An Extra Mile Study Guide E-Book

Sharon Garlough Brown

• Herausgeber: IVP Formatio
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Sensible Shoes Series
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Seitenzahl: 44

Beschreibung

What next steps is God calling you to take? Join the characters of An Extra Mile, the final book in the Sensible Shoes series, as they journey through the seasons of Lent and Easter. In this eight-week study guide you'll dive deeper into key spiritual practices from the book, using daily Scripture readings and reflection questions designed to help you be attentive to the invitations of the Holy Spirit. Each week concludes with discussion questions and suggested practices for groups to do together. This guide offers the perfect tools for individuals and groups to explore and apply the spiritual formation themes of An Extra Mile along with Mara, Hannah, Charissa, and Becca.

Leseprobe

An Extra Mile

Sharon Garlough Brown

Contents

Introduction

Week One: Chapters One and Two

Week One Group Discussion

Week Two: Chapters Three and Four

Week Two Group Discussion

Week Three: Chapters Five and Six

Week Three Group Discussion

Week Four: Chapter Seven

Week Four Group Discussion

Week Five: Chapters Eight and Nine

Week Five Group Discussion

Week Six: Chapters Ten and Eleven

Week Six Group Discussion

Week Seven: Chapters Twelve and Thirteen

Week Seven Group Discussion

Week Eight: Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen

Week Eight Group Discussion

Praise for An Extra Mile Study Guide

About the Author

More Titles from InterVarsity Press

Introduction

It’s been a joy for me to hear from readers who have been journeying with the characters through the Sensible Shoes Series, and I’m thrilled that the study guides are providing opportunities for individuals and groups to explore the spiritual formation themes in deeper ways.

An Extra Mile: A Story of Embracing God’s Call is the final installment in the series and takes place during the seasons of Lent and Easter. In this eight-week study guide you’ll find weekly spiritual practices, daily Scripture readings, and reflection questions designed to help you be attentive to the work and invitations of the Holy Spirit.

You can decide whether to read An Extra Mile first in its entirety and then return to do a slow study with the guide, or to read it a section at a time, matching your pace to the guide’s daily questions. I recommend keeping a travelogue of your journey. Even if you aren’t in the habit of using a journal, you’ll benefit from having a record of what you’re noticing as you move forward.

Not every question will resonate with you. That’s okay. You don’t need to answer every question every day. But do watch for any impulse to avoid a question because it agitates you or makes you feel uncomfortable. That’s probably the very question you need to spend time pondering! If you don’t have time to answer the questions you want to reflect on, simply mark them and return on the review days.

Some questions and themes are repeated as you journey with the guide, and you may be tempted to say, “I already answered that.” Listen with fresh ears. Is anything new emerging? Shifting? Coming into sharper focus? Use the questions as launching points for your journaling. If something in the chapter speaks to you and isn’t addressed in a question, spend some time journaling and praying about it.

Please note: A couple of the prayer experiences in the book require advance planning. Week four includes the Journey to the Cross, which incorporates art and Scripture. Some individuals or groups may desire to gather art that depicts Jesus’ road to Golgotha and schedule a prayer walk, or take a field trip to a location that includes “stations of the cross” (see the note about this in week four). Week five includes a silence and solitude retreat to be practiced either individually or in community. I recommend marking out a day on your calendar now.

If you’re not already practiced in using the prayer of examen (described in Sensible Shoes), you may want to explore it now. This is a wonderful tool for daily reviewing your life with God and can be incorporated as a short prayer at the end of each day.

I pray you’ll encounter God in significant ways as you read, reflect, and pray. May you discover many opportunities to know God’s love and embrace his call.

Sharon Garlough Brown

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

(2 THESSALONIANS 3:5)

Reading for Week One: Chapters One and Two

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE: CHANGE/LOSS INVENTORY AND LAMENT

This week take time to prayerfully review your last six or twelve months, identifying both positive and negative changes in health (physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual), relationships, employment, roles, and so on (see p. 10 of An Extra Mile). What do you need to acknowledge as change or loss? What do you need to grieve?

Then write a lament to God, honestly naming disappointments, weariness, confusion, anger, sorrow, regrets, fears, or doubts. Ask God to meet you with resurrection life and hope.

Week One: Day One

CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO:BECCA AND HANNAH (PP. 3-10, 38-44)

Scripture Meditation: Matthew 5:4

Read the text aloud several times. Imagine Jesus speaking the words to you. Breathe it as prayer.

For Reflection and Journaling

1. Have you, like Becca, ever experienced unpredictable grief triggers? How did you respond?

2. Have you ever received well-meaning but insensitive advice about how to cope with losses? If so, what advice were you given? How did you respond? Talk with God about what you remember or notice.

3. Describe Hannah’s sense of disequilibrium in her new life. In what ways do you identify with her?

Week One: Day Two

CHAPTER ONE:MARA AND CHARISSA (PP. 11-23)

Scripture Meditation: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Slowly read the verses aloud. Which words or phrases catch your attention and invite your prayerful response?

For Reflection and Journaling