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Home-Based Faith
Spiritual Direction At Home
Sunday February 14th, 2021 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui
Judges 4:8

THE PASSAGE

"Barak said to her, 'If you go with me, I will go; but if you do not go with me, I will not go!'" - Judges 4:8
"My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you..." - Galatians 4:19

THE MESSAGE

Spiritual direction at home is helping others to see and sense God in their everyday life.

"A spiritual director is not a counselor or a therapist but a friend of our soul who accompanies us on our spiritual journey with wise counsel and the support that sustains us in times of doubt or difficulty." -Henri Nouwen

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL DIRECTION?

Spiritual direction is giving help to another person.

  1. To pay attention to God's communication
  2. To respond to God's communication
  3. To grow in relationship with God, and
  4. To live out your life in relationship with God
    (Barry & Connolly- The Practice of Spiritual Direction)

WHO IS A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR?

A spiritual director doesn't have to be a pastor or spiritual leader, it can be a friend who can help you see and sense God in your everyday life.

  • 1. Spiritual direction is about a person's actual relationship with God.
  • 2. Spiritual direction is about a person's ongoing relationship with others - experienced in prayer.
  • 3. Spiritual direction is about taking a person from point A to B.
  • 4. Spiritual direction is about allowing God to direct. God is the Director.

WHAT DO I NEED FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION?

  1. Create space in your life where God can direct your path. God is the ultimate spiritual Director.
  2. The space you have created in which God can act, Nouwen calls it the "address" of your house of life.
  3. God communicates to your spiritual house address when you pray.

It requires

  1. Time
  2. Structure
  3. Relationship

Here is an example from our church-wide Bible reading in the book of Judges: "Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment." -Judges 4:4-5

  1. Set a time for spiritual direction at home. Pursue the discipline of prayer to direct others to see and sense God in their everyday life. Use prayer to help others see and sense God in their everyday life.
  2. Have a structure for spiritual direction at home. Pursue sacred readings (Lectio divina) for spiritual direction. Use the Word of God to help others see and sense God in their everyday life.
  3. Foster spiritual belonging for spiritual direction at home. Pursue forgiveness to move forward. "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." -Matthew 18:20

COMMUNICATE GOD'S WORD IN TIMES OF DOUBTS AND DIFFICULTIES

"Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded 'Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor...'" -Judges 4:6
"If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!" -Judges 4:8

COMMUNICATE GOD'S PROMISES TO MOVE FORWARD

"Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?" -Judges 4:14

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION TAKES TIME AND COMMITMENT

"...for whom I labor in birth again..." -Galatians 4:19
Spiritual direction is a labor of love.

THE GOAL OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION IS SPIRITUAL FORMATION

  1. "...until Christ is formed in you." -Galatians 4:19
  2. You need a spiritual director in your life until Christ is formed in you.
  3. As parents, you need to provide spiritual direction to your children until Christ is formed in them.
  4. As leaders, you need to provide spiritual direction to others until Christ is formed in them.

HOME-BASED FAITH CHALLENGE WEEK 2

Send a CARD or write a LOVE note to someone this week.

Go old school. People will love receiving cards or notes instead of just bills.

  1. Take a picture of the card or love note and share it on social media.
  2. Let your card and love notes brighten up the lives of someone today.

Last week's challenge of sharing "A Good Tree" was amazing. A picture really did speak a thousand words.