to experience and follow the risen Lord Jesus

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to experience and follow the risen Lord Jesus
Session 1 (last night!),finding your faith
A question of experience A question of what you
believe is trueA question of following Jesus
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Experiencing the Spiritual Life
Session 2 finding your way
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The ultimate model for finding our way
the Spiritual Life of Jesus
Individual

• Did you not know that I must be about My
  Fathers business? Luke 2

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• Suppose
• You park a Honda Civic in a garage designed for a
  Ferrari.
• Suppose you park it there every week.
• After 30 years, what do you have?

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• Suppose
• You park a Honda Civic in a garage designed for a
  Ferrari.
• Suppose you park it there every week.
• After 30 years, what do you have?

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• Suppose
• You park a Honda Civic in a garage designed for a
  Ferrari.
• Suppose you park it there every week.
• After 30 years, what do you have?

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• Individual Faith
• Recognizing that God wants to create order out of
  chaos
• Recognizing that God welcomes me into that
  process
• Recognizing that only I can take responsibility
  for my own spiritual development

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The Life of Faith Get Religion Born
Again Trusting Following Repentance Conversion Re
generation Discipleship Rule of Life Faith Etc.
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The Life of Faith Get Religion Born
Again Trusting Following Repentance Conversion Re
generation Discipleship Rule of Life Faith Etc.

• Spiritual Disciplines
• Corporate Worship
• Daily Office
• Fasting
• Meditation
• Ministry
• Study
• Pilgrimage
• Solitude
• Spiritual Reading
• Tithing
• Etc.!

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Individual
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The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal
Individual
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The Holy Trinity
Communal

• If God is essentially communal
• and we are made in Gods image
• then to be fully human necessitates our being in
  community

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Commissary or Community?

• You feel youre an outsider when you find
  yourself saying them, you all, yours, and
  they as in your parish, their priest, or
  they want me to volunteer.

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Commissary or Community?
They

• You know you belong when you find yourself saying
  us, we, my, ours, as in our parish,
  my priest or, especially, come join with us.

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Following the way
The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal
The first thing Jesus did after his baptism and
fasting before he started his ministry was to
create two communities for himself
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The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal

• The Twelve

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The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal

• Peter, James, John

I do not pray for these alone, but also for
those who will believe in Me through their word
that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in
Me, and I in You that they also may be one in
Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given
them, that they may be one just as We are one I
in them, and You in Me that they may be made
perfect in one, and that the world may know that
You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have
loved Me. -- John 17
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Following the way
The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal
Self-organized, Collaborative Communities (aka
small groups )
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Following the way
The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal
Small groups are Gods method for connecting you
into Christian community
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Following the way
The basic unit of a community
Modern thinking individualism
Ancient / Postmodern thinking
community Families, Tribes, Clans, Communities
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Following the way
Consider
Which species is more impressive?
Which is species is more effective?
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Following the way
Think small
I dunno about this
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Following the way
The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal
Self-organized, Collaborative Communities A I A
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Following the way
The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Communal
Self-organized, Collaborative Communities If
Jesus needed community for HIS life, how much
more do WE need it?
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The Way of Christianity the Spiritual Life of
Jesus
Institutional
Communal
Individual
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The Way of Christianity the Spiritual Life of
Jesus
Institutional
Luke 4.16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had
been brought up. And as His custom was, He
went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day
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Institutional
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The Spiritual Life of Jesus
Organized Religion Collaborative Leaders
Consistency Continuity Corporate Worship
Foster Communities Festival Leadership
Development Liturgy Organized Ministry Pass on
the Tradition Ritual Celebration Sacrifice Shrine
Stimulate Faith Teach the Faith
Institutional
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The Way of Christianity the Spiritual Life of
Jesus
Institutional
Communal
Individual

• What happens if a component is missing?

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Those who put all their spiritual eggs in the
institutional basket, eventually end up
disappointed disillusioned, and spiritually
stunted not because there is something wrong
with the institution
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but because Spiritual Life needs all three

• What can St Marks Do
• to Foster ALL Components?

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Disciples are those who follow the wayby
living as baptized Christiansin authentic
community

• Individually, Communally, and Institutionally

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Disciples are those who follow the wayby
living as baptized Christiansin authentic
community

• Conscious, intentional followers of Jesus,
• in authentic community,
• for the healing of the world.

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Questions?
Institutional
Communal
Individual
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lunch!

• FridayFinding your Faith
• Saturday830 AM Breakfast9 AM Session 2
• Finding your Way
• Noon Lunch 1220 - 2 PM Session 3
• Anglicanism, Sacraments, BaptismSunday at
  WorshipYour official welcome into the St Marks
  community!