Spiritual disciplines for the christian life by donald whitney is one of the first books that i received as a new christian. The disciplines in the scriptures the goal of all spiritual disciplines rather train yourself for godliness. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life ebook. May 23, 2014 drawn from a rich heritage, spiritual disciplines for the christian life will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines. Personal spiritual disciplines center for biblical spirituality. By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them, spiritual disciplines for the christian life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to. For the purpose of godliness fasting must always have a spiritual purposea godcentered purpose, not a selfcentered onefor the lord to bless our fast. Gods grace is unearned and unearnable, we are not trying to win gods love. In the first chapter, whitney lays out the reason for doing these disciplines. Odallas willard there are many different spiritual disciplines that can help us to grow and mature in christ. The group of disciplines being proposed here is a composite taken from several sources. It has so many markups you wonder why i even marked the.
There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world. Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life week four. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life center for. Get ebooks spiritual disciplines handbook on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. T oday we officially begin our journey through don whitneys book, spiritual disciplines for the christian life as we read this excellent book together, we have certain goals that we want to achieve personally and hopefully our conversation, questions, and considerations in the comments will encourage us in our pursuits. Spiritual activities such as prayer, meditation, fasting, singing, giving, etc. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life page 2 we have our hope set on the living god, who is the savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Spiritual disciplines oa discipline is an activity within our power that enables us to accomplish what we cannot do by direct effort. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life page 2 no more fasting when the bride of christ joins the groomsaviorking at the marriage supper of the lamb rev. Dallas willard, the spirit of the disciplines san francisco. Always update books hourly, if not looking, search in the book search column. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life kindle edition.
Accountability partner to give a regular and honest account of my choices, priorities and temptations to a godly and wise companion who points me to christ. Youll find more than 10,000 words of new material, such as seventeen methods of meditation on scripture, up from six in the original edition. Serving is a discipline with little natural appeal. Discipline is not part of the sin nature, but it is a natural component of the christian life. Martin luther, as it is the business of tailors to make clothes and cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of christians to pray. Whitney suggests it is like having two phone lines god is always on one of them and you are aware of him even when speaking on the other. May 09, 2012 for the purpose of godliness chapter 5, donald whitney, spiritual disciplines for the christian lifewednesday 9 may 2012 3.
Discipline is defined as training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior. For example, some form of prayer is practiced almost universally, even among nonchristians. The discipline in the scriptures the goal of all spiritual disciplines rather train yourself for godliness. Disciplines for the disciple 7 disciplines for the disciple the discipline of meditation introduction 1. In other words, solitude is simply putting yourself in a situation where you can be alone for the scriptural disciplines of bible reading, prayer, and meditation. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life page 2 iii. Copeland disciplines for the disciple 4 attention cf. To evaluate your current need for a spiritual break, use balancing the demands, by kirk byron jones p. Biblical spirituality,personal spiritual disciplines, spiritual disciplines for the christian life to read part 1 of this post, click here. If you could see my copy, you would think that i must have had it for decades. Assume that the church service you attend on a sunday morning is intended to honour, praise and glorify god. Spiritual disciplines with donald whitney doctrine and. Discipline 1978, discussing the various spiritual disciplines has become a staple element of conservative christian intalk in north america. Don whitney has been professor of biblical spirituality and associate dean at the southern baptist theological seminary in louisville, ky since 2005.
Adele calhouns spiritual disciplines handbook has become a standard for those who want to expand their knowledge of spiritual practices. Spiritual exercises that bring one closer to god, to become more godly in character and behavior b. Whitneys book, spiritual disciplines for the christian life, published by navpress in 1991, is a thoughtful exploration of various christian disciplines that broadens the traditional protestant training regarding the means of saving and strengthening grace. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading spiritual disciplines for the christian life. Glorifying and enjoying god through reformed spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life is a rare jewel for its spiritual wisdom and practical insight. For individual practice, the most important personal spiritual disciplines are first, the intake of scripture, and second, prayer. First, practice the right disciplines those personal and interpersonal spiritual disciplines found in the bible. Don whitney, to talk about spiritual disciples in general, and fasting and silence in particular. Aug 12, 2014 spiritual disciplines are a lot like physical exercise. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life week two.
Spiritual disciplines for the christian life study guide kindle edition by whitney, donald s. Abiding in christ, as the branches abide in the vine, describes the disciples life with christ 15. Spiritual disciplines bible knowledge and application the spiritual disciplines are an important aspect of discipleship. Whitney, spiritual disciplines for the christian life, 2 nd ed. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life spiritual disciplines for the christian life by donald whitney is one of the first books that i received as a new christian. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life kindle edition by whitney, donald s. Whitneys ten key spiritual disciplines and the supporting argument for each are well presented and convincing. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life page 5 j. A gospelcentered spirituality is a sola scriptura spirituality. May 08, 2012 whitney suggests it is like having two phone lines god is always on one of them and you are aware of him even when speaking on the other. Jun 02, 2016 t oday we officially begin our journey through don whitneys book, spiritual disciplines for the christian life as we read this excellent book together, we have certain goals that we want to achieve personally and hopefully our conversation, questions, and considerations in the comments will encourage us in our pursuits. Donald whitney spiritual disciplines lives transforming.
The gospel and the discipline of solitude donald s. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life study guide. For example, to get a general overview of your spiritual health, see your walk with god, by kevin a. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life study guide whitney, donald s. For the most part, the practicing of the disciplines will usually have two outcomes for our soul. January 1 is a good date to reset our spiritual practices.
Singing through which one can praise god and be edified e. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life week three. At the end of the examination of this work comes a desire to begin the journey. Don whitney has been professor of biblical spirituality and senior associate dean at the southern baptist theological seminary in louisville, ky since 2005. In this series we have defined spiritual disciplines as. I am often asked if, and in what ways, donald whitney differs from those who are promoting mysticism and the ancient practices of roman catholicism in evangelical circles. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life kindle. The following pages describe many, but not all of the spiritual disciplines that. In fact, some contend that solitude is not so much in itself a discipline, but a context for practicing the personal disciplines. Before that, he held a similar position at midwestern baptist theological seminary in kansas city, mo, for ten years.
Now this beloved resource has been revised throughout and expanded to include thirteen new disciplines along with a new preface by the author, giving us practical guidance in our continuing journey toward intimacy with christ. It is a great privilege and honor to be on the podcast, tony. In habits of grace, mathis writes brilliantly about three core spiritual disciplines that will help us realign our lives and strengthen our faith. Above all, the discipline of divine grace is derided as legalism or is entirely unknown to a generation that is largely illiterate in the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. In a world where everything seems to be getting more complicated, this book will help us to. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading spiritual. Don whitney, professor of biblical spirituality and associate dean of the school of theology at the southern baptist theological seminary in louisville. Giving by which we can please god and be blessed cf. Futher study is indicated in the life of jesus and a more complete list of the practical things he did regularly. I download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. You know its important, but its not always easy to get excited about leg lifts and pushups. Abiding in christ assures fruitfulness and productivity.
And even though were using the metaphor of working to build strength, dont mistake that for needing to. Before that, he held a similar position the first such position in the six southern baptist seminaries at midwestern baptist theological seminary in kansas city, mo, for ten years. Now, spiritual disciplines arent another set of rules or boxes to check off. Ten questions to diagnose your spiritual health by donald s. Also includes practical suggestions for cultivating these practices in your daily life.
The role of spiritual disciplines although the holy spirit gives a believer the desire and the power for a biblical spirituality, a certain reformatting of the life and habits must also take place to practice a gospelcentered piety. Donald whitney chose to focus this book on the personal disciplines alone, meaning that there are some core disciplines that are glossed over such as fellowship and confession, as well as dimensions of disciplines like prayer that are unnecessarily limited in the. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life week one. The role of spiritual disciplines although the holy spirit gives a believer the desire and the power for a biblical spirituality, a certain reformatting of the life and habits must also take place to. Joe and jimmy sit down with author, professor, and fountain pen enthusiast, dr. Drawn from a rich heritage, spiritual disciplines for the christian life will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines. And even though were using the metaphor of working to build strength, dont mistake that for needing to work for gods favor or love. Watch someone who seems naturally drawn to various disciplines, and you can quickly get discouraged, as the subtle strain of legalism infects and paralyzes your efforts toward spiritual growth. Don is known for his classic book, spiritual disciplines for the christian life, and hes the author of the new book from crossway titled, praying the bible. Spiritual disciplines for the christian life donald s. The disciplines can either bring consolation a feeling of closeness with god or desolation a feeling of gods absence.
The doctrine of the disciplines latin disciplinae, meaning courses of learning and training is ix. Drawn from a rich heritage, spiritual disciplines for the christian life will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines, including. Spiritual disciplines are a lot like physical exercise. Updated and revised for a new generation, whitney s book and companion 10lesson study guide reveal the importance of prayer, worhip, fasting, meditation, stewardship, evangelism, silence, and journalingand how theyll help you grow in godliness. Whitney has identified ten that he includes in his book. Bible intake prayer worship evangelism serving stewardship fasting silence and solitude journalling learning the book is prefaced with an examination of the reason for disciplining ourselves in the spiritual disciplines and whitney teaches here that we are to do all things for gods. Well 2016 is here, and with a new year brings renewed interest in disciplines and particularly the spiritual disciplines. The dangers of spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines. Whitney spiritual disciplines for the christian life. Absolute fast avoidance of all food and liquid ezra 10. Whitney now, for the first time, ten questions to diagnose your spiritual health and spiritual disciplines for the. Goals of spiritual disciplines train yourself for godliness.
These are the skills and methodologies that bring about faith and behavioral maturity, and which, in combination with gods spirit provide the experiential. The comments to book spiritual disciplines for the christian life other readers will be able to determine with regards to a book. This book is a decent introduction to some spiritual practices to help christians grow in godliness, but it feels incomplete. We need the rugged strength of christian character.