Listen Leader Guide: Praying in a Noisy World - Softcover

Job, Rueben

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1426781202 ISBN 13: 9781426781209

Verlag: Abingdon Press, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

We live in a world of noise. Everywhere we go, we hear sounds that compete for our minds and hearts. Listening to God requires a deliberate choice to shut out the chaos around us and focus our thoughts. Listen, by Rueben P. Job, is a 40-day experience created to offer help to those new to prayer, those with a daily prayer routine and those whose lives seem too busy to pray. The six weekly helps build and deepen prayer practice. As we learn to listen, we find a new depth and fulfillment in our relationship with God and a new experience of God as guide and companion in our lives. The leader guide includes everything a group leader needs to plan and facilitate a six-session study, helping participants explore what they have read during the week and discuss their reading with the group. The guide walks leaders through the study format and provides options for tailoring sessions to the style and timeframe of each group. Listen is perfect for use by individuals, small groups, or congregations during Lent, Easter, or any time of year.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Rueben P. Job was a United Methodist bishop, pastor and acclaimed author and served as World Editor of The Upper Room publishing program. Best-known for the classic book, Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, he also authored or co-authored A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, A Wesleyan Spiritual Reader, Living Fully, Dying Well, Listen, and co-edited Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church. Bishop Job also chaired the Hymnal Revision Committee that developed the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal.

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Listen Praying in a Noisy World Leader Guide

By Rueben P. Job

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2014 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4267-8120-9

Contents

Preface, 
Introduction, 
Week 1: This Is My Son, Listen to Him, 
Week 2: Pray Like This, 
Week 3: A Trusted Mentor, 
Week 4: Everyone Needs Help, 
Week 5: Flying Solo, 
Week 6: Getting into Position, 
Prayers of Presence, 
Using Listen: Praying in a Noisy World as a Congregational Resource, 
Video Acknowledgments, 

CHAPTER 1

Week 1

This Is My Son, Listen to Him

Preparation

In Advance

• Make a list of the names of all participants. In the days before the group gathers, spend time in prayer for each person. As you get to know group members, you will have specific prayers for each person; initially, simply hold them in prayer for whatever is taking place in their lives, and give God thanks for leading each one to be part of this group.

• E-mail or call each participant at least one week in advance of the first session to offer a personal welcome, to see if there are any questions about the meeting time or location, and to review what they are to read and do during the week prior to the first group session. (They should read the Introduction, How to Use This Book, and Week 1: This Is My Son, Listen to Him, pages 5-34.) Invite them to share any questions they may have about the prayer pattern they are to follow each day of the week. Remind participants to bring their books, a pen or pencil, and a journal or writing paper.

• Set aside time to review the session guide for Week 1, as well as read the Introduction, How to Use This Book, and Week 1 in Listen. Plan to use the weekly prayer pattern and try the featured prayer practice in your own prayer time each day before the group meets.

• Make a copy of the Prayer of Presence for Week 1 for each group member so that you can pray it together in unison (see the back of this guide, page 71); or plan to have participants read the prayer from their books, replacing "I/me/my" with "we/us/our."

• Gather the materials needed:

[check] Nametags and markers

[check] Candle and lighter

[check] Copies of the Prayer of Presence

[check] Extra pens or pencils and writing paper

[check] Extra copies of Listen: Praying in a Noisy World (optional)

On Site

• Arrive about 10-15 minutes before the group session begins so that you can be sure the room is set up as you would like. Be sure you have copies of the Prayer of Presence and the other materials needed for the session.

• On a chalkboard, whiteboard, or easel/flipchart, write the quotation from Rueben P. Job found on page 22 in Listen: Praying in a Noisy World (under "Prayer Practice") so that group members can easily see it as they enter.

• Prepare the materials needed for the session (see above).

• Once the room is ready and before the participants arrive, spend a few quiet moments in prayer for them and for the time that you will soon have together.

Gathering and Welcome (5 minutes)

Greet participants as they enter and ask them to make or pick up their nametags. Once all have arrived, remind them of why you have gathered.

Read aloud or summarize:

This is a six-session group experience about learning how to listen and how to deepen our relationship with God through practices of prayer. These six sessions will serve as gathering points on our individual forty-day devotional journeys through which we will each be using Listen: Praying in a Noisy World as our guide. Before each session we will complete a week of personal prayer practice using the book, and then we will meet here to reflect, discuss, and practice together what we have learned and experienced. At the center of these gatherings will be our shared desire to enhance our ability to hear and respond to God's guidance and to become more fully available to God.

Because this is our first session together, let's spend a little time getting to know each other. (Invite group members to introduce themselves, briefly sharing about family, work, interests, and so forth.)

Each week we will begin with a simple time of worship, so let us enter into prayer.

Opening Worship (3 minutes)

Prayer of Presence (in unison)

Holy God
of unconditional love
and unlimited presence,
we come to make ourselves fully available
to you, your will, and your way.

Speak to us gently and clearly,
for we are yours
and desire to hear, understand,
and be obedient
to your slightest whisper.
Speak, for we are listening.

Light of Life (light a candle)

Read aloud or summarize:

This candle represents the presence of the Holy Spirit, who is always with us and is ever prayerful for us. Let us live into the light that draws us away from the noisy world and toward a quiet space with God that we may learn to listen for the One who knows us as Beloved.

Silence in Community

Read aloud or summarize:

Now let us enter into silent prayer together, setting aside our mental calendars, schedules, and distractions as well as we can. Imagine handing over to God all that is weighing on your exterior life so that we can begin, together, to make room for the interior voice of God, who is waiting for this time with us.

Get as comfortable as you can and try to pay attention to your breath and heartbeat as we silently pray.

(Spend 1-2 minutes in communal silence.)

Amen.

Video (18-20 minutes total)

View the Video (10 minutes)

Discuss the Video (8-10 minutes)

Choose from the following questions to help group members reflect on the video. Be prepared to share first to help begin the discussion. Be sure to manage the time for the discussion so that you can move the session forward on time.

• Was there a comment or insight from today's video that really spoke to you?

• What were some of the reasons people gave for why they pray? Why do you pray?

• What is your earliest memory of prayer? Who taught you to pray?

• What can we learn from the variety of responses about where and when people pray? Where and when do you most like to pray?

Reflections on the Weekly Reading (10 minutes)

Invite participants to turn to the Weekly Reading on page 33 of Listen: Praying in a Noisy World. Invite everyone to listen carefully as you read the story aloud (or as a volunteer does so). Then guide a time of reflection about how the story relates to group members' lives. You may want to begin the reflection time with one of the following questions or one of your own. Be prepared to offer your response first as a model for sharing.

• What catches your attention in this story?

• In what ways does this story relate to the story of your life?

After each person who wishes to share has done so, ask group members to identify the main truth contained in this story. Discuss what is similar and different in what they have heard individually.

Prayer Practice in Community (15-17 minutes total)

This segment of the group session will focus on the week's prayer practice. The purpose of this section is to give group members time to talk about their individual experience of...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Abingdon Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1426781202
• ISBN 13: 9781426781209
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 80
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland