SESSION 17 (2025)
LEG 1 (9/22-10/5)
READING
Fasting by Scot McKnight
Chapter 7: Fasting as Body Calendar
Chapter 8: Fasting as Body Poverty
Chapter 10: Fasting as Body Hope
Chapter 12: Fasting and Its Benefits
Conclusion
Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites by Lynne Baab (OPTIONAL)
REFLECTING
Reflect on the following questions regarding the reading, writing in your journal:
How would your relationship with God, with those you love, with your fellow believers deepen as a result of regular fasts or observances of holy days, such as Christmas? (Ch7, p172)
The church calendar focuses intently on the life of Jesus. How would participating in regular fasts remind you of his life and love for the church? (Ch7, p173)
Fasting as a response to local, national, or global issues can bind us as a faith community. What issues can of justice or social concern so move you that you could respond with a personal fast? (Ch8, p173)
Fasting is also a response to hope for change. In what ways could fasting in hope of real moral, social, and political change intensify your work in the kingdom that is here and hope for the kingdom to come? (Ch10, p173)
How does the natural desire for a “space for God,” an intimacy with our Creator, prompt the need to face, to engage our body as well as our spirit in the most vital relationship? (Ch12, p174)
PRACTICING: Fasting
In the first leg you will be fasting from a meal in its entirety. Please note that if you have any health related conditions that require you to modify this fast, please feel the freedom to do so. Prepare for your fast by answering the following questions in anticipation of what is to come:
WHAT are you going to fast from? (for this fast, a fast from food is encouraged)
WHEN are you going to fast? (i.e., what meal on what day)
HOW are you going to use this time?
WHO do you need to inform? (at a minimum, let others in your household and formation group know)
LEG 2 (10/6-10/19)
READING
The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas (red book)
Chapter 3: Racial Reconciliation for a Divided World
Chapter 4: Deeply Formed Practices of Racial Reconciliation
Good and Beautiful and Kind by Rich Villodas (yellow book)
Chapter 9: Love in Public - Justice in the Way of Jesus
REFLECTING
Reflect on the following questions regarding the reading, writing in your journal:
When did you first come to the realization that we live in a society marked by racial hostility? (DFL, Ch3)
Rich underscores two racial layers we must attend to (individual and institutional) in order to make progress addressing this issue. Which of these two areas do you have more difficulty understanding, addressing, and empathizing? Why is that? (DFL, Ch3)
Rich writes, “Reconciliation in community will always cost us something, and in Christ the barriers that separate us can come down in his name.” What is God inviting us to sacrifice for the sake of reconciliation? What are you hoping will be the result? (DFL, Ch3)
Spend some time reading Revelation 7:9-10 using our lectio divina method. Which words or phrases stand out to you? This scripture passage is a sneak preview of a future time when people from all nations and ethnicities are gathered. What are some of the obstacles that keep church communities from gathering in this way? Revelation 7 reveals that in the age to come, we will retain our ethnic and national identities. How does that make you feel? Why? (DFL, Ch4)
Rich mentions the role that “meritocracy” plays in keeping people from pursuing justice. Has this idea impacted you and the way you see inequities in our world? (GBK, Ch9)
In this chapter, there are three calls to practicing justice (our dignifying attention, our local focus, a countercultural community). Which of these do you think you should prioritize in this season of your life? (GBK, Ch9)
PRACTICING: Fasting
In the second leg you will be fasting from food for a day (for example from sun up to sun down, or a 24-hour fast). Please note that if you have any health related conditions that require you to modify this fast, please feel the freedom to do so. Prepare for your fast by answering the following questions in anticipation of what is to come:
WHAT are you going to fast from? (for this fast, a fast from food is encouraged)
WHEN are you going to fast? (i.e., what day)
HOW are you going to use this time?
WHO do you need to inform? (at a minimum, let others in your household and formation group know)
LEG 3 (10/20-11/2)
READING
Surprised by Scripture by NT Wright
Chapter 6: 9/11, Tsunamis, and the New Problem of Evil
Chapter 10: How to engage Tomorrow’s World
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
Introduction
Chapter 1: “Nobody Knows de Trouble I see” - The Cross and the Lynching Tree in the Black Experience
REFLECTING
Reflect on the following questions regarding the reading, writing in your journal:
What is one step you can take today to quiet the noise in order to listen more attentively to the voice of Jesus and slow down in order to live more faithfully to the way of Jesus? (EHS-WB, p26)
Fill in the blanks: What I am beginning to realize about God this week is _______. What I am beginning to realize about myself this week is _______. (EHS-WB, p34)
Three characteristics make up the new problem of evil: we ignore evil unless it hits us in the face, we are surprised by evil, and we react to evil in immature and
dangerous ways (pp. 112–113). How have you observed these characteristics displayed in your own life and community and world around you? Either in ways you’ve contributed to this, been inflicted by this, or observed this. (SbS, Ch6)
“The story of Gethsemane and the cross present themselves in the New Testament as the strange, dark conclusion to the story of what God does about evil, of what happens to God’s justice when it takes human flesh, when it gets its feet muddy in the garden and its hands bloody on the cross” (p. 119). How is the cross a sign to you of how to address wickedness and evil in the world? (SbS, Ch6)
Wright says that even though we “have retained our distinctive Christian witness in some areas, we have undoubtedly compromised it in others” (p. 186). When have you held tightly to the teachings of Jesus, and when have you been content to drift with different political teachings? What has been your method for deciding when to hold firm and when to let go? 9SbS, Ch10)
“Here is the heart of our confidence, whatever the world around may throw at us: the crucified and risen Jesus is already lord of the world” (p. 189). How does this quote inspire you to renew your call to follow Jesus in prayer, holiness, and confidence in his power? (SbS, Ch10)
Injustice is likely closer - both in terms of time and geography - than we realize or want to admit. I want you to spend time reflecting on how you have observed, experienced, and even inflicted and participated in injustice. Describe an instance of injustice that you have personally observed, where others have suffered. Describe an instance of injustice that you have personally experienced, as the one who has suffered. Describe a way in which you have been complicit in inflicting or participating in injustice experienced by others. How does the cross help you see each of these situations differently? How does this draw you to Jesus? How does this lead you to love like Jesus?
What were your thoughts after reading the introduction and opening chapter to The Cross and the Lynching Tree? How was it different from what you expected? What is one way this reading challenged your thinking and belief?
How has fasting during this session differed from the last time we experimented with this practice? Why do you think that is?
PRACTICING: Fasting
In the third leg you will be fasting from something of your choosing for an entire week (such as social media). Prepare for your fast by answering the following questions in anticipation of what is to come:
WHAT are you going to fast from?
WHEN are you going to fast? (i.e., what days)
HOW are you going to use this time?
WHO do you need to inform? (at a minimum, let others in your household and formation group know)
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, September 10th, 2025, at 9:45AM CT
UPDATED: -