| Jeanie Miley
Adult
• 5 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 5 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• 5 Sessions of Bible Background
1. John 15:1-17
2. Matthew 7:24-29
3. Matthew 12:33-35; 7:1-5; 23:25-28
4. Matthew 25:14-30
5. 1 John 4:7-21
Periodically, a new program appears calling individuals to a deeper commitment to Christ. Generally, these programs suggest some form of accountability for practicing the spiritual disciplines. Throughout the centuries—from the Desert Fathers to the Spiritual Disciplines of St. Ignatius to the eight-point record system of 1950s Sunday schools to the contemporary practices of Richard Foster—this call to a deeper spiritual life has been part of a Christian’s journey.
Spiritual disciplines affect both the inner and outer life. The inner disciplines include prayer and meditation, fasting, Bible study and devotional reading, silence and solitude, and the practice of taking a moral inventory. The outer disciplines include worship and praise, fellowship, missions, ministry, service, and the giving of one’s resources. These disciplines help deepen a believer’s faith and increase his or her intimacy with Christ. In Spiritual Disciplines: Obligation or Opportunity?, we take a deeper look at some of the disciplines and consider their practice as a response to God’s love.
A part of the NextSunday Resources line of adult Bible studies, Spiritual Disciplines: Obligation or Opportunity? contains five lessons for use as individual study or group discussion. Each study contains lessons on the biblical material, combined with an additional commentary from an alternate, but complementary, viewpoint.
Jeanie Miley lives in Houston, Texas. Trained at the Spiritual Direction Institute in Houston, she is a spiritual director and teacher, retreat and workshop leader. She is the author of several books, including Joining Forces: Balancing the Masculine and Feminine, Sitting Strong: Wrestling with the Ornery God, and The Spiritual Art of Creative Silence.
Cecil Sherman is the commentary writer for Spiritual Disciplines: Obligation or Opportunity?. He has pastored churches in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey. He has most recently served as visiting professor of pastoral ministries at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is also author of the five-volume Formations Commentary series.
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