kayebledsoe@presbycc.org - Resource Center Director 's email address www.presbycc.org

• Christian Spirituality in an Uncooperative Age- Unit II , 1994-95 Foundational Curriculum, Current Issues. Christian spirituality calls us away from frantic attempts to heal ourselves by means of secular theories toward surrender to the grace of God. 5 sessions

• Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People - Video. Six 26-minute programs on one video; Discussion guide included. - Nancy and John Ortberg share with us their spiritual journey. Together they discuss spirituality, spiritual disciplines and living spiritually transformed lives. Personal challenges are issued for to us to develop our own spiritual disciplines through our prayer life, Bible study, and servanthood.

The Programs

1. The Spiritual Life - Experiencing God in the Here and Now

   What is spirituality? Why does spiritual growth sometimes happen and sometimes not? Why does growth seem to occur in some lives and not in others? Why does God often seem absent and far away?

2. Spiritual Disciplines - Helping Ordinary People Grow Spiritually

   The key to spiritual growth is discipline. Spiritual disciplines are practices that help us overcome the sins that separate us from God. Spiritual disciplines draw us closer to God.

3. Quiet Time with God - Communicating with God Through Prayer

   An important first step in the spiritual life is slowing down—eliminating hurry and busyness from our lives so that we can center on God and commune with him through prayer.

4. Meditating on Scripture - Washing our Minds with God’s Word

   An important step in living spiritually transformed lives is to be grounded in Scripture. The purpose is not to get through the Bible but to get the Bible through us.

5. Living the Spiritual Life - The Action Side of Spirituality

   Paul tells the Ephesians that we are created to do good works, which is the action side of spirituality. The key is servanthood—letting our lives overflow into the lives of others.

6. Developing a Rule for Life - Having a Well-Ordered Heart

• Following Christ Today: Reformed Spirituality, Video. (63.5 minutes)

The focus of this video is Reformed Spirituality --- centered on Christ. In the Reformed tradition, "spirituality" is nothing other than "following Christ today", whenever your "today" is. Christ is the center. The spiritual life is a response to God's grace in Christ. The intended audience for this video is people who say "if I wanted to get serious about spirituality, what would I do?". Study guide included

Part 1 - Spiritual Freedom, Spiritual Discipline

Part 2 - The Risks of Spiritual Discipline

Part 3 - Mind and Heart Together

Part 4 - Spirituality and Justice

Part 5 - Many Voices, One Spirit

• Growing in the Life of Christian Faith with Study Guide - A report approved by the 210st General Assembly (1989) Presbyterian Church, USA. This report begins by exploring the nature and dynamics of growth in the life of Christian faith and then turns to the topic of growth in faith and in the life of faith, attempting to uncover what , from the perspective of the Reformed tradition, we may say about such growth.
• Book of Confessions Study Edition, PC(USA). The eleven confessional documents that together form Part I of The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and introductory essays that provide historical and theological background for each of these documents.
• The Spirit Guides the Church: A Study in Acts - Video. This is a biblical curriculum combining eight twenty-minute video teaching sessions with a Bible Study Handbook. The series was prepared with adults in mind, but it is also appropriate for High School youth.

• Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life, Marjorie Thompson. Book. Marjorie offers a framework for understanding the spiritual disciplines, as well as instruction in developing and nurturing those practices. The book includes a group study guide and selected annotated bibliography. CL3/THO/s
• Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People, Dorothy C. Bass, ed. Book. This book explores 12 central Christian practices. The contributors explore each practice in depth by placing it in its historical and biblical context, reexamining its relevance to our time, and showing how it gives depth and meaning to daily life. Leaders guide included. Go to  HYPERLINK http://www.practicingourfaith.org
  www.practicingourfaith.org for more details. CL3/BAS/p
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth - Video (2 tapes). Four, 50-minute presentations which investigate the classic disciplines of the spiritual life.

• Lord Teach Us To Pray: 6 Studies on Spirituality and the Lord's Prayer, Kerygma. Book. 6 Sessions of one hour each. This study will examine the Lord's Prayer as providing the best guide to biblical spirituality.
• Foundational Curriculum- PCUSA. 1992-93. The Christian Life. Book & study guide. Christ is the center of the Christian life, the plumb line, the model, the beginning and end of all that we are. 5 sessions - 1- The Sign of Our Call 2- Whom Do We Follow? 3- What Is Wisdom? 4- How Do We Teach? 5- What Is Our Work?
• Foundational Curriculum - PCUSA. 1994-95. Discipleship: The Way of Jesus Christ. Book & study guide. 5 sessions: 1- The Call to Discipleship 2- The Problem of Discipleship 3- Discipleship as Identity in Christ 4- Pathways of Discipleship 5- The Fruits of Discipleship
• Foundational Curriculum - PCUSA. 1995-96. The Christian Life. book & study guide. We are called to a new life in Jesus Christ. This invitation involves our whole lives and includes self-denial and taking up the cross. This unit of study examines the gift and the task of the promise of salvation. 5 sessions: 1- A Journey Never Complete 2- Spiritual Phonics: Prayer & Bible Reading 3- Discipling the Mind of Faith 4- The Purpose of Christianity 5- We're All In This Together
• Practicing Your Path; a book of retreats for an intentional life, Holly Whitcomb. Book. Innisfree Press. Designed for individuals who want to create a private spiritual retreat day for themselves, and for leaders of church group retreats, the retreats are easily customizable. Topics: Sabbath, Hospitality, Prayer & Action, Fasting, Giving Back to God, Living into Your Call, Accountability. CL3/WHI/p
• Spiritual Life in the Congregation: A guide for retreats, Rueben P. Job. Book. CL3/JOB/s This book discusses how to prepare for a retreat, how to plan for a retreat, what kind of leadership is needed, what happens after a retreat. It has models for a church-wide retreat, a youth retreat, an older adult retreat, a personal guided retreat, a private retreat, and an action retreat.
• Harvest of Righteousness: A Spiritual Discipline of Devotion in the Reformed Tradition, Rebecca Bradburn Langer. Book. CL3/LAN/h. Aimed at helping Christians grow in prayer, Bible reading, and personal worship, this beautifully crafted workbook provides a 4-week program for individuals and small groups in the practice of daily worship. Drawing from the rich treasure of spiritual discipline in the Reformed tradition, the author has prepared biblical passages, devotional readings, prayers, and helpful exercises for each day of the 4-week program.
• The Road Home: Images for the Spiritual Journey, Sara Covin Juengst. Book. CL3/JUE/r. The author writes about images of the road found in Scripture and explores their implications for the Christian spiritual journey. It seeks to assist Christians in discovering what it means to be "followers of the way" amidst the challenges of a contemporary world.
• Active Spirituality: a guide for seekers and ministers, Kent Ira Groff. Book. CL3/GOO/a. The author illuminates a path of belief, prayer, and the discipline of service.
• Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens, edited by Dorothy Bass and Don C. Richter. Upper Room. CE7/BAS/w. Book. This book is a collaborative effort of 18 adults and 18 teen authors that advocates a set of Christian practices that are crucial to human well-being and that, together, shape a life well lived. Visit their website at www.waytolive.org.
• Spirituality - Cloud of Witnesses audio journal on youth , church and culture. Volume 2. CD-ROM. This audio journal offers theological reflection on spirituality and youth ministry. It brings together scholars, pastors, lay people, and youth to encourage and support church leaders in their ministry. This journal is for anyone concerned with reaching young people with the good news of Jesus Christ. To request a free subscription, contact iym@ptsem.edu - Institute For Youth Ministry, Princeton Theological Seminary, PO Box 821, Princeton, NJ 08542-0803 or phone: 609-497-7914. Visit their website at www.ptwem.edu/iym.
• Companions in Christ: A Small-Group Experience in Spiritual Formation, Upper Room Books. This 28-week spiritual journey draws us into daily time with God and to one another through individual reading and reflection, and gathers participants weekly with others to share reflections.
• Living the Christian Life: A Guide to Reformed Spirituality, Robert H. Ramey, Jr., & Ben Campbell Johnson. Book. CL3/RAM/l. This book is readable, presents Calvinistic theology in modern terms, describes a spiritual life that is different from some popular forms of spirituality…and gives clear guidance for study groups. The authors provide practical suggestions, lesson plans and exercises, and recommendations for encouraging spiritual growth.
• The Work of the Holy Spirit- A short-term study course for adults. PCUSA curriculum- 5 Sessions that address questions like, "How do you know that the Spirit is present?
• Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share by Susan R. Garrett and Amy Plantinga Pauw. This book is a devotional guide that leads kids through both better-known and many lesser-known passages of scripture, each accompanied by a meditation and short prayer to help stimulate family reflection and discussion. CE9/GAR/m
• Christian Doctrine, revised edition, Shirley C. Guthrie. A best-seller for more than 25 years, this book has introduced thousands of laity, students, and theologians to the tenets of the Christian faith. Part 5 of the book, "God the Holy Spirit and New Life" answers question like: Who is the Holy Spirit? What is Christian Spirituality? What are the gifts of the Spirit? T/GUT/c
• God's Vision, Our Calling: Hope and Responsibility in the Christian Life, Janice E. Catron. Book. CL4/CAT/g The author uses scripture passages to explore six aspects of our calling as Christians - relationship, choice, new identity, way of life, competence, and ministry - and how this calling relates to God's vision. Concise and ideal for individual as well as group study, with questions for reflection and Key Learnings at the end of each chapter.

• Find online at www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/nurture.htm .

Spiritual Nurture for Peacemakers is a new online resource produced by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.

Created for the peacemaking task of nurturing our faith in Christ, this new resource contains three elements: prayers for peace, daily scripture readings using "The Biblical Witness to Peacemaking," and questions to use in a Community Bible Study process.

Spiritual Nurture for Peacemakers is designed to help congregations provide worship experiences that express the reality of God’s peace giving and respond to Christ’s call to live as peacemakers. This resource will also help deepen the spiritual life of individuals and communities and equip people to share the gospel message of peace to the world.

• "Lord Teach Us To Pray", is being revised by the Office of Spiritual Formation, is intended as a practical guide to prayer, offering practices and methods that can be used by individuals, families and groups at specific times or throughout the day. If you would like to be notified when the revised version is ready, contact Catherine Duncan , 888-728-7228, ext. 5306, cduncan@ctr.pcusa.org . You will be able to order it from PDS by calling 1-800-524-2612. The cost is not available yet.

• Spirituality and Liberation: Overcoming the Great Fallacy, Robert McAfee Brown. In this book the author confronts a dilemma that has plagued Christians for centuries: the separation between the spiritual and the temporal, between prayer and social involvement. After searching examination of the two spheres, he outlines a new vision of Christian wholeness

• Our denomination has significant resources to address spiritual formation from the Reformed tradition. These resources are lodged chiefly right in our General Assembly headquarters, in the Office of Spiritual Formation and in your Presbytery's Resource Center. The Office of Spiritual Formation recently was evaluated for effectiveness by PC(USA) Research Services through surveying members, 93 percent of whom said that spiritual formation was very important in the life of the church, and 75 percent of whom requested more resources. The upshot of the survey is that the office seems to be a well-kept secret, although its resources - both people and printed matter - are in great demand, and are considered extremely important by those who have discovered the office. (Web site - www.pcusa.org/spiritualformation

• Hungryhearts is a newsletter of the Spiritual Formation Program of the PCUSA, a ministry of the General Assembly Council. website - www.pcusa.org/spiritualformation .

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