Session 1: Overview
What is maturity?
One definition: "the good qualities of ________________ that ____________ lack".
- Ability to see ____________________________________
- Understanding that actions have ________________________
- How you deal with ________________________
- Understanding ____________________________ and finding ways to get them met
Aspects of immaturity that we want to leave behind:
- Inability to ______________________
- ______________ instead of apologies
- It's always about ______
How do we react when ...
- You're in a hurry and the car in front of you is driving too slowly?
- You don't get credit for something you've done?
- Someone else gets credit for something you've done?
But what about spiritual maturity? Is it the same?
What does the Bible say about maturity?
A. Where maturity comes from
How God works in us:
- 1: Maturity comes from experiencing ____________________________________ (Ephesians 3:19).
- 2: Maturity comes not from ________________________ but from __________________________________ (Colossians 2:8-10).
- 3: Maturity cannot be attained by ____________________________, but by ______________________ (Galatians 3:3).
- 4: Unity in __________ and knowledge of __________ brings maturity (Ephesians 4:11-13).
How we work towards maturity:
- 5: Maturity only comes when we resist ________________________________________________________________ (Luke 8:14).
- 6: Maturity involves recognising ____________________________________, and pushing on through it (Philippians 3:15).
- 7: Maturity does not arrive ______________________, but we continue to ________________________ (Philippians 3:12).
- 8: Maturity grows through __________________________________________________ (James 1:4).
How others help us towards maturity:
- 9: Maturity involves receiving ____________________ (2 Corinthians 13:7-9).
- 10: The purpose of __________________________________ is to bring Christians to maturity (Ephesians 4:11-13 again).
B. What maturity gives us
- 11: Maturity brings __________________________ that lives alongside __________________ (1 Corinthians 14:20).
- 12: Maturity allows us to understand ________________________________ (1 Corinthians 2:6).
- 13: Maturity involves a growing ________________________________________ (Hebrews 6:1).
- 14: Maturity involves knowing the difference between ______________________________ (Hebrews 5:14).
- 15: Maturity brings __________________, and the ability to ________________________ (Ephesians 4:14).
- 16: Maturity is ____________, ____________________ and ________________ (2 Corinthians 13:11).
- 17: Maturity is ____________________________ (1 John 2:13-14).
The spiritual disciplines
From A Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (1978):
- The inward disciplines of: meditation, prayer, fasting and study.
- The outward disciplines of: simplicity, solitude, submission and service.
- The corporate disciplines of: confession, worship, guidance and celebration.
Centuries of Christian tradition attest to the value of these, but why?
The goal of all these practices is to ____________________________________________.
For the next two sessions, we're going to focus on five habits that we can use to draw closer to God, and so develop maturity.
- Prayer: the practicalities of praying well
- Bible reading: approaches, patterns, schedules
- Fellowship: church membership, worship, interacting
- Generosity: the attitude that must underlie our giving
- Perseverance: responding well to adversity.