The following elements are from A Companion Guide to The Jesus Creed, also by Scot McKnight, and are aimed at giving shape to our conversations in person or in this space. As you can see, it is likely our conversations will span two weeks for each part of this text!
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McKnight considers this the Jesus Creed:
"'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no commandment greater than these."
He uses this to define spiritual formation: "Spiritual formation is about relationship--with God and with others" (Prologue) McKnight also poses a principle of such spiritual growth in each chapter.
Chapter 1: Mark 12:28-33; Luke 9:57-62. "Spiritual formation is about loving God and loving others. In particular, loving God means to follow Jesus personally." Imagine your life--with your family, with your co-workers, and with your church community--as a life dedicated to loving God and loving others. What could that life look like today? Tomorrow?
Chapter 2: Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:9-13. "The Lord's Prayer is a prayer that shapes our love for God and others." Consider some public prayers in our church community. How do they reflect the Lord's Prayer as love for God and for others?
Chapter 3: Matthew 6:9-15; Luke 15:11-32. "Abba loves us--this is the promise and the premise of spiritual formation." Mull over the joys and the difficulties you have in accepting that Abba loves you the way the world's best parent loves a child. Why does our image of God need amending as we learn more about God?
Chapter 4: Matthew 11:16-19; Mark 2:14-17; Luke 19:1-10. "At the table of fellowship with Jesus, where walls between people are broken down, we find healing, vision, and hope." Think about our congregation in terms of variety and diversity of those who gather at the table for communion. Where are the walls between people? What makes it difficult for us to be at the table together? Why are there walls between people? Are some walls good? Reflect on what might be/is different because you commit your mind to the message of the table; your heart to the fellowship of the table; your time to the people of the table; and your body to the unity of the table.
Chapter 5: Matthew 6:9-15; Luke 7:26-50; 19:1-10. "Abba is both loving and holy. Abba's love is sacred. Therefore, our love for Abba is to be sacred." Is your own love for God sacred? Does your love for God transform your words and your actions in every day life as well as when you're at church?
Chapter 6: Luke 10:25-37; Mark 12:28-34. "The Jesus Creed exhorts us, first, to love God and, second, to love others." How does the parable of the Good Samaritan deal with the dilemma of a calling and compassion for others? When have you experienced an opportunity of "whenever and wherever" love for another? Why is it difficult to show compassion?
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