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A Gift from Our Family to Yours
July 19, 2026 - For the Church at the St. John Church of Christ
Spiritual Discipline: Spiritual Direction
In the New Testament we see a variety of relationships in which one person gives spiritual guidance to another. John the Baptist exhorts people to prepare themselves to receive the coming Messiah. Part of preparing themselves involved confessing their sins, receiving baptism, and receiving instruction from John, who taught them how to live out the changes confessions would bring. The discipline of spiritual direction is the desire to give caring attention to my relationship with God, accompanied by the prayerful presence of someone who helps me listen well to God. It is help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.
Jesus’ relationships to his disciples also reveal his personal attention to their growth – he didn’t give each of them the same advice, rather, he spoke to each of them in a way that they needed to grow. Spiritual direction is a relationship that allows one to assist another in discerning God’s activity and presence in his or her life. This relationship assumes that we all need help to listen to God and to live out his call.
A spiritual director listens with one ear to God (and the urging of the Holy Spirit) and the other to the directee, always encouraging the directee to recognize where God can be found throughout the journey. Spiritual direction is for those longing to drink from the river of life and ready to reflect on their own journey. This usually assumes a certain amount of spiritual maturity as well as an understanding of the importance of noticing God’s activity in the soul. Prayer, impressions, experiences, and behavioral patterns all become part of the direction process that moves toward a deeper intimacy with the Triune God.
Daily Verse of the Day
Worship Times
We meet together regularly on Sunday mornings. We would love to have you join us!
We have bible classes for all ages at 10:00 a.m. Following classes, we meet together as a church family at 11:00 a.m. for worship services.
On the first Sunday of the month we enjoy a potluck meal together following worship service.
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