7 Letters, Guide: Renunciation Reflection #2
Take Communion
Leader Note: Begin this time by taking communion together, whether as a full meal or some version of the bread and the cup before or after your meal. If you don’t already have a Communion liturgy, have someone read through this prayer based on the Lord’s Supper in Luke 22 and the Wedding Supper in Revelation 19:
All-loving God, we praise you and rejoice in your presence. We come to this table together with hope and longing love, sharing the Lord's Supper, to eat and drink a foretaste of that future Wedding Supper. Jesus, we are making ourselves ready: tuning our hearts and training our appetites to desire you and you alone. Infuse our lives with your presence as we share your body, broken for us, and your blood, poured out for us. You wait with longing for us to drink anew in your kingdom, so we say: Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.
Read This Overview Aloud (3 minutes)
Throughout the season of Lent, we are engaging in the practice of Renunciation: giving up a particular (often good or neutral) appetite that we tend to use as a substitute for something God already wants to give us. As a reminder, we will spend the remainder of this teaching series reflecting on our practice of Renunciation in light of the themes found in one of the seven letters in Revelation.
Tonight we’ll reflect on Jesus’ letter to the church in Pergamum, where believers faced massive pressure to compromise their beliefs to fit into the culture around them. Today, we face similar pressures to adopt cultural values that clash with the way of Jesus in order to fit in. Social pressure can make it easy to compromise, but we know that the reward for faithfulness—which is Christ himself—far outweighs any worldly gain. Jesus’ call to the church of Pergamum, and to us, is to an interior examination, to resist the temptation to compromise, and to follow his narrow way, even in the face of opposition.
Do This Practice Tonight (20 minutes)
For tonight’s practice, we are going to take time to reflect on our practice of Renunciation through the themes in Jesus’ letter to Pergamum.
Leader Note: Feel free to work through the following questions as a Community or in smaller groups, so long as everyone has an opportunity to share.
How has your practice of Renunciation been going this week? (e.g. Where did you feel God’s presence? Where did you feel resistance?)
Renunciation has the tendency to push us out of alignment with our city’s culture. Over the last few weeks, have you noticed any tension develop in or around you as your practice Renunciation?
How have you found your practice of Reclaiming (i.e. picking up a practice) has helped you stay true to Jesus’ narrow path?
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead (1 minute)
Our Practice for the week ahead is to continue our Renunciation and Reclaiming through the season of Lent. Remember, Renunciation is about joy and desire! Because we are human beings, we will always be susceptible to reaching for something that God wants to give us. In our Renunciation, we are asking God for what he already desires for us and learning to receive from him rather than taking it for ourselves. So, this week, let’s resolve again to renounce our good/neutral appetite and receive from God’s deep love.
End in Prayer (5 minutes)
Leader Note: Close your time together in prayer, asking God to continue growing your Community through the Practice of Renunciation.