Five Means of Grace: Leader Guide: Experience God's Love the Wesleyan Way (Wesley Discipleship Path Series) - Softcover

Heath, Elaine A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501835556 ISBN 13: 9781501835551

Verlag: Abingdon Press, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

John Wesley gave the Methodist movement (and all Christians in general) a discipleship pathway to follow. Wesley began with Three Simple Rules (or “General Rules”), and followed this instruction a year later with the Five Marks of a Methodist (or “Character of a Methodist”). Wesley observed the need for continuous renewal of relationships with God and others, so he established a recurring annual process for God’s people to make One Faithful Promise: The Wesleyan Covenant for Renewal. The study by Heath turns to the practices at the center of Wesley’s understanding of spiritual growth: the means of grace.This book/study guides readers through the five means of grace that John Wesley called “instituted,” meaning these are spiritual practices in which Jesus himself participated and which he encouraged his followers to do. One of the beautiful aspects of Wesley’s theology is that spiritual practices are seamlessly integrated with practices of loving our neighbors well. This is why Wesley said there is no holiness but social holiness. A life of genuine prayer inevitably leads to a life of hospitality, mercy, and justice. Through this book/study participants will consider how each of the five means of grace help us as communities of faith to pray more deeply and live more missionally as followers of Jesus Christ. These means are the ordinary channels that God uses to draw us into a fruitful relationship. These five means or channels are:1. Prayer2. Searching Scripture3. Receiving the Lord’s Supper4. Fasting5. Conferencing (communion, fellowship)"Surely John Wesley wanted his teachings to be presented in clear andunderstandable ways. Elaine Heath’s teaching on the Five Means of Grace aresimple and engaging with deep truths. Your group will love it!" -Jennifer Cowart (Executive pastor at Harvest Church, a United Methodistcongregation in Warner Robins, GA, near Macon.) She co-preaches anddirects Discipleship and Emerging Ministries at Harvest UMC. "ElaineHeath is one of the church’s great teachers and prophets. With engagingstories and clear understanding of Scripture she invites us toexperience God’s love through ancient practices that we desperatelyneed. I will be using Five Means of Grace with my congregationas an invitation for those seeking a deeper pathway into discipleship."- Rev. Jacob Armstrong, Providence United Methodist Church, MountJuliet TN.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Elaine A. Heath is a theologian whose work is interdisciplinary, integrating pastoral, biblical, and spiritual theology in ways that bridge the gap between academy, church, and world. Her current research interests focus on community as a means of healing trauma, emergent forms of Christianity, and alternative forms of theological education for the church in rapidly changing contexts. Heath is the author of numerous books and articles, the most recent of which is Healing the Wounds of Sexual Abuse: Reading the Bible with Survivors (2019), a republication with updates of a previous volume: We Were the Least of These: Reading the Bible with Survivors of Sexual Abuse (2011). She also recently served as general editor of the Holy Living series.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Five Means of Grace: Leader Guide

Experience God's Love the Wesleyan Way

By Elaine A. Heath

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-3555-1

Contents

How to Use This Leader Guide, 
Session 1 The Means of Grace Are Spiritual Practices, 
Session 2 One: Prayer, 
Session 3 Two: Searching the Scriptures, 
Session 4 Three: The Lord's Supper, 
Session 5 Four: Fasting, 
Session 6 Five: Christian Conferencing, 
Appendix: Five Means of Grace, 
The Means of Grace Are Spiritual Practices, 
1. Prayer, 
2. Searching the Scriptures, 
3. The Lord's Supper, 
4. Fasting, 
5. Christian Conferencing, 
Notes to the Appendix, 

CHAPTER 1

Session 1

The Means of Grace Are Spiritual Practices

INTRODUCTION

A prodigy is someone with extraordinary talent who seems to instantly pick up a skill or craft that takes others a long time to learn or master. However, even prodigies realize they need to practice, and most people have also experienced what it means to learn a set of practices in order to do a job, play a musical instrument, or enjoy a sport.

Grace in Christian language is properly understood as an unmerited gift from God, freely available to all despite our human shortcomings and flaws. Nothing we can do or say will earn God's faithful love and grace. Yet to stay in love with God — "to attend to God's ordinances" — John Wesley taught all Christians that five practices are indispensable channels for experiencing (not earning) God's grace.

This opening session will help your class

1. explore the concept of grace and why it is a foundational topic for spiritual growth;

2. offer initial impressions of the five means of grace as a baseline for understanding; and

3. commit together to create an environment of support, prayer, and trust.

GATHERING (5 Minutes)

Invite participants to listen as you read aloud the following lines from Charles Wesley's twenty-three-stanza hymn "The Means of Grace." Invite students to reflect silently on the words for two minutes. After the silence, have them turn to a person next to them to share what words, phrases, or ideas resonate with them.

Long have I seemed to serve you, Lord,
  with unavailing pain;
Fasted and prayed and read your word,
  and heard it preached in vain.

Oft did I with your assembly join,
  and near your altar drew;
A form of godliness was mine,
  the power I never knew.

To please you thus, at length I see,
  vainly I hoped and strove:
For what are outward things to you,
  unless they spring from love?

(A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, no. 91, adapted)

This hymn was written in 1740 as a response to a few early Methodists who questioned the value of worship, Holy Communion, and other means of grace for stimulating or deepening Christian faith. Ask a participant to open the session with a word of prayer.

REFLECTIONS ON THE READING (10 Minutes)

Have the class brainstorm a list of the kinds of groups they are involved in outside the church. That list might include civic organizations, service clubs, recreational sports leagues, work teams, and so on. After the class has come up with that list, have them explore more deeply one or two of the groups on the list. Write up a list of practices that are necessary for each member of the group. For example, for a sports team practices might include "eye-hand coordination" or "blocking and tackling."

As a class, have everyone reflect on the question, "How does being part of a group shape the practices for the individual members of that group?" Then make the connection to the Christian church. Tell the class that for Methodists there are five means of grace (or five channels for God's grace) that help Christians stay in love with God:

1. Prayer

2. Searching the Scriptures

3. The Lord's Supper

4. Fasting

5. Christian Conferencing

VIDEO SEGMENT (15 Minutes)

Video segment featuring Elaine A. Heath, author of Five Means of Grace, in conversation with theology professor Joerg Rieger.

VIDEO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (10 Minutes)

1. What did you hear? Do you have any stories from your childhood or youth in which someone became God's grace to you? Were these mountaintop experiences or everyday graces?

2. If spiritual practices (prayer, searching the Scriptures, the Lord's Supper, fasting, and Christian conferencing) are really about nurturing our relationship with God, then what are some ways we can be open to the Holy Spirit when we do these things?

3. When we open up to God we discover God's heart for the world. What are some of the real places grace might be sending you and your church?

4. What would a new encounter with God over the next six weeks mean in your life? Your friends' and family's lives?

THE JOURNEY AHEAD (10 Minutes)

A. The Five Means

Have the class refer again to the list of five means of grace that will guide these sessions ahead. As a group, discuss each of the five means, and ask people to share their initial understanding of what that channel means for experiencing God's grace.

• What does it mean, for example, to pray?

• Why is this one of the five identified as important or indispensable?

• What questions do you have about this means of grace?

B. Experiencing God's Love in This Group

Together, come up with a list of ground rules that will define this group's time together. What can participants expect from each other in relation to each of the following commitments:

• being prepared for each session

• listening and contributing to each session

• honoring differences

• resolving conflict

• encouraging honesty and protecting confidentiality

• praying for each other

• being punctual and honoring each other's time

• creating an atmosphere of joy, love, and laughter

After the class comes up with these shared values, have the list printed and displayed for all future sessions. Class members might even choose to sign the list to ritually commit to sharing those values.

LOOKING AHEAD AND CLOSING PRAYER (5 Minutes)

Have the class share joys and prayer concerns, and invite them to be in prayer for each other over the upcoming week. Invite someone to close in prayer.

CHAPTER 2

Session 2

One: Prayer

INTRODUCTION

Prayer is an indispensable means for experiencing God's love. John Wesley includes it in his other foundational teachings about the three simple rules for Methodists, the five characteristics or marks of a Methodist, and the faithful covenant promise that can restore and refresh a dry spirit. Apart from regular communication with God, personally and corporately, it's not possible to sustain a relationship.

This session will help your class

1. start with prayer rather than doctrine, because prayer is involved in every means of grace;

2. learn why prayer and vulnerability are necessary to persist through inevitable suffering; and

3. discover creative prayer resources.

GATHERING (5 Minutes)

Invite participants to read in unison from...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Abingdon Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1501835556
• ISBN 13: 9781501835551
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 80
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchpark GmbH; gpsr@buchpark.de; ; Krügerweg 1; Trebbin; Brandenburg; 14959; Deutschland