Spending Time with God

Lesson 1: Creating a Space for Devotion: The Discipline of Solitude and Silence--The bottom line is that most college students and young adults starting in careers don't have room in their lives for cultivating the inner life. We must help them rediscover the lost art of solitude and silence before God. (Matthew 3:1-12; 4:1-11; 14:13-33; 17:1-9; 26:36-46; Mark 1:1-45; 6:31; 9:2-29; Luke 6:12-16; Galatians 1:17-18)

Lesson 2: Getting Past the Bible Game: The Discipline of Meditation--Meditation is the positive counterpart of solitude. In meditation we engage ourselves in thoughtful reflection, especially on God's Word; it can open the door to spiritual understanding and growth. To help our students understand the value of meditation it is imperative that we find our basis in the Scripture. (Genesis 24:63; Joshua 1:8; Psalms 1; 19:14; 48:9; 63:6; 77:12; 104:34; 119:5, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97,99, 148; 143:5; Luke 11:24-26; John 16:13)

Lesson 3: Where the Eternal Meets the Temporal: The Discipline of Prayer--In the Lord's Prayer we find a simple model which shows us some basic priorities for our prayers and suggests one possible format for praying. It is these priorities and the benefits of establishing them that we want your students to grasp in this lesson. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Lesson 4: Feasting on God Alone: The Discipline of Fasting--We will look at the practice of fasting throughout Scripture to determine just what God thinks about it. So few Christians today practice fasting that the topic is sure to raise a lot of curiosity and questions from your students. If you have not practiced fasting yourself, you may wish to bring in someone to help teach this important lesson. (Matthew 6:16-18; 9:15) Topics: Devotions, Fasting, Lord's Prayer, Meditation, Silence, Solitude, Spiritual Growth, prayer