Emotional Healthy Spirituality

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Week
 2
 –
 Know
 Yourself
 That
 You
 May
 Know
 God
 
  Reading:
 Chapter
 4
 
  Connecting
 
 1) Optional:
 how
 did
 you
 find
 the
 survey?
 What
 was
 your
 score?
 Did
 anyone
 look
 up
 the
  Scriptures?
 
 2) As
 an
 exercise
 in
 listening
 to
 our
 emotions,
 get
 everyone
 to
 share
 in
 a
 minute
 or
 less:
 
  a. Something
 in
 the
 week
 past
 for
 which
 you
 are
 most
 grateful
 (or
 where
 you
 felt
  most
 alive).
 
  AND/OR
 
 b. Something
 in
 the
 week
 past
 for
 which
 you
 are
 least
 grateful
 (or
 where
 you
 felt
  most
 drained).
 
  (This
 exercise
 is
 known
 as
 the
 Examen,
 mentioned
 on
 page
 73.)
 
  3) Optional:
 how
 was
 that
 for
 you?
 Was
 it
 easy
 to
 identify
 your
 emotions?
 
 
  Reading
 
  Intro
  An
 awareness
 of
 yourself
 is
 intricately
 related
 to
 your
 relationship
 with
 God.
 In
 fact,
 the
  challenge
 to
 shed
 our
 ‘old
 false’
 self
 in
 order
 to
 live
 authentically
 in
 our
 ‘new
 true’
 self
  strikes
 at
 the
 very
 core
 of
 true
 spirituality.
  In
 AD
 500,
 Augustine
 wrote
 in
 Confessions,
 ‘How
 can
 you
 draw
 close
 to
 God
 when
 you
 are
  far
 from
 your
 own
 self?’
 He
 prayed:
 ‘Grant,
 Lord,
 that
 I
 may
 know
 myself
 that
 I
 may
 know
  thee.’
  John
 Calvin,
 in
 1530,
 wrote
 in
 his
 opening
 of
 the
 Institutes
 of
 the
 Christian
 Religion:
 ‘Our
  wisdom…consists
 almost
 entirely
 of
 tho
 parts:
 the
 knowledge
 of
 God
 and
 of
 ourselves.
 But
  as
 these
 are
 connected
 together
 by
 many
 ties,
 it
 is
 not
 easy
 to
 determine
 which
 of
 the
 two
  precedes
 and
 gives
 birth
 to
 the
 other.’
  The
 vast
 majority
 of
 us
 go
 to
 our
 graves
 without
 knowing
 who
 we
 are.
 Without
 being
 fully
  aware
 of
 it,
 we
 live
 someone
 else’s
 life,
 or
 at
 least
 someone
 else’s
 expectations
 for
 us.
 This
  does
 violence
 to
 ourselves,
 our
 relationship
 with
 God,
 and
 ultimately
 to
 others.
 
  Theological
 Foundation:
 Image
 of
 God
  The
 journey
 of
 genuine
 transformation
 to
 emotionally
 healthy
 spirituality
 begins
 with
 a
  commitment
 to
 allow
 yourself
 to
 feel.
 Feelings
 are
 an
 essential
 part
 of
 our
 humanity
 and
  unique
 personhood
 as
 men
 and
 women
 created
 in
 the
 image
 of
 God.
 Scripture
 reveals
 God
  as
 an
 emotional
 being
 who
 feels
 as
 a
 person.
 Having
 been
 created
 in
 his
 image,
 we
 also
  were
 created
 with
 the
 gift
 to
 feel
 and
 experience
 emotions.
 Some
 of
 us
 may
 have
 learned
 
that
 feelings
 are
 not
 to
 be
 trusted;
 that
 they
 are
 dangerous
 and
 can
 lead
 us
 away
 from
  God’s
 will
 for
 us.
 While
 it
 is
 true
 that
 we
 are
 not
 to
 be
 led
 by
 our
 emotions,
 they
 do
 serve
 a
  critical
 function
 in
 our
 discipleship
 and
 discernment
 of
 God’s
 will.
 
  Get
 them
 to
 imagine
 (or
 you
 can
 draw)
 this
 pie
 chart:
 
 
 
 
  Bible
 Study
 
  Key
 Term
 
  Optional:
 has
 anyone
 ever
 heard
 the
 term
 ‘differentiation’
 before?
 
  A
 key
 term
 we’ll
 use
 tonight
 is
 differentiation1.
 It
 refers
 to
 a
 person’s
 capacity
 to
 define
 his
  or
 her
 own
 life’s
 goals
 and
 values
 apart
 from
 the
 pressures
 of
 those
 around
 them.
  Differentiation
 is
 a
 powerful
 tool
 against
 what
 we
 typically
 call
 ‘peer
 pressure’.
 In
 secular
  terms,
 we
 are
 meant
 to
 come
 up
 with
 our
 ‘life
 goals
 and
 values’
 on
 our
 own,
 but
 in
 Biblical
  terms
 they
 are
 given
 to
 us
 from
 God.
 
  In
 Biblical
 terms,
 it
 means
 I
 base
 my
 identity
 firmly
 on
 who
 God
 is
 and
 what
 he
 says,
 rather
  than
 on
 others
 and
 what
 they
 say.
 It
 means
 I
 am
 able
 to
 differentiate
 between:
 (a)
 What
  God
 says
 about
 me,
 and
 (b)
 What
 others
 say
 about
 me.
 Moreover,
 I
 am
 able
 to
 act
 firmly
 on
  who
 God
 is
 and
 what
 he
 says.
 
  You
 may
 have
 never
 thought
 of
 the
 story
 of
 David
 and
 Goliath
 in
 terms
 of
 ‘peer
 pressure’
  and
 ‘differentiation’,
 but
 there
 are
 powerful
 lessons
 to
 be
 learned.
 
  (Get
 someone
 to
 read
 1
 Samuel
 17:16-­‐45.
 As
 we
 read,
 see
 if
 you
 can
 pick
 the
 three
  characters
 that
 bring
 accusations
 against
 David.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  1
 Read
 page
 82
 of
 EHS
 or
 Google
 ‘Murray
 Bown’
 for
 more
 information.
 
Social
  Emotional
 
Physical
 
Spiritual
  Intellectial
 
Aspects
 of
 the
 who
 we
 are
 
1) What
 are
 some
 of
 the
 challenges,
 accusations
 and
 messages
 David
 is
 getting
 from
 the
  people
 around
 him:
 
 a. Eliab
 (v.
 28).
  How
 would
 you
 feel
 if
 you
 were
 the
 youngest
 and
 the
 eldest
 said
 these
 kinds
 of
  things
 to
 you?
 What
 would
 you
 do?
 How
 might
 similar
 scenes
 have
 played
 out
  with
 your
 siblings?
 
 b. Saul
 (v.
 33,
 38).
  How
 would
 you
 feel
 if
 a
 person
 in
 authority
 said
 you
 were
 unable
 to
 do
  something
 you’d
 set
 your
 heart
 on?
 Has
 this
 ever
 happened
 to
 you?
 
 c. Goliath
 (v.
 41-­‐44)
  Has
 anyone
 expressed
 contempt
 towards
 you?
 Threatened
 violence?
 How
 did
  you
 react?
 
  2) How
 would
 David
 have
 been
 able
 to
 overcome
 such
 powerful
 emotions?
 Imagine
  how
 each
 scene
 (above)
 could
 have
 played
 out
 differently
 if
 David
 didn’t
 keep
 his
  emotions
 in
 check.
 
 3) What
 truths
 did
 David
 hold
 onto
 and
 how
 did
 they
 impact
 his
 behaviour
 (vv.
 34-­‐37,
  45-­‐47)?
 
  Application
 
 1) Are
 there
 particular
 people
 or
 circumstances
 that
 cause
 you
 to
 shrink
 back
 in
 fear
 or
  ‘wear
 armour’
 that
 doesn’t
 fit?
 
  (Optional:
 repeat
 the
 introductory
 material
 with
 Augustine
 and
 Calvin)
 
  2) Finish
 by
 sharing
 with
 the
 group:
 
 a. Finish
 this
 sentence:
 “One
 thing
 I
 am
 beginning
 to
 learn
 about
 myself
 is…”
 
  OR
 
 b. Finish
 this
 sentence:
 “One
 thing
 I
 think
 I
 need
 to
 do
 in
 order
 to
 look
 beneath
 
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