The Selfless Way of Christ
A Self-Emptied Heart: The Discipline of Spiritual Formation
The Discipline of the Church
Pages 69-76
Mathew 16:13-20 (NIV) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
“Discipleship cannot be realized without discipline. The discipline of the Christian disciple is not to master anything, but rather to be mastered by the Spirit.”
If this is true, how does that change the way you view discipleship?
“One way of defining the spiritual life is to see it as a life in which we keep making connections between God’s story and our own.”
What are some ways that you have connected God’s story and your own? If this is one way of defining the spiritual life what are others?
“The first and most essential discipline by which our spiritual formation takes place is, therefore, the discipline by which we, the people of God, create space in the midst of our human chronologies to present the Christ-event as true for us.”
What does this mean? Do you agree?
“The story of Christ is therefore not ‘the greatest story ever told,’ but the only story ever told. It is the story from which all other stories receive their meaning and significance. The story of Christ makes history real .”
How does orienting our lives by the events in Christ’s life (his birth, death, resurrection, sending of the Spirit, etc.) add meaning to the other events in our lives?