(Sorry these are so late being posted)

“Joy is the serious business of heaven.” – C.S. Lewis

Richard Foster says, “Celebration is central to all the Spiritual Disciplines.”

We will need to have a spirit of joy within us otherwise the disciplines will become dry and stuffy and we will give up the whole idea.

Joy gives us strength.

Celebration is also at the heart of the way of Christ and joy is at the heart of God Himself. This is shown very well in the writing of G.K. Chesterton as he describes God’s joy as he created the world. (“Do it again!”)

Three Keys:

1.What makes it more than a hollow “celebration that celebrates nothing” is that it is a response to God greatness. We celebrate while reflecting on the wonderful God who has given us such wonderful gifts.
2. Authentic joy only comes from obedience. (Luke 11:27-28) Without obedience joy is hollow and artificial.
3.Obedience has to work itself into the fabric of our daily lives. “God’s normal means of bringing his joy is by redeeming and sanctifying the ordinary junctures of human life.” Celebration comes when our everyday lives are redeemed

What brings you joy and causes you to celebrate?

Is there a place in God’s creation that gives you a sense that God is a joyful God? When you are in this place, how is that joy passed to you?

How does living in the joy of the Lord give us strength?

Slowing

“Hurry is not of the devil; hurry IS the devil.” – Carl Jung

We live in an age that is constantly on the move. A common complaint is that we don’t have enough time in the day to get our things done. We live in a society that is plagued with what has been called “hurry sickness.”

This problem goes deep and that is why we need to discipline ourselves in opposition to it. “Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart.”

How do you suppose a hurried lifestyle can cause us to settle for a mediocre faith?

Hopefully we can see that this is a major problem when it comes to spirituality. So, in order to attack this properly, we need to do some diagnosis work.

What are some of the symptoms of hurry sickness?

• Speeding up daily activities

• Multi-tasking

• Clutter

• Superficiality - Richard Foster said that “superficiality is the curse of our age.” We must remember that depth comes slowly.

• The inability to love. John Ortberg says that love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. How is hurry the enemy of love in the different relationships we have? (God, family, other believers, those not yet following Christ)

• Sunset fatigue - this is when we are so worn out from the day, because we have given all our energy to our work, that when we encounter the people who need our love the most, we have nothing left to give.

Slowing:

“Deliberately placing ourselves in positions where we simply have to wait.”

The goal of this discipline of course is to develop patience.

Have you ever had an experience when you really just slowed down and enjoyed the experiences that came your way? If so, what helped get you to that point?

The Key: All the while as we practice slowing, we need to tell God that we are trusting in Him to enable us to accomplish all that needs to get done. A patient spirit is a trusting spirit.

That’s it for this class, I hope that you have enjoyed it and more importantly gotten a better vision of what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus. For those of you that have followed along on-line, I hope that someday in the future you will be able to join us in person. Lastly, for all of us let us remember those two powerful words of Jesus that started this whole thing: “Follow Me!”

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