Overview OF SESSION 1: Following Jesus (Practice of prayer)

Who are you following? Everybody is following somebody. Put another way: We’re all disciples. The question isn’t, “Are you a disciple?” but, “Who or what are you a disciple of?” In this session, we explore what it means to be a disciple or apprentice of Jesus.

Opening questions

  • Describe in brief your spiritual journey thus far (EXAMPLES: Give everyone a chance to share in 1-2 sentences or break into small groups and encourage everyone to share a 3-minute story from their childhood that deeply affected their spiritual journey.)

Teaching Thought

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. —Mark 1v16-18

SUMMARIZE THE SESSION (Ideally the leader watches the short video in advance and summarizes the following in their own words for 5 minutes or so using the points below… if prefer to send the video the group in advance or watch together that is fine as well)

  • Following Jesus is based on the first-century practice of rabbis and apprentices.

  • Today, to follow Jesus means to apprentice under him.

  • To apprentice under Jesus is to organize your life around three driving goals:

    • Be with Jesus

    • Become like Jesus

    • Do as he did

  • Apprenticing under Jesus means practicing a way of life.

  • One of the best ways to begin is through a daily prayer rhythm, where you create a time and place for solitude, silence, and prayer.

Discussion questions

  1. As you look back on your life, who or what has had the greatest impact on your spiritual journey thus far?

  2. What do you think is the driving aim of your life? Your top goals and priorities?

  3. How can we as a community be praying for you?

Close in Prayer

Practice of the Week: Developing a daily prayer rhythm

Leaders, first share how you spend time in prayer or what your struggles are to practice a healthy prayer practice.

We need more than information for transformation. The practices of Jesus (which we’ll learn more about in Session 04) help to get the teachings of Jesus into the muscle memory of our bodies. They turn the idea of following Jesus into a reality in our daily life.

And one of the best ways to begin to “be with Jesus” is by developing a daily prayer rhythm.

There’s no “right” way to do this — you may choose to go on an early morning walk with your dog or curl up under a blanket with a cup of tea or sit cross-legged on the floor and breathe deeply. You may pray the Psalms or let a prayer app guide your meditation. You may do this before the sun rises or as it sets.

Whatever you decide, our exercise for Session 01 is to develop a daily time and place to commune with God through the practices of silence, solitude, and prayer.

Here are a few suggestions for your practice:

  • 01 Find a quiet place that is distraction-free.

    • This could be a corner in your home or a nearby park. Find somewhere that you can focus and be at peace.

  • 02 Find a quiet time.

    • For many people, first thing upon waking is the best possible time to do this; but for you, it may be before bed, or while your baby is napping mid-morning, or on a lunch break.

    • The general rule is: Give God your best time of the day.

  • 03 Come to quiet.

    • If at all possible (unless you’re using an app such as Lectio 365 or Pray As You Go to guide your prayer time), put your phone away in another room. Start with a few deep breaths … in and out of your nose, and let your mind and body calm down.

    • This may take a few minutes. You’re not in a hurry.

    • And then...

  • 04 Open your heart to God in prayer.

    • Again, there’s no “right” way to pray. But you don’t have to start from scratch.

    • For thousands of years, followers of Jesus have used the Psalms for daily prayer. The Psalms are a collection of poetic prayers found in the middle of the Bible, and they were designed to be prayed, not just read.

    • You can pray one psalm or pray a few; it’s up to you. You can start in Psalm 1 and keep going to pray a selection. If you want to pray one psalm, here are some we suggest you start with: Psalms 1, 23, 37, 40, 42-43, 63, 84, 86, 103, and 139.

      This whole exercise can be done in five minutes, or it can easily take up to an hour — again, that’s up to you. The key is: Start where you are, not where you feel you “should” be. If two or three minutes is all you can make happen, start there and take the next step.

OPTIONAL

If you’d like to continue your conversation, here are some additional questions for reflection:

01 When you envision starting your day with silence, solitude, and prayer, what excites you? What challenges you?

02 Think about your week and come up with a plan. When and where will you engage in this practice?