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painter who brings a blank canvas to life, God masterfully creates the world and every living thing in the first chapter of Genesis. Yet in this case, there is no canvas. God speaks into the "formless void" and creates light (v.2). God speaks, and the waters separate from the sky. God speaks and the "earth brings forth living creatures of every kind" (v.24). For six days God creates all life by speaking it into existence. The speech and voice of God creates and brings forth life. The speech and voice of God brings order to chaos. And at the close of each day's work, "God saw that it was good."
Monday, July 19, 2010
The God who speaks Life and Order into Existence
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Learning to Listen
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Week 5 – Spiritual Growth Development Part III
Celebration of Discipline Bible Study
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 5 – Spiritual Growth Development Part III
Last week we concluded the discussion of the baby/infant stage of spiritual growth. This week we will discuss the 2nd stage of spiritual growth, a toddler. The toddler stage of human development is the stage of eating solid food, trying to be independent, testing the boundaries, and having temper tantrums. This is the stage of discernment when a toddler learns to distinguish good and bad by touching, they mimic the actions of others, form words, constantly hearing the word ‘NO’ and often talk in full sentences. When we view the toddler stage in spiritual growth the discernment comes from the wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. According to the Old Testament (OT), “the Hebrews used several words to describe stages of a child’s growth. A very young child was called a “suckling,” which meant that he was still nursing. Then he was referred to as a “weaned one”; this change was an important milestone in a child’s life. When the child matured a bit more, the Hebrews said he was a “toddler.”
As we view our spiritual growth in the toddler stage we find ourselves being less dependent on others. We are becoming proactive in our devotion and being corrected and guided by the Holy Spirit. We are starting to understand and comprehend the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and using church lingo. Although we are still young in our spiritual journey we must be careful of any type of doctrine. When we are not fully grounded or rooted we can be easily led astray in our thinking, therefore we can use Matthew 13:4-6 to interpret this stage and the baby/infant stage. When we want to quickly grow up in our faith we are like these seeds.
When we are starting out on this Christian Journey, we are shallow in our thinking and talking. We do not possess all the tools necessary for spiritual growth. Our knowledge is an inch deep. This is why in verse 19-21 Jesus explains the aforementioned text. As a toddler in the faith we will hear many things, we will hear about tradition, we will hear about order and we will hear about positions but we must learn to discern what we hear and be doers of righteous. As we know this is the stage of let me do it by myself. When we find ourselves as unplanted seeds on this journey we may need to take a step backwards to focus on why we really confessed and committed our lives to Christ. Toddlers of the faith can be led away by smooth talk, the promise of wealth and riches or given “speckled green meat” as Dr. Katie Cannon said in a lecture some years ago. When our discernment hasn’t reached the maturity level we are not able to stand firm and combat the forces of evil. We find ourselves in a battle without armor. We are so eager to show people what we’ve learned so we talk to be heard and do things so others can see us because we are growing in our faith. When we grow and mature it is seen in our actions, our conversations and our lifestyle.
This is our foundational stage where we start the process of listening to God and allowing God to transform our minds and hearts. At this stage we must be careful not to get caught up with messy people or messy situations. When we start mimicking those who have a partial relationship with God we tend to follow them instead of the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Luke 6:49). When our spiritual development foundation is laid properly we are able to stand. As I mentioned the first year is very critical but it’s the first 5 to 7 years that where the word will be rooted in you. Our relationship with God is what we make of it. Take the time to know God for yourself, read and study your Bible to become familiar with the Word so it can have an impact on your life and those around you.
Going Deeper:
1. How deeply rooted in the word of God are you? Can others persuade you to do things I use to do?
2. Do you believe there are some cracks in your spiritual foundational development? If so, where do you think they came from?
3. What causes us to seek independence from God?
Next week we will look at the Stage of a Child/Teenager
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 5 – Spiritual Growth Development Part III
Last week we concluded the discussion of the baby/infant stage of spiritual growth. This week we will discuss the 2nd stage of spiritual growth, a toddler. The toddler stage of human development is the stage of eating solid food, trying to be independent, testing the boundaries, and having temper tantrums. This is the stage of discernment when a toddler learns to distinguish good and bad by touching, they mimic the actions of others, form words, constantly hearing the word ‘NO’ and often talk in full sentences. When we view the toddler stage in spiritual growth the discernment comes from the wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. According to the Old Testament (OT), “the Hebrews used several words to describe stages of a child’s growth. A very young child was called a “suckling,” which meant that he was still nursing. Then he was referred to as a “weaned one”; this change was an important milestone in a child’s life. When the child matured a bit more, the Hebrews said he was a “toddler.”
As we view our spiritual growth in the toddler stage we find ourselves being less dependent on others. We are becoming proactive in our devotion and being corrected and guided by the Holy Spirit. We are starting to understand and comprehend the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and using church lingo. Although we are still young in our spiritual journey we must be careful of any type of doctrine. When we are not fully grounded or rooted we can be easily led astray in our thinking, therefore we can use Matthew 13:4-6 to interpret this stage and the baby/infant stage. When we want to quickly grow up in our faith we are like these seeds.
When we are starting out on this Christian Journey, we are shallow in our thinking and talking. We do not possess all the tools necessary for spiritual growth. Our knowledge is an inch deep. This is why in verse 19-21 Jesus explains the aforementioned text. As a toddler in the faith we will hear many things, we will hear about tradition, we will hear about order and we will hear about positions but we must learn to discern what we hear and be doers of righteous. As we know this is the stage of let me do it by myself. When we find ourselves as unplanted seeds on this journey we may need to take a step backwards to focus on why we really confessed and committed our lives to Christ. Toddlers of the faith can be led away by smooth talk, the promise of wealth and riches or given “speckled green meat” as Dr. Katie Cannon said in a lecture some years ago. When our discernment hasn’t reached the maturity level we are not able to stand firm and combat the forces of evil. We find ourselves in a battle without armor. We are so eager to show people what we’ve learned so we talk to be heard and do things so others can see us because we are growing in our faith. When we grow and mature it is seen in our actions, our conversations and our lifestyle.
This is our foundational stage where we start the process of listening to God and allowing God to transform our minds and hearts. At this stage we must be careful not to get caught up with messy people or messy situations. When we start mimicking those who have a partial relationship with God we tend to follow them instead of the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Luke 6:49). When our spiritual development foundation is laid properly we are able to stand. As I mentioned the first year is very critical but it’s the first 5 to 7 years that where the word will be rooted in you. Our relationship with God is what we make of it. Take the time to know God for yourself, read and study your Bible to become familiar with the Word so it can have an impact on your life and those around you.
Going Deeper:
1. How deeply rooted in the word of God are you? Can others persuade you to do things I use to do?
2. Do you believe there are some cracks in your spiritual foundational development? If so, where do you think they came from?
3. What causes us to seek independence from God?
Next week we will look at the Stage of a Child/Teenager
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Week 4-Spiritual Growth Development II
Celebration of Discipline Bible Study
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 4-Spiritual Growth Development II
Last week lesson we compared the physical development of a baby/infant to the spiritual development of a baby/infant in Christ. This week I struggle to write because I wanted to move forward with the next level but God is holding me to the baby/infant stage just a little while longer. The more I reflect on this stage of spiritual development I look back on my own spiritual walk and glean from that first year of nurturing, support and assurance. There were many days I doubted this was for me because I converted from Islam to Christianity. I witness first hard how wicked people could be to leaders, friends and others. I thought to myself I could have stayed a non practicing Muslim if this is what Christians act like this outside of Sunday morning. We can talk about this until Jesus comes back so let us move on with the rest of a babe in Christ.
If we shame the devil and tell the truth, the first year is always a struggle and the period of adjustment. If you don’t believe me think about when the newborn baby comes home, the first year of marriage, the first year of divorce, the first year in college, the first year in a new job or in a new city. It’s not easy but we learn along the way. Just as a baby learns how to crawl and walk we do the same as new Christians.
As a new Christian there was parts of worship, the language and traditions I just didn’t understand. The spiritual milk for a babe in Christ is more than just reading the Bible, it’s being taught with genuine love, being nurtured and reassured of the decision we made. The first year of our spiritual growth is to prepare us for the journey. The spiritual milk consists of getting to know your bible, learning simple prayers, starting a personal devotional period, understanding worship and the church lingo: terminology used (i.e. Salvation, Restoration, Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost, Ordinances, Tithing, Sacraments, Baptism, Communion, slain in the spirit, speaking in tongues and etc). As we learn the first year we need to be surrounded by people who will not only pray for us but pray with us. So many times in the first year we feel abandon because we are new to the faith, new to the community and new to the church. Many churches have ministries for the first year Christian, the babe in Christ or reborn Christian. These types of ministries are very vital for the first year. Many churches and Christian often suffer from “spiritual amnesia” according to Dr. Joel Gregory. We forget what it is like to be new in Christ and we just assume everyone grew up in the church. When we encounter new Christians they will be zealous, on fire and overly excited about this journey. To all the newcomers to Christ take your time to grow but remember God can speed the growing process like he did Paul (Acts 9:1-22), because Paul already had a foundation and a relationship with God.
Going Deeper:
1. Do you remember your first year as a Christian? Did you receive sufficient assurance? Did this make an impact as you began your journey?
2. Do you encounter non-church people on a regular basis? What type of language do you use when talking to them?
3. What are some things you needed more help as a babe in Christ? How can you improve the experience of new Christians in your church?
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 4-Spiritual Growth Development II
Last week lesson we compared the physical development of a baby/infant to the spiritual development of a baby/infant in Christ. This week I struggle to write because I wanted to move forward with the next level but God is holding me to the baby/infant stage just a little while longer. The more I reflect on this stage of spiritual development I look back on my own spiritual walk and glean from that first year of nurturing, support and assurance. There were many days I doubted this was for me because I converted from Islam to Christianity. I witness first hard how wicked people could be to leaders, friends and others. I thought to myself I could have stayed a non practicing Muslim if this is what Christians act like this outside of Sunday morning. We can talk about this until Jesus comes back so let us move on with the rest of a babe in Christ.
If we shame the devil and tell the truth, the first year is always a struggle and the period of adjustment. If you don’t believe me think about when the newborn baby comes home, the first year of marriage, the first year of divorce, the first year in college, the first year in a new job or in a new city. It’s not easy but we learn along the way. Just as a baby learns how to crawl and walk we do the same as new Christians.
As a new Christian there was parts of worship, the language and traditions I just didn’t understand. The spiritual milk for a babe in Christ is more than just reading the Bible, it’s being taught with genuine love, being nurtured and reassured of the decision we made. The first year of our spiritual growth is to prepare us for the journey. The spiritual milk consists of getting to know your bible, learning simple prayers, starting a personal devotional period, understanding worship and the church lingo: terminology used (i.e. Salvation, Restoration, Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost, Ordinances, Tithing, Sacraments, Baptism, Communion, slain in the spirit, speaking in tongues and etc). As we learn the first year we need to be surrounded by people who will not only pray for us but pray with us. So many times in the first year we feel abandon because we are new to the faith, new to the community and new to the church. Many churches have ministries for the first year Christian, the babe in Christ or reborn Christian. These types of ministries are very vital for the first year. Many churches and Christian often suffer from “spiritual amnesia” according to Dr. Joel Gregory. We forget what it is like to be new in Christ and we just assume everyone grew up in the church. When we encounter new Christians they will be zealous, on fire and overly excited about this journey. To all the newcomers to Christ take your time to grow but remember God can speed the growing process like he did Paul (Acts 9:1-22), because Paul already had a foundation and a relationship with God.
Going Deeper:
1. Do you remember your first year as a Christian? Did you receive sufficient assurance? Did this make an impact as you began your journey?
2. Do you encounter non-church people on a regular basis? What type of language do you use when talking to them?
3. What are some things you needed more help as a babe in Christ? How can you improve the experience of new Christians in your church?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Week 3 – Spiritual Growth Development
Celebration of Discipline Bible Study
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Click here to download: Week 3 – Spiritual Growth Development
For the past two weeks we talked about Spiritual Discipline and how they transform us from the inside. We also recognize that if we treat the disciplines as laws instead of a gift from God we have set ourselves up for failure and legalism. Now that we have a better understanding of the disciplines, let us look at the stages involved in spiritual growth development. This is a process and there are no shortcuts in spiritual growth.
There are five stages in our spiritual growth development: Infant/Baby, Toddler, Child, Young Adult and Adult. As we noticed each of these stages can be compared to the stages of human development. Over the next few weeks we will cover these stages and compare them to the human development at each stage. As we know the first year of growth is very critical. This is the stage of nurturing, assurance and gentleness. During the first year of a baby life their nourishment comes from milk either the mother’s milk or formula. When a newborn baby is brought home from the hospital the baby will sleep, get acclimated to the sounds and motions outside of the womb and rely on a parent to provide the nourishment of milk. Milk is the basic necessity for an infant during the first year of growth. According to Wikipedia, “Breastfeeding promotes health, helps to prevent disease, and reduces health care and feeding costs”.
Therefore, when we look at the first year of spiritual development we notice a similar pattern. When one is born again, they need the same nurturing, assurance, gentleness and so on. The difference between a newborn baby and a born again Christian is the age factor. When we are newborns of the spirit we are immature spiritually, but physically walking, talking and have our own presuppositions in life because we have heard and seen a lot. We have knowledge of God but not a deep knowledge. The spiritual baby as Dr. Cleophus LaRue stated during a revival one time, “can be gray haired babies”. This is an indication that we have the ability to accept Christ during any age in life and whatever the age we are still babies in the beginning.
As a baby needs milk to grow, as born again Christians we need the word of God and a mature Christian to help guide us. The key word is to guide us not make us like them but give us the tools necessary for the growth. When one accept Christ we want to be sure we made the right decision and if there is any doubt during the first year this is when many will walk away.
Let us look at a few scriptures as it relates to the nourishment of a new Christian.
1 Peter 2:2 - Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And so, brothers and sisters,a I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?
Hebrews 5:12-14 - For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; 13 for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
As you read each of these scriptures, think back to the time when you first accepted Christ. Was it hard for you to grasp what was being taught to you? Was the word being force-fed to you? Where you taught as a mature Christian knowing you lacked the foundation?
Going Deeper:
1. How would you handle your first church conference as a new Christian with allegations and insults being hurled at each other?
2. Are there times you feel like an infant/baby on this journey?
3. Why is it hard to move from the baby stage and grow as a child of God?
Additional lesson
http://www.gospelway.com/christianlife/steps_maturity.php
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Click here to download: Week 3 – Spiritual Growth Development
For the past two weeks we talked about Spiritual Discipline and how they transform us from the inside. We also recognize that if we treat the disciplines as laws instead of a gift from God we have set ourselves up for failure and legalism. Now that we have a better understanding of the disciplines, let us look at the stages involved in spiritual growth development. This is a process and there are no shortcuts in spiritual growth.
There are five stages in our spiritual growth development: Infant/Baby, Toddler, Child, Young Adult and Adult. As we noticed each of these stages can be compared to the stages of human development. Over the next few weeks we will cover these stages and compare them to the human development at each stage. As we know the first year of growth is very critical. This is the stage of nurturing, assurance and gentleness. During the first year of a baby life their nourishment comes from milk either the mother’s milk or formula. When a newborn baby is brought home from the hospital the baby will sleep, get acclimated to the sounds and motions outside of the womb and rely on a parent to provide the nourishment of milk. Milk is the basic necessity for an infant during the first year of growth. According to Wikipedia, “Breastfeeding promotes health, helps to prevent disease, and reduces health care and feeding costs”.
Therefore, when we look at the first year of spiritual development we notice a similar pattern. When one is born again, they need the same nurturing, assurance, gentleness and so on. The difference between a newborn baby and a born again Christian is the age factor. When we are newborns of the spirit we are immature spiritually, but physically walking, talking and have our own presuppositions in life because we have heard and seen a lot. We have knowledge of God but not a deep knowledge. The spiritual baby as Dr. Cleophus LaRue stated during a revival one time, “can be gray haired babies”. This is an indication that we have the ability to accept Christ during any age in life and whatever the age we are still babies in the beginning.
As a baby needs milk to grow, as born again Christians we need the word of God and a mature Christian to help guide us. The key word is to guide us not make us like them but give us the tools necessary for the growth. When one accept Christ we want to be sure we made the right decision and if there is any doubt during the first year this is when many will walk away.
Let us look at a few scriptures as it relates to the nourishment of a new Christian.
1 Peter 2:2 - Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And so, brothers and sisters,a I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?
Hebrews 5:12-14 - For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; 13 for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
As you read each of these scriptures, think back to the time when you first accepted Christ. Was it hard for you to grasp what was being taught to you? Was the word being force-fed to you? Where you taught as a mature Christian knowing you lacked the foundation?
Going Deeper:
1. How would you handle your first church conference as a new Christian with allegations and insults being hurled at each other?
2. Are there times you feel like an infant/baby on this journey?
3. Why is it hard to move from the baby stage and grow as a child of God?
Additional lesson
http://www.gospelway.com/christianlife/steps_maturity.php
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