose life is radically centered on God. Jesus knew God on intimate terms, and he was a Jew, steeped in the Jewish scriptures and traditions, while being a loving critic of his own religious leaders and their interpretation of “the law.” Jesus was a person of prayer and communion with God who was beyond him, beside him and so obviously within him.
2) Jesus as Healer: Jesus’ healing ministry was remarkable and outstanding. Jesus healed the body, mind and spirit, dispensing forgiveness with physical miracles. He saw the interconnections. He also healed many who were “outcasts,” sometimes healing their social status as well as their bodies and minds. He healed relationships.
3) Jesus as Storyteller and Teacher: Jesus taught with “authority” which means he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. When he taught, he was not arrogant, but he was confident. He could communicate, beautifully, the heart of God, God’s deepest longings for connection to us. His parables (The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, the Pearl of Great Price) are as alive and relevant today as 2,000 years ago. The stories about him continue to give hope to so many. The Sermon on the Mount is a work of art – still waiting for us to live up to its uncompromising ideals.
4) Jesus as Social Prophet: Jesus was a friend of the poor, of sinners, of those whom other people thought were not good enough to be “religious.” Jesus challenged people about their narrow definitions of “neighbour.” He understood all too well the “structures of domination” that oppressed so many people. He practiced an “open table fellowship” that drew intense criticism, as he “ate and drank with sinners.” Jesus was conscious of social and political injustice, and spoke up against it. He reached out to women in extraordinary ways, having theological conversations with them. He conversed with Samaritans, healed lepers, went to the homes of notorious tax collectors, allowed prostitutes to follow him. He preached about a vision of a “kingdom/realm” of God that would be a time and place where God’s love and justice would be the only rule.
5) Jesus as Movement Initiator/Founder: Jesus, more than anything, sought to create a “beloved community” that would out-live him in his earthly life, and would turn the world and the structures of domination upside down. Sometimes today, the church actually embodies and lives up to that ideal. All too often, the church itself has become just another “structure of domination” that upholds the power structures that are in place. Sometimes the church has joined the ranks of the oppressors. Sometimes the church has betrayed its calling and its founder. But, in every age, God seems to raise up new followers of Jesus who see his Movement with new clarity.
- Which of these "Jesus roles" have been most relevant in your faith experience?
- Which have been less familiar?
- How do these aspects of Jesus deepen / challenge your faith?
Remember that the online yahoo group provides a space for you to share your own thoughts and questions about this first session.
lent2007subscribe@yahoogroups.com Come on and join the yahoo group today!
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| 4: Faith in Action |
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Many people dream of winning the lottery!
- What would you do if you won the lottery and could use it to give it away or do something special for another person or cause?
God has told us what is right and so demands this: Micah 6:8 (paraphrased)
"See that justice is done,
let mercy be your first concern,
and humbly obey your God."
We are challenged by God to see that “..justice is done..” and one of the aspects of Jesus from last week’s session was as social prophet.
- What justice issues are most important to you at the moment? What causes do you seek to champion?
- How does your faith challenge you about these justice issues?
- What steps can you take to work for these justice issues? What steps can we as a church take on behalf of these justice issues?
Remember that the online yahoo group provides a space for you to share your own thoughts and questions about this first session.
lent2007subscribe@yahoogroups.com Come on and join the yahoo group today!
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| 5: Sharing Faith |
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- What positive or negative experiences have you had with others who wanted to share their faith with you?
Five ways to share your faith
1) Be a partner with Jesus in ministry - People are aware of how you act and speak, believe it or not. They will judge you and your “faith” long before you have an opportunity to explain it or speak about it. Your actions speak louder than words. People learn to trust us when there is coherence between our actions and our words. When we show love and respect and consideration; when we go “the extra mile;” when we reach out to someone who is hurting or having a bad day. I remember a phrase I learned as a young person: “If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
2) Be willing to identify yourself as a person of faith - Jesus had an interesting, mysterious practice of keeping his messiah-ship a secret. He even told people not to tell others once they figured it out! Maybe Jesus wanted people to see and decide for themselves without so much advanced publicity. I enjoy it more sometimes when people do not know right away that I am a minister. Once people know that, they may treat me differently.. Let people get to know us, to see how we act and who we are, before we share whose we are! Not that we want to be “closet” Christians, but we don’t want to drive people away with our advance publicity, either.
3) Be willing to respond to pointed questions - It is a rare thing for someone to ask us directly about faith. But when someone does: “Do you believe in God?”, “What church do you go to?”, “Can you really be gay and Christian?”; it is a great privilege to share from your heart. We are told that in those moments, we will always be given the words to say. We do not have to have a prepared text, or pat answers. We just need to look them in the eye, smile and share from our heart.
4) Be prepared - We are prepared by praying and learning over long periods of time. By gradually getting more familiar with our faith as a whole, not only the parts that apply to our particular circumstances. We get prepared by becoming a person of faith and prayer ourselves. By working on our relationship with God and by gaining more confidence in God and ourselves.
5) Take risks!!!
Consider the five steps above for sharing faith, reflecting on these questions.
- Have you ever thought of yourself as a "partner with Jesus in ministry?"
- How does this impact your understanding of yourself as a person of faith?
- If you could ask God for opportunities to share you faith, who would you ask God to touch?
- In what ways have you become more familiar with your faith during this study?
Remember that the online yahoo group provides a space for you to share your own thoughts and questions about this first session.
lent2007subscribe@yahoogroups.com Come on and join the yahoo group today!
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