Category Archives: Illuminating Faith Studies
Illuminating Faith – The covenanting God draws near
These studies will assist small groups in a local congregation to reflect together on the set texts of the Revised Common Lectionary for the first five weeks of Lent in Year C.
If Sunday’s preacher is a member of such a group, she or he will also be assisted by hearing our others in the group react to the readings, and so suggesting how they might be handled in the sermon and liturgy.
The study booklet contains the full text of the RCL readings for each week and some questions to guide groups into reflecting together on the texts.
llluminating Faith studies are occasionally edited for corrections and other minor adjustments. The version date is incorporated into the file name of the download – check that you’ve got the most recent version!
Illuminating Faith – The Spirit in the Desert
‘The Spirit in the Desert’ is the title of a series of talks by Rowan Williams, available on YouTube. This IF study is an unofficial guide through those talks. The talks can be complemented by Willams’ book on the theme (‘Silence and Honey Cakes’), which is recommended supplementary reading.
The studies introduce the thought of the early Christian ‘desert fathers’, and invite modern believers to be more aware of their own calling to be Christians in the place they find themselves, with the people with whom they’ve been placed.
The series requires minimal preparation by group members – you can just turn up and listen to the audio – and would serve well as a Lenten study, or at any other time of the year.
llluminating Faith studies are occasionally edited for corrections and other minor adjustments. The version date is incorporated into the file name of the download – check that you’ve got the most recent version!
Illuminating Faith – Called to Holiness
A valuable resource for congregational study is a
publication coming out of the Australian Anglican-Roman Catholic ecumenical dialogue, Called to Holiness in Australia.
The document is available here. It lends itself particularly to a Lenten series over 4 weeks but could be used at any time.
Illuminating Faith – Is God among us or not?
Howard Wallace’s studies on the Exodus trace the interactions of Moses and the Israelites with their liberating God as they make their way through the desert to the Promised Land. These four studies are based on 4 central texts in the Exodus narrative, addressing themes of worship, mission and identity; promise and trust; leadership; and coming face to face with God
llluminating Faith studies are occasionally edited for corrections and other minor adjustments. The version date is incorporated into the file name of the download – check that you’ve got the most recent version!
Illuminating Faith – Reading the Creed Backwards
The Nicene and Apostles’ Creed are important elements of Christian tradition, appearing regularly in the worship of some churches, although also sharply repudiated in the worship of others. These studies are intended as something of a ‘prelude’ to saying the Creed. The studies do not deal with the detail of the credal statements but consider the structure of the Creed as a whole. The emphasis is more on the manner of Christian faith, considering Christian confession as less a matter of content than as a matter of ‘style.’
llluminating Faith studies are occasionally edited for corrections and other minor adjustments. The version date is incorporated into the file name of the download – check that you’ve got the most recent version!
Illuminating Faith – The Lord’s Prayer – Prayer for those who can no longer pray
Bruce Barber’s The Lord’s Prayer is an introduction to this Prayer – and to Christian prayer generally – as specifically Christian prayer. After framing the problem of prayer for the modern mind – believers and non-believers alike – Barber unpacks the Prayer line by line, drawing out its specifically Christian nuances. The study is supported by guiding questions and is suitable for personal or small group use; it could be comfortably be covered in a 4 to 6 week study series, although returning to the material again and again will be rewarding.
llluminating Faith studies are occasionally edited for corrections and other minor adjustments. The version date is incorporated into the file name of the download – check that you’ve got the most recent version!