By Cameron Silsbee
Optional Kids Practice
Invite kids in your group to be with the adults for a few minutes. Once they seem ready to engage, ask them the following prompt. If you think it would be helpful, you can explain to the kids that the grown ups are going to be talking about Silence and Solitude and you want to include them by talking about it with them for a few minutes.
- Sometimes, it can be good to be quiet, like when you’re playing hide and seek, trying to go to sleep, or in class listening to your teacher. When do you like to be quiet?
- Sometimes, it might be hard to be quiet. When do you not like being quiet?
Have an adult, in their own words, explain what’s helpful about times of silence as a follower of Jesus.
Begin with prayer
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting. Take a moment in silence, in the presence of Jesus and each other. Have one person read Luke 4:40-44 over the group and then pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Debrief the most recent teaching
- What has God been up to in your life this last week, and how did the most recent teaching add to it?
Read this overview
As Van City studies the letters to the seven churches in Revelation on Sundays, you’ll be exploring the spiritual disciplines of Silence and Solitude in your Van City Community. The rhythm of these seven letters move between encouragement and correction. As we listen, learn, and wrestle with these letters and what Jesus may want to say to us through them, Silence and Solitude provide us the opportunity to sit with what Jesus is up to.
Luke records a story of Jesus early on in his ministry. After spending a day healing people, with momentum and interest tangibly growing in what he was doing, Jesus left the crowds and went to a “solitary” place, killing the momentum of the moment. When he was finally found, Jesus seemed to have a clarified view of his priorities and purpose and moved on to other places to proclaim the Kingdom and to heal people.
Silence and Solitude are spiritual disciplines that seemingly are often done as a vehicle for other disciplines like Bible reading or prayer. While there’s nothing wrong with this, it misses the impact of how both Silence and Solitude can connect us to life with God. In a culture of noise, distraction, and stimulation, it can offer a reprieve and revelation of what’s underneath the surface of our busyness and distraction. It can challenge each of us to experience who we are when we aren’t doing or accomplishing. In that way, God can bring greater clarity to who he has created us to be, shaping our priorities and identity in the process.
Discuss the following prompts
- What do you like about the idea of Silence of Solitude? What don’t you like about it?
- Imagine laying aside all the habits, rhythms, and things you’re proud of. Without those things, how would you imagine Jesus looking at you and your life?
- What do you think you’d feel or think about if you were silent and alone for an hour? What about for a day?
Practicing right now:
If your Community has time, spend a handful of minutes thinking about and discussing your life schedule and when it works best to consistently fit in at least a few minutes of Silence and Solitude (see Practicing this week section below). Make a plan for when you’ll do Silence and Solitude.
Practicing this week:
This week, you’ll set aside 5 times to practice Silence and Solitude. The encouragement is to do this for between 3 and 5 minutes each time. After each time, write down a quick note of what you tended to think about and feel when doing the Practice.
You may wonder what you’ll do with the time. The idea this week is to simply sit quietly, noticing what comes up in your thoughts and emotions as you do so. There’s no need to do some type of prayer exercise or meditation. At the end of the time, write down a quick note.
Next week, you’ll share with your Community any themes or realizations you may have after doing the Practice and looking over the notes you made.
Close in prayer
End by spending half a minute or so in silence, and then have someone pray over the group.