Purposeful Living Series #1

Our Restless, Busy Society

Too often we feel overwhelmed by the many demands made on us. We
may seldom feel the inner peace and joy we desire. To celebrate life
together in community, to simply enjoy the beauty of creation, the love
of people and the goodness of God---those seem to be faraway ideals.
We perceive a mountain of obstacles preventing us from being where
our hearts want to be. It is painful to watch and experience.
The astonishing thing is that the battle for survival has become so
normal that few people really believe that life can be different. God
wants so much to bring us to new places, show us new perspectives, and
point out to us new ways. But in this hectic, pressured, competitive,
exhausting context, who can really hear him?
Oh how important is discipline. We crave prayer, silence, caring
presence, simple listening, adoration, community, and deep, lasting
faithful friendship. We all want these so much, and still there are
powers suggesting that all of that richness is mere fantasy.
We have to replace the battle for power with the battle to create space
for the Spirit.
-The Road to Daybreak by Henri Nouwen

Purposeful Living Series # 1

This series of three six-week classes focuses on the trilogy of books by David
Benner, Surrender to Love, The Gift of Being Yourself and Desiring Gods Love.
As you will note from the bibliography we have incorporated a number of other
Christian authors. The Purposeful Living Series is intended to help as you journey
and see how God is leading you on your faith journey.
As you travel the Hope Circle (from Seeker to Believer to Christ-follower to
Servant-leader), we pray this series will lead you to Lutheran Church of Hopes
mission statement, Reaching Out to the World Around Us to Share the
Everlasting Love of Jesus Christ.
As you participate in the series, we will be focusing on the greatest
commandment, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength and the second like it You shall
love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31).
Might Hope always be known as a church that loves God and loves others.
The series zeroes in on three questions that seem to incorporate the many
questions being asked by most everyone at some stage of their spiritual journey
(e.g., What am I here for? Am I doing what God wants me to do? Is there more to
life than this?) The three questions are:

(1) Who is God? (Discovering Gods Presence in Your Story)

(2) Who am I? (Becoming the Person God Created You to Be)
(3) What is my purpose in life? (Living the Life You were Meant to Live)
Many of you have already had classes that answered some of these questions.
Our purpose is to connect these three questions in ways that may help you find
more clearly how and where God is leading you on your faith journey.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, We have been created for good works, which God
prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
What are the good works God prepared for us to be doing?

How to benefit most from these classes

One of the benefits of group study is to learn from one another.

Participants can help one another on the journey.

Please read each session in advance. If you cannot attend a session, plan
for a way to interact with the content. In preparing for each session, you
will encounter discussion questions.

You are encouraged to keep a journal throughout this studyanswering

questions in advance of the session; recording what you hear from God;
noting what you are experiencing, thinking, and feeling at every step along
the way.

Pray regularly. As relationships build, you may want to share prayer

concerns.

At some point in our faith journey, we wake up to the fact that God has
already been at work in our lives, preparing us and realigning us toward a
way of life and service that befits who we really are. Discover how your life
experiences, strengths and acquired skills can help you determine where
God is calling you to serve in His Kingdom.

Many of us have never intentionally reflected on our lives. We tend to see

our life in pieces, living in the present tense of what is happening around
us and to us. Reflection on the whole of life with the intent of discovering
what God has done to bring us to this point in our lives is necessary to
gain perspective of the whole of our lives.

Many thanks to those who have helped in advising, teaching, and facilitating these materials
(Members of the Purposeful Living team, Randy Bray, Dennis Folden, Sid Gordon, Diane Haskins,
Diane Hicks, Mark Hicks, Jennifer Rhoads, Richard Schloerb, Julia Apple-Smith, Ron Smith, and Stu
Weers).
Special thanks to Diane Hicks for final editing.
If any misquotes or wrong use of the materials is discovered, the mistake is mine. Please contact me
so corrections can be made. Larry.lang@hopewdm.org

Purposeful Living Series - # 1

Discovering Gods Presence in Your Story
Session # 1: WHO IS GOD? CAN WE KNOW GOD?
To answer the question of our purpose here on earth we must know
Gods character and be in relationship with him; and we must see
ourselves as God sees us, without any masks or pretenses.
Session # 2: IT ALL BEGINS WITH LOVE!
In Matthew 22:37-38, Jesus tells us the greatest and first commandment is
to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your mind.
Session # 3: SURRENDER IS FOUNDATIONAL
Surrender is the heart of Christian spirituality because it is the path of
Christ. For those of us who would call ourselves Christ followers it must
therefore be our path.
Session # 4: SURRENDER AND THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY / MY STORY
Surrender is not the only means by which we access the grace of
transformation, but it is the most important.
Session # 5: DISCOVERING GODS PRESENCE IN YOUR STORY
Now that you have completed your story and identified the significant
people, events or circumstances in each stage of your story, you are ready
to begin to identify Gods processing in your life.
Session # 6: WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS?
The need for our faith journey to be a journey in community, we need
others walking beside us on our journey,--- to encourage us and hold us
accountable when necessary.