Periodically, a new program appears calling individuals to a deeper commitment to Christ. Generally, these programs suggest some form of accountability for practicing the spiritual disciplines. Throughout the centuries—from the Desert Fathers to the Spiritual Disciplines of St. Ignatius to the eight-point record system of 1950s Sunday schools to the contemporary practices of Richard Foster—this call to a deeper spiritual life has been part of a Christian’s journey. Currently, people are expressing renewed interest in spiritual direction, a process through which a trained director helps a seeker discern the ways of the Spirit. The director often guides the seeker to the classical spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines affect both the inner and outer life. The inner disciplines include prayer and meditation, fasting, Bible study and devotional reading, silence and solitude, and the practice of taking a moral inventory. The outer disciplines include worship and praise, fellowship, missions, ministry, service, and the giving of one’s resources. These disciplines help deepen a believer’s faith and increase his or her intimacy with Christ. We practice them to approach wholeness and health and experience our salvation more fully. Through the disciplines, we learn to walk in fellowship with Christ, who transforms us. Then, as a natural outcome, we extend that love into the world. God issues the call to a deeper life in a variety of ways, but however we receive the call, the purpose of the disciplines is to help us “follow God more nearly, know God more clearly, and love God more dearly ” (Richard of Chichester). In this unit, we take a deeper look at some of the disciplines and consider their practice as a response to God’s love. “Richard of Chichester,” bartleby.com,  (18 December, 2002).

Spiritual Disciplines: Obligation or Opportunity?

Religion & Spirituality

Miley, Jeanie

Sherman, Cecil

Christian Books & Bibles

NextSunday Resources

“Facing Life’s Challenges” is the common thread that binds the next four sessions. These Bible Study sessions explore four significant challenges common to most persons of faith. They are challenges faced by every generation of believers. First, is the challenge of new light. What do we do when we see new light on old truth? Do we close our eyes and pretend not to see, or do we follow new light into the pain and joy of growing and changing? In the second lesson, we face the challenge of time’s limits. We will not live on this planet forever. There is a limit to the time of our lives. Parents are aging. Children are growing. The years are passing. How can we best live each of our days, keeping in mind that any one of our days could be our last? The third challenge is the formidable task of living with mystery. Tragedy, suffering, and pain leave us struggling to understand the incomprehensible and inexplicable mystery of life. Real spiritual maturity means being at home with mystery and choosing silence over inadequate explanations. The last of the four challenges is the endeavor of authentic spirituality. Is there an authentic Christ-centered spirituality for sincere followers of Jesus who don’t feel at home with self-righteous hyperreligion, on the one hand, or cool nonchalance, on the other? These four challenges are a quartet of difficult issues—neither simple nor easy to ponder. Consider them in the light of the Scriptures and in the spirit of Christ our Lord.

Facing Life's Challenges

Poole, Charles E.

Easter Confessions

May, David M.

Let’s admit that being Christian is not easy. We encounter temptations of one sort or another at every turn. We are disappointed by people who hurt us. The Scriptures teach us that Jesus was completely human and subject to the same temptations and frustrations common to all of us; yet, he remained sinless. He was surrounded by bumblers and opposed by the power structures, but he never gave up on them or his mission. What was his secret? We want to say his divinity made the difference, because then we would have an excuse for our failures. Yet no such claims are found in the Scriptures. I would like to propose that Jesus’ secret was a life of prayer.  Prayer was essential in Jesus’ life. Through prayer, he achieved a unity of action and purpose with God. His longing to know the mind and feel the heart of God drove him to open his life to God through prayer. Luke’s portrait of Jesus reveals one whose thoughts, words, and actions were born out of prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to pray and urged them to be persistent. Prayer, he taught them, was the way of the Kingdom of God.  The study of Jesus’ prayer life can deepen our own prayer practices. Jesus prayed because he believed God loved him and wanted to share in his life. He found his identity in God; the more Jesus prayed, the more he understood God and himself. The study of Jesus’ prayer life reveals to whom we pray, how to pray, when to pray, and what to expect from prayer.  As a result of these studies, we may find ourselves more comfortable with establishing a prayer lifestyle. The struggles of Jesus in prayer may give us courage to struggle with God. Prayer shaped the life and mission of Jesus, and it can shape the life and mission of the church.  These five sessions examine the importance of prayer at various stages of Jesus’ life and ministry. He made no important decisions without consulting God. Jesus’ human relationships and actions were all shaped by a sense of God’s presence. As we study the lifestyle of Jesus, we may discover a lifestyle that will allow God to bring to completion the good work among us which God began in Jesus (Phil 3:6). Jesus’ life of prayer, always in harmony with God’s purpose for humanity, put him at the center of the Kingdom of God.  NextSunday Resources provides adult Bible studies on a wide range of topics, all of which are useful for individual or group study. A printed Study Guide offers four, five or six lessons with in-depth commentary and Bible background material. A free, downloadable Teaching Guide features a wealth of options, questions and ideas for teaching each lesson.

The Prayer Life of Jesus

Bailey, Raymond

Add the wit and wisdom on Cecil Sherman to your library. After 15 years of Cecil Sherman expounding scripture in the Formations Commentary, you can now purchase the 5 Volume compilation of the best of his commentary from Genesis to Revelation.

Formations Commentary: Genesis-Job (Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary)

Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Incorporated

Formations Commentary: Psalms-Malachi (Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary)

<p>Add the wit and wisdom on Cecil Sherman to your library. After 15 years of Cecil Sherman expounding scripture in the Formations Commentary, you can now purchase the 5 Volume compilation of the best of his commentary from Genesis to Revelation.</p>

Formations Commentary: Matthew-Mark (Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary)

Formations Commentary: Luke-Acts (Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary)

Formations Commentary: Romans-Revelation (Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary)

<p>By My Own Reckoning is Cecil Sherman’s gift of memory to those whose lives he has touched through his many years of ministry and service. In this rare autobiography, Dr. Sherman reflects on his life as a pastor, as a husband and father, and as a key moderate figure in the SBC political controversy of the 1980s. More importantly, Sherman shares with readers intimate history of his life and ministry, from his origins as the descendent of preachers and farmers, to his pastoral years, and ultimately to the tender love story of caring for his wife, Dot, as she fades into the haze of Alzheimer’s disease. Writing in the same astute, conversational style that has endeared him to so many readers of Formations commentary, Dr. Sherman has given voice to memories of family, Baptist history, and lifelong ministry that should not be forgotten.</p>

By My Own Reckoning

Biographies & Memoirs

Smyth & Helwys Pub

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sherman, Cecil. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Sherman, Cecil