Forever the same ... sharing
prayer through Lent
Introduction to a
Lent Course on Prayer
for use with the
Video, Jesus: today, tomorrow, forever?
It is the most natural thing
in the world ... and yet it can be the most difficult! Prayer
Those new to faith often want
to have practical answers to very practical questions about the life of
faith. How should I pray? How can I pray? Teach me to pray.
People new to faith are not
alone in asking such questions. People
whose faith has been a part of their lives for some time find themselves asking
very much the same questions. Maybe
their faith hits a difficult patch.
Maybe they long to grow in their faith.
How should I pray? How can I
pray? Teach me to pray.
These are not new questions. The very first followers of Jesus wanted to
find out more. They had prayed from
childhood. They had prayed with others. Yet, when they saw Jesus at prayer and
realised all that prayer meant to Jesus they felt strangely inadequate; they
wanted to find out more. ‘Lord, teach
us to pray.’
One way to learn is to
share. And that is what this Lent
Course is all about. Sharing. That’s one way of translating one of the
greatest New Testament words.
Koinonia. It’s occasionally
translated as ‘participation’, sometimes as ‘communion’, often as
‘fellowship’. It simply means
‘sharing’. It’s what happened when the
first followers of Jesus met together [see Acts 2:42]. It’s up there with ‘grace’ and ‘love’ as the
third dimension of Christian experience we celebrate as we say the words of The
Grace together (II Corinthians 13:13)
By sharing together we learn
from one another.
The Course makes use of the
five prayer meditations Jesus forever
the same which are the third part of the Video Jesus ... today, tomorrow, forever?
It may well be appropriate for the Group to meet during Holy Week
and watch the first part of the Video Jesus
for Today. Many of the themes
shared during the Lent Course will be echoed in that moving account of the way
a Passion Play took the story of Jesus to the streets and moved many who shared
in it.
Through the course the Group
will share an exploration of different dimensions of prayer
1. Friendship - sharing prayers of concern for a world in need
2. Conflict - sharing prayers of longing for a church too often
divided
3. Betrayal - sharing prayers of confession for our own betrayal of
Jesus
4. Death - sharing prayers of love with those who are bereaved
5. Resurrection - sharing prayers of praise in celebration of life
Each session will be made up
of three parts:
a. sharing friendship
b. sharing reflections on the Bible
c. sharing prayer
Each week there will be a focus
for prayer which will need some preparation beforehand. The prayers will make use of the Trade Badge
of the Trade
Justice Movement supported by Christian
Aid, CAFOD, Tearfund and many others.
The Group will need
·
a Host who will provide
refreshments which can be anything from ‘tea and biscuits’ to a light buffet
supper which some groups may find most helpful. The refreshments which begin the evening are a key part of sharing friendship
·
a Leader, supported by a
Helper, who will guide the group in the process of sharing reflections on the Bible and sharing prayer.
·
video player and TV to
show prayer meditations from Jesus for
ever the same, the third part of the Video Jesus ... today, tomorrow, forever?
·
a tape or CD player and
an appropriate CD or tape of quiet, reflective music for the time of sharing
prayer.
·
a focus for reflection -
a ‘table ornament’ which will be used to get minds thinking in sharing
reflections on the Bible and to act as a focus in sharing prayer. At one point in the evening these need to be
placed on a low table in the middle of the circle, or in a prominent spot as a
focal point.
1. Friendship - an empty jug of water and glasses or
paper cups for each member of the group
2. Conflict - Hot Cross buns for the refreshments, and
one Hot Cross Bun to go on a plate
3. Betrayal - two large glasses with an inscription
written or stuck on them.
4. Death - a bowl with some perfumed wipes on it.
5. Resurrection - a ‘crown of thorns’ encircling a nest -
with enough mini Easter eggs for each member of the group. Also a little dish with a small crown of
thorns blu-tacked around the plate.
·
enough Trade Badges
for each member of the group - group members will be asked to donate £2 towards
the Trade Justice campaign and invited to wear the badge as a reminder to
continue sharing prayer through the week.
·
Sharing Friendship
As
people arrive refreshments are served. This
is not only an opportunity to break the ice and build up friendship ... it will
help to prepare the way for sharing reflections on the Bible and for sharing
prayer. On the table or near the
refreshments place the ‘table ornament’ that will become the focus for
reflection. As people gather round in a
circle and everyone has arrived it is best to encourage conversations to flow
and to enjoy a good time of fellowship together. Each week there are a couple of questions which can be used to
direct the conversation as this part of the evening comes to an end. This
sharing friendship helps shape the way the group will share reflections on the
Bible ... there may be connections to be made between the experiences people
have shared and the passage of the Bible they go on to share together. Those experiences may then help to shape the
prayer they will share.
·
Sharing Reflections on the Bible
Each
week the ‘table ornament’ will be used to lead into the reflections the group
shares on the Bible. It is very important
that a real sharing goes on. The idea
is not for one supposed ‘expert’ to tell the others how to read the passage,
but rather for people to share their own reflections. In doing that the group will be encouraged to look out for things
in the Biblical passage which will help to shape the prayers they share in the
final part of the session.
·
Sharing Prayer
Some quiet music will lead
into the final part of the session.
Whatever has been used to prompt reflections on the biblical passage
will now become a focus for sharing prayer.
While the leader will guide the group through a time of prayer together
the emphasis will be on sharing prayer together as a group. At each session one of the prayer
meditations from Jesus for ever the
same, the third part of the Video, Jesus:
today, tomorrow, forever? will be
used. A copy of that prayer meditation will be given to each group member to
take home and use for reflection during the week.
The course notes are clearly
divided into three sections - sharing friendship, sharing reflections on the
Bible, sharing prayer. They are
intended for use by the Leader.
·
words in italics provide
the leader with guidelines, explaining how the session works and indicating
things that need to be prepared beforehand.
·
a full script is
provided to introduce the three sections of each session. This could be used by a leader, who might
give other members of the group parts to read.
Leaders may well prefer to use the script as a starting point for their
own introduction. To help those who
want to adapt the script themselves key words and phrases are highlighted in
bold text.
·
in the section sharing
reflections on the Bible the intention is that the group will come up with
their own thoughts on the Bible passage.
The kind of points that will be raised are listed in a box - the leader
may find it helpful to prompt the group’s thinking on the points that they have
not come up with themselves. It would
be helpful for the Leader to have done some background work on the Bible
passage with the help of a commentary before hand.
The course notes may be down-loaded
and copied for use with the video, Jesus: today, tomorrow, forever?
The text is © Richard
Cleaves, 2002.
The video is available from
Christian Bookshops in the UK.
It is distributed by Evangelical
Films, Danbury Common Old Mission, The Common, Danbury, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3
4EE. It can be ordered on the Internet
direct from Evangelical
Films.
Friendship
– Conflict – Betrayal – Death - Resurrection