Key Bible Passage(s):

Gal.6:8; Matt.12:33; Phil.3:17; Phil.4:9; I Cor.11:1

Tier 1

In the way we present the Gospel, and even think about the Gospel, we can often inadvertently divorce the idea of being a Christian from that of being a disciple. To be a Christian is to be called to a particular way of life that to a large extent can actually be lived. We may need not only to cultivate a vision of the authentic Christian life, but also the confidence that such a life is a realistic expectation fort hose in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells.

Tier 2

The hidden foundation of that life is the embedding of the spiritual disciplines through which the Spirit gives us the resources to change. This is where the battle for holiness is won or lost. We don’t aim directly for a public lifestyle characterized by Christlikeness. We come to the place of obedience by going somewhere else: he hidden life of intentionally making ourselves vulnerable to the Spirit as He recalibrates us to become the Lord.

Tier 3

The spiritual disciplines are not just about our private devotion to Christ. They are about our place in and relationship to the rest of creation. Our relationships with time, food, money, other people are all characterized by the chaos of the fall. The Spirit hovers over that chaos, longing to bring order, light, beauty and life. Redeeming these relationships, and rightly ordering our affections are His goal as He meets us in and through these habits of grace.

A great book to read throughout this term, and to keep as a reference book for years to come is this introduction to the Spiritual Disciplines by Don Whitney. You’ll hear echoes of it at moments throughout this term, although I structure the disciplines differently from Whitney. You can get a sense of Whitney from the video you are invited to enjoy as part of this week’s homework. It’s a helpful overview, and will reward your careful study and implementation.

Christians are called to make themselves, by the Spirit’s power, do what they would not naturally do—practice the Spiritual Disciplines—in order to experience what the Spirit gives them a desire to be, that is, to be with Christ and like Christ.”

Donald S. Whitney

Discussion Groups:

What would characterize a ‘holy’ person? What would you see in their relationships with other people?  What would they care about? 

What would their relationship with Church look like? 

If they had a family, what would that look like?  

In what ways do you think you are growing in holiness?  ...and where not?  (no false humility allowed!)

What does it mean to grow in holiness?  How do you grow in holiness?

How has DTP helped in this process? What else would help here?

and later in the session:

What excites you about this term...

... and what fills you with dread?

What dangers do you anticipate? How can you guard against them

What ‘disciplines’ can you think of in the life and experience of Jesus? Would you want to learn how to imitate them?

How might you begin to cultivate them in your own experience?

Homework:

Over this half-term we will be working to memorise Matthew 5:33-37. You will have to keep refreshing Matt.5:1-32, Matt.6:5-34 and Matt.7:1-28 whilst you do this.

(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the 3 years of DTP)

To Be a Christian Q&A 360-368

Watch this video in which Don Whitney is speaking at a conference about Jonathan Edwards (1703-58). Edwards was a pastor-theologian who pastored his Church through a season of revival, and who left us a legacy of theological and philosophical works that people are still writing PhDs on! Some scholars think he was the greatest theologian the English speaking world has ever produced. He was a great friend of people like George Whitfield and David Brainerd. Much of his theology is focused on incredibly practical issues of Christian experience and discipleship. You don’t need to know anything about Edwards to appreciate this talk. If you wanted to get an overview of his life and some lessons learnt from it, there is another talk on Youtube that might be helpful: Biography of Jonathan Edwards (audio only).

The focus of this talk is Edward’s own thinking on and experience of the Spiritual Disciplines, and his encounter with God as a result. Enjoy!