Vocation, as a collection of small groups, bases its discussion and journeying together out of what is going on at TILT. I thought I would make this a resource to any who might be interested. The "weekly" is available here.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Small Group Material: Called to Community
Monday, January 22, 2007
Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina, or "Holy Reading", is a long-practiced approach to reading and meditating upon the Scriptures. In its simplest form, the text is read [uncomfortably] slowly three times, with periods of silence between each. We did this tonight at TILT for John 17:20-26. And for your future reference: The Lectio Handout.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Breath Prayer
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| From Designed Images@TILT |
Breath Prayer was made famous by a story from Russian folklore called The Way of the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim's prayer was "Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me a sinner". An interesting read if you ever get a chance. Given its orthodox heritage, check out an Orthodox take on the Jesus Prayer.
The Prayer of Examen
Tonight we spent time in the prayer of examen, as we have a couple of times before. The practices, meditations and prayers used in TILT's worship gathering will be put on the site so they can be used as a resource throughout the week. We will create a PDF document that can be viewed online, printed, or whatever else you may do with a PDF document. It is our hope that the experience of using them in a corporate worship setting will spur us as a community to implement them as part of our lives throughout the week.
The prayer of examen has been used for centuries (not quite sure of history at this moment). It is a prayer used to allow God to reveal how he has been present in our lives and where we have failed to listen to him, or not received his healing and his forgiveness for sins (as well as confessing them!). Richard Foster has an excellent book on prayer and one chapter devoted to the prayer of examen. One blogger quotes from that chapter here.
Grab the prayer of examen here (or any other hyperlinked 'prayer of examen' for that matter).
Labyrinth
We have used a finger labyrinth at TILT once, and will probably do it again. Although much-maligned by some, this is actually an ancient practice dating back to the early Christian Church. It is a tool that can be used in many ways to help us center our thoughts and hearts on God. Read more and print out a labyrinth here.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
The Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia is the ultimate resource in all things Catholic. Although we may not agree with some of the specific beliefs of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, it would be unwise to throw out the entire wealth of Catholic resources, knowledge, writing and spiritual practices as a result. For those of us not from a Catholic background, there is much to learn from this longstanding institution. No matter how you cut it, we ALL stem from a Catholic background seeing as it was the only Christian institution for over a thousand years. The site has a full encyclopedia, the "summa" (summary of Catholic beliefs), as well as an interesting blog. Go to The Catholic Encyclopedia.
NOTE: Internet Explorer (the bane of any web designers' existence) users who have pop-ups activated...The links here open up a new window, which is fine. If you have pop-up blocker activated, press "CTRL" while clicking on the link.
Lesslie Newbigin
Wilbert Shenk (there's a name!) writes about Newbigin, "Lesslie Newbigin has been one of the decisive influences on the theology of mission in the twentieth century". He challenged the church to get out into the world and engage with culture rather than fearing and shunning it. He "devoted himself to reflecting on the life of faith as it intersected with that of the world". Newbigin died in 1998 after a life of significant writing, most of which can be found on this website. Go to newbigin.net.
NOTE: Internet Explorer (the bane of any web designers' existence) users who have pop-ups activated...The links here open up a new window, which is fine. If you have pop-up blocker activated, press "CTRL" while clicking on the link.
Renovare
Renovare is founded by Richard J. Foster. As he writes, Renovare "seeks to set forth a practical strategy for spiritual growth that is for all who follow Christ". It sets out to provide resources to foster spiritual growth with hope of renewing the church worldwide. It's fancy slogan may be confusing to some. The churches with little "c" refers to the institutions, bodies, organizations that we would all recognize as churches, whereas the Church capital "C" refers to the body of believers who follow and believe in Jesus Christ. One could say that the Church is the ideal of the church perhaps. Check out Renovare here.
NOTE: Internet Explorer (the bane of any web designers' existence) users who have pop-ups activated...The links here open up a new window, which is fine. If you have pop-up blocker activated, press "CTRL" while clicking on the link.
Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard is a professor at USC and a well-known author (more about him here. I (Scott) have personally loved The Divine Conspiracy and The Spirit of the Disciplines. His website provides many of the articles he writes as well as other resources. His writing is quite philosophical (no surprise there considering his profession), but very profound and practical all at the same time. Check it out here.
NOTE: Internet Explorer (the bane of any web designers' existence) users who have pop-ups activated...The links here open up a new window, which is fine. If you have pop-up blocker activated, press "CTRL" while clicking on the link.
The Daily@TILT Links
On the sidebar of this blog will be a bunch of links with the names of various people, organizations, sites, and other resources. These are meant to be tools to help us in our journey of allowing God to transform us. An explanation of each link will be posted so you know exactly what you are getting yourself into! Please comment on those explanations if you find a certain site helpful so that others can benefit.
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