Rooted
Life with god | week 3

As we think about deepening our Life with God, we talked last time about how the study of the Scriptures is vital in connecting with Jesus. Today, we want to give you another tool for how to be connected to Jesus—and that is to develop a discipline of silence and solitude.

Learning objective: to be able to quiet your mind and soul long enough that you might hear the voice of God.

Prior to meeting with your mentor or small group, please do the following:

WATCH:

READ:

• “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1–7, NIV)
• “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, NIV)
• “What are some steps into solitude? The first thing we can do is to take advantage of the “little solitudes” that fill our day. Consider the solitude of those early morning moments in bed before the family awakens. Think of the solitude of a morning cup of coffee before beginning the work of the day. There is the solitude of bumper-to-bumper traffic during the freeway rush hour. There can be little moments of rest and refreshment when we turn a corner and see a flower or a tree. Instead of vocal prayer before a meal consider inviting everyone to join into a few moments of gathered silence. Once while driving a car load of chattering children and adults, I exclaimed, “Let’s play a game and see if everyone can be absolutely quiet until we reach the airport” (about five minutes away). It worked, blessedly so. Find new joy and meaning in the little walk from the subway to our apartment. Slip outside just before bed and taste the silent night. These tiny snatches of time are often lost to us. What a pity! They can and should be redeemed. They are times for inner quiet, for reorienting our lives like a compass needle. They are little moments that help us to be genuinely present where we are. 
  —Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 105-106
• “At Sabbath time we suspend dominion work and instead worship the dominion-Maker. We cease reaping for our own cupboards and instead bring an offering to Him. We rest not because we are tired. We don’t cease labor because it is finished. We don’t worship because now there are grapes on the vine and cattle in the stalls. We rest and worship one day in seven simply because He is the Lord.”
  —Richard A Swenson, M.D., Margin, p. 201

WRITE AND REFLECT:
WRITE AND REFLECT:
Rooted Content

• On a separate piece of paper, take 3 minutes at most to write down everything that is on your mind right now, be it a task, an event or a relationship—anything that is cluttering your thoughts. Afterwards, sit in silence for 2 minutes. What did this experience do for you? Did it create anxiety or relieve anxiety? Why?
• Most of us feel “crazy busy”. At times, we say it to others almost as a badge of honor. Imagine what it might be like to be busy and yet be at peace in every relationship and situation you were in. What might that look like? Feel like?
• How well do you rest? Do you have rhythms of rest built into your day? Your week? If not, what is the next thing you could do to start one? What would it take to make this a regular practice?

The Bible Project Content

• All the books within the Bible were written in different literary _________.
• What are the main types of literature in the Bible?
• Why is narrative so compelling for us to read?
• How are we supposed to relate to the characters in the Scripture?
• What are the main types of narrative?
• Why is poetry important in the Scriptures?
• What are the main types of poetry?
• What is prose discourse and it’s purpose?
• What are the main types of prose discourse?
• A book of the Bible has a ___________ literary style yet each book is a unique ______________ of literary styles.

TAKE ACTION:

• Often, we have a hard time hearing God because our minds are so cluttered with other things that we don’t have space to hear. This week, practice solitude.
• Go to a place you can be completely alone for at least 30 minutes. Have a pad and pen with you so you can write down anything that comes into your mind so you can stop thinking about it. Once you get all the noise to stop, practice being silent and still. Listen for God to speak. Write about your experience afterward in a journal entry

As we think about deepening our Life with God, we talked last time about how the study of the Scriptures is vital in connecting with Jesus. Today, we want to give you another tool for how to be connected to Jesus—and that is to develop a discipline of silence and solitude.
Learning objective: to be able to quiet your mind and soul long enough that you might hear the voice of God.
Coaching objective: help participants engage in a practice of silence and solitude
INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW

• Thanks so much for being here today. 
• This week you should have covered the week three in your Participant Guide and your Biblical Study Guide and sent me your homework for both.
• In the Participant Guide, week three introduces you to a second tangible practice to foster an intimate life with God—and that is silence and solitude.
• Can I have 2-3 people share from their homework in week two or the practices you committed to trying on around the reading of Scripture? What was it like? Where did you get stuck? How did you experience God?
• Anything that stood out to you from the Biblical Study Guide homework that felt particularly insightful or helpful?

COACHING: 10-15 MINUTES

• Preferably, prior to your coaching session you’ve read the participants homework. As you do so, pray for God to highlight a few people from what they’ve written in the homework. This will give you a jumping off point for coaching.
• Practice first: A Spiritual Exercise of Emptying
  • Before we do any coaching, I want to lead us through a spiritual exercise of Emptying. Often, when considering prayer, we cannot get to the place of hearing God’s heart either for ourselves or others, because our head and hearts are so full. This is a practice of acknowledgement and surrender to God of all things we are burdened by.
  • I’m going to ask you to take close your eyes and three deep breaths; then, I’m going to lead you through a series of questions to ask yourself, then we’ll end by you holding before the Lord whatever has risen to the surface. This exercise will take 5-10 minutes.
  • Invite the Holy Spirit, then ask participants to take three deep cleansing breaths. Then ask the following questions, pausing for a minute or two between questions to allow for the Holy Spirit to speak to them.
    • What weighs heavy on my mind, heart, body? (pause)
    • Are there places of loss/grief that I have not engaged with fully? (pause)
    • What places of my heart and life do I find most difficult to let God enter into? (pause)
    • What else needs to be acknowledged?
    • Now imagine holding all that was brought to the surface in the palms of your hands, and simply lifting it up to the Father for Him to hold. (Pause)
    • Take three more deep breaths and come back to the group.
  • Would anyone like to share what they experienced during this exercise? Not so much the content of what came up, but how you encountered God during it.
• Coaching Second:
  • I’d love to do some coaching around prayer. Ask if you can coach a specific person (whom you identified from the homework).
  • Ideas to coach around: someone who has never practiced silence and solitude; someone who is anxious; someone who feels it’s “not for me”.
  • Potential questions to ask:
    • What feels the most stressful or anxiety-producing in your life right now? What about that situation makes you stressed or anxious?
    • How do you normally handle anxiety? What do you do? Withdraw? Work extra hard?
    • Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” and “My peace I give you”. How could you imagine your response to this situation being different if you were filled with peace from Jesus?
    • What has been your experience with silence and solitude?
    • How could you imagine getting quiet before the Lord helping this situation you’re in?
    • What would be a first-step you’d like to take to see what happens? When?

WRAPPING UP

• Thanks so much for engaging today. I’m excited for the journey each of you are on in your Life with God. 
• Let me pray to close us out for the night…alternatively, you can do prayer ministry for an individual or break the group up and have them pray for one another