Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together
Session 1
Before You Meet
I. Meditate 3-5 times on Colossians 3:1-17 this week.
- Start with prayer for yourself and for others reading the same verse, that the same Spirit that inspired these words would open your heart and mind to them as well.
- Then read (often out loud) and reread, stopping to ponder particular phrases or words. Go back to the same 10-15 verses multiple times in the same week.
- Taking notes on what the Word is doing in you is often helpful. If stuck, you can think through questions of the text like does this challenge me? Convict me? Does it promise me anything? How does it point to Jesus?
- After chewing on the Word, close with prayer, often turning the same verses you are reading into a prayer back to God.
II. Read Life Together, CH 1 (Community) and CH 3 (The Day Alone).
Highlight and/or take notes for discussion.
III. Read the blog “Patterns of Belonging” and write down some observations/reflections.
https://justinrossow.com/2012/04/24/patterns-of-belonging/
The Day You Meet
- Basic relationship building: share one major life event from your last 5 years and from your next 5 years.
- Interact with the material: based on your written notes, what was new; what did you question; how will you apply it? etc. You could go reading by reading, or just what jumped out most to you.
Prayer: End with a “popcorn prayer.” One person begins, “Father of all, we lay before You these joys and concerns . . .” and then pauses. In any order, as thoughts come, anyone can add a brief petition, ending with the words, “Lord, in Your mercy, . . .” to which all reply: “Hear our prayer.” This continues as the Spirit leads (it often starts out slow, builds, and then slows to nothing, kind of like popcorn popping . . .) until everyone seems to have prayed everything they are going to for now. Then the same person who began the prayer ends, “We pray this all in the name of Jesus, Amen.”
justinrossow.com 