Meditation and Prayer
"Clear, simple and readable - very practical, fully supported with further reading ... exactly the kind of thing that is needed."
Chris Wright, Langham Partnership
A tried and tested resource that encourages meaningful Bible use in multi-lingual contexts through both written and oral media. [more...]
Lectio divina has no goal other than that of being in the presence of God by praying the Scriptures.
The reading or listening which is the first step in lectio divina is very different from the speed reading which modern Christians apply to newspapers, books and even to the Bible. Lectio is reverential listening; listening both in a spirit of silence and of awe. We are listening for the still, small voice of God that will speak to us personally - not loudly, but intimately. In lectio we read slowly, attentively, gently listening to hear a word or phrase that is God's word for us this day.
Fr. Luke Dysinger outlines the steps in the ancient art of Lectio Divina:
- Lectio - reading/listening
- Meditatio - meditation
- Oratio - prayer
- Contemplatio - contemplation
He explains how Lectio Divina can be used in private, as a group exercise and as a reflection on life. [more...]
"I want to pull the Christian Scriptures back from the margins of the contemporary imagination where they have been so rudely elbowed by their glamorous competitors, and reestablish them at the center as the text for living the Christian life deeply and well."
Eugene Peterson encourages readers to feed on and live the Scriptures. He wants us to see the Bible as more than a book telling us how to think or behave. We must "eat this book"!
[more...]"Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don't simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus' name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son."
These weekly lectio divina outlines of the Sunday Gospel readings for Mark will enrich your experience of the scriptures and help you meet with our Lord through his written word.
Lectio divina is a dynamic, life-oriented approach to reading the Holy Scriptures encouraged by the Catholic Church. It provides an accessible way for every Christian to discover the rich truths of Scripture through reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation.
The readings are available for download in several languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovak and Dutch. [more...]
Pray-as-you-go is a daily prayer session, designed for use on portable MP3 players, to help you pray whilst travelling to and from work, study, etc.
A new prayer session is produced every day. It is not a 'Thought for the Day', a sermon or a bible-study, but rather a framework for your own prayer.
Lasting between ten and thirteen minutes, it combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection. The aim is to help you to:
- become more aware of God's presence in your life
- listen to and reflect on God's word
- grow in your relationship with God.
"...the creative engagement between respondents and text results from respondents discovering that the psalms resonate with their idealism and basic human needs in ways that facilitate their ongoing spiritual quest for meaning and enlightenment, as well as providing an opportunity to confront God with complaints and dilemmas."
This study is the account of an empirical research programme in practical theology exploring the potential of the Book of Psalms to facilitate the spiritual journey of a sample of University of Edinburgh students aged between twenty and thirty who are on or beyond the fringes of the churches. Drawing upon some insights of the Bible Society movement regarding ‘scripture engagement,’ and in the wider context of increasing interest in spirituality and decreasing confidence in the churches among many westernised young adults, the project seeks to answer two research questions. [more...]
Too often, we take a purely intellectual approach to the Bible. We think that studying more and more will somehow make God’s Word come alive. Of course, it’s valuable to gain Bible knowledge and to learn biblical truth. But the most exciting thing about reading the Bible is that by doing so we can gain a deeper relationship with the Person behind it. I call it "relational Bible reading" and I believe it’s the active ingredient in a healthy devotional life.
The goal of this inspiring booklet is "to provide the practical help you need to begin enjoying God’s Word every day, whether you’re new to the Bible or have been reading it for years."
The author, who is president of Scripture Union/USA, gives practical tips for regular Bible reading, shares personal experiences and motivates the reader to engage with Scripture. He explains the Scripture Union Bible reading method - Pray-Read-Reflect-Apply-Pray - and lists seven habits of effective Bible readers. [more...]
Manual and worksheets for training writers of Bible Guides.
SU International has helped with workshops for writers of Bible guides in Africa (francophone and anglophone), the Americas, South Asia, East Asia, Europe and the Former Soviet Republics. These workshops have given opportunities to develop resources for training, and to test them in different contexts.
This brief manual aims to bring these resources together and make them available on the for Bible ministries staff around the world to make use of and adapt for their own context. [more...]
Working with the churches, Scripture Union aims to make God's Good News known to children, young people and families and to encourage people of all ages to meet God daily through the Bible and prayer.
So that they may
- come to a personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
- grow in Christian maturity and
- become both committed church members and servants of a world in need.