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Streams Living Water RICHARD J. FOSTER Author of Celebration of Discipline—more than 2 million copies sold LEADER’S GUIDE STREAMS OF LIVING WATER Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith Resource Guide Books by Richard J. Foster n Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith n The RENOVARÉ Spiritual Formation Bible (Editor) n Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth n Celebrating the Disciplines (with Kathryn A. Yanni) n The Challenge of the Disciplined Life n Devotional Classics (edited with James Bryan Smith) n Freedom of Simplicity n Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home n Prayers From the Heart n Richard J. Foster’s Study Guide for Celebration of Discipline n Seeking the Kingdom n Spiritual Classics (edited with Emilie Griffin) Books by Gary W. Moon/Other Resources Video Curriculum (Curriculum of Christlikeness Series) n God Views: Seeing Clearly the One Who Loves You Most n Renovation of the Heart n Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth Family Devotion/Children’s Curriculum n The Bible Ride: Adventures That Bring the Gospel to Life (Volumes 1-4) n The Bible Ride Atlas (Volumes 1-4) n The Bible Ride Scenic Route (Volumes 1-4) Also by the Author: n Homesick for Eden: A Soul’s Journey to Joy n Falling for God: Saying Yes to His Extravagant Proposal n Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls: A Guide to Christian Approaches and Practices (edited by Gary W. Moon and David G. Benner) To Contact the Publisher: Web: www.lifesprings.net Phone: 1.800.541.1376 Address: LifeSprings Resources 2425 West Main Street P.O. Box 9 Last updated July 2013 Franklin Springs, GA 30639-0009 2013099 Streams of Living Water Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith Resource Guide Gary W. Moon Streams of Living Water: Resource Guide Copyright 2007 by LifeSprings Resources All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for information should be addressed to: LifeSprings Resources P.O. Box 9 Franklin Springs, GA 30639 ISBN: 1-932776-15-X All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Written by Gary W. Moon Designed by Jeffrey Hayes Johnson Printed in the United States of America Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 7 How This Resource Guide Is Organized ................................................................................ 8 Before the First Session ............................................................................................................ 9 Tips for Leading Group Discussion ..................................................................................... 10 Tips for Using the DVD ........................................................................................................... 11 Final Word .............................................................................................................................. 11 Session 1: Imitatio: The Divine Paradigm ...................................................................... 13 Session 2: Understanding the Contemplative Tradition .............................................. 27 Session 3: Experiencing the Contemplative Tradition ................................................. 38 Session 4: Understanding the Holiness Tradition ......................................................... 48 Session 5: Experiencing the Holiness Tradition ........................................................... 59 Session 6: Understanding the Charismatic Tradition ................................................... 68 Session 7: Experiencing the Charismatic Tradition ..................................................... 79 Session 8: Understanding the Social Justice Tradition ................................................ 88 Session 9: Experiencing the Social Justice Tradition .................................................. 99 Session 10: Understanding the Evangelical Tradition .................................................. 108 Session 11: Experiencing the Evangelical Tradition .................................................... 120 Session 12: Understanding the Incarnational Tradition .............................................. 130 Session 13: Experiencing the Incarnational Tradition ................................................. 142 List of Works Cited ................................................................................................................................. 152 Introduction Foreword Welcome to the fourth installment of the DVD-based Curriculum of Christlikeness series! If you’ve been with us from the beginning, you know that we started with God Views, which featured the drama and comedy of Curt Cloninger. We began there because a person’s view of God is the most fundamental element of Christian formation. To misperceive God may result in a lifetime of avoiding his presence. But to see God clearly is to discover that the most powerful being in the universe is our compassionate Father. In the second installment Dallas Willard presented the next step, an intentional plan for Renovation of the Heart. He explored the six different components of you—thoughts, emotions, will, behavior, social relationships, and soul—and how the VIM (Vision, Intention, Means) model for spiritual transformation is a reliable pattern for change. In our third course, Richard J. Foster taught his classic text Celebration of Discipline as a fresh reminder of how the classical spiritual disciplines are ways by which we can live connected to God. In the words of Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, “Richard J. Foster has ‘found’ the spiritual disciplines that the modern world stored away and forgot, and has excitedly called us to celebrate them. For they are, as he shows us, the instruments of joy, the way into mature Christian spirituality and abundant life.” It is appropriate that our fourth curriculum component also features Richard J. Foster and his book Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith. Why? A maturing follower of Jesus sees God clearly, has entered into an apprenticeship program for heart renovation, engages in the classical spiritual disciplines as ways of being with God, and is willing to leave his or her comfort zones to drink deeply from each of the streams of Christian spirituality. Streams of Living Water is an invitation to live a balanced and well- rounded apprenticeship with Jesus. Foster begins Streams of Living Water with the assertion that Jesus is the source of each of the great traditions of Christian spirituality—Contemplative (the prayer-filled life), Holiness (the virtuous life), Charismatic (the Spirit-empowered life), Social Justice (the compassionate life), Evangelical (the Word-centered life) and Incarnational (the sacramental life). Once Foster persuades us that each tradition has its source in the life of Jesus, he devotes a chapter to each of the six traditions. Using his exceptional gifts of story-telling and eyebrow-raising insights, he provides us with historical, biblical, and contemporary examples of each rushing stream. He also offers definitional clarity and an honest appraisal of the major strengths and potential 7 streams of living water INTRODUCTION pitfalls of each. But perhaps most importantly, Richard Foster leaves the reader with the same desires experienced while reading Celebration of Discipline—a yearning to practice and experience. We are glad you are joining us for this curriculum. You’ll observe Richard as he teaches about each of the tributaries and again as he converses with a key representative of each stream. So if you are a person on a journey of spiritual transformation, we think you will be enriched by the curriculum and be encouraged to become even more balanced and holistic as you leave your comfort zone and wade into these six streams of living water. How This Resource Guide Is Organized Overview: This Resource Guide is divided into 13 sessions (lessons). Each 45- to 60-minute session involves an integration of a section of the Streams of Living Water DVD with material presented in the Leader’s Guide and Participant’s Guide. For each session, the leader will need: n Leader’s Guide n Bible n DVD Player, Monitor, Stand, Extension Cord, etc. n Streams of Living Water DVD n Streams of Living Water (the book) For each session, the participant will need: n Bible n Participant’s Guide (Optional) n Pen or Pencil Each session is divided into seven parts: n Before You Lead n Introduction n Warm-Up n DVD n Bible Study n Transforming Exercises n Summary Leader’s Guide 8 INTRODUCTION Before You Lead Before the lesson itself, you will be presented with a brief overview that will include important quotes, Scripture reference, list of materials needed, and the lesson outline. All you need to be an effective group leader is contained within this packet and between
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