|
||||
12 Steps for Christians
Every Saturday, 9-10:30 AM
A small group meets at the church in the nursery. (a good place to grow!)
Each week we work on one of the Twelve Steps
in an explicitly Christian context.
We are recovering from a variety of addictions,
and many of us also go to AA or other groups for our specific addictions.
Here we apply the Bible to our recovery process, along with the 12 steps,
to free God to make us into new people.
What to expect?
• people who are searching, like you are
• a community in which you can share anything
knowing that you will not be judged
and that no one will be trying to run your life.
• a place where you can examine your life
and learn while listening to others on their search.
There is much wisdom and humility here,
regular laughs and tears,
real sorrow and true joy,
a community where Christ and his love come alive,
and the bible shapes our lives.
Who attends and what is said is held in complete confidence by all.
What Happens in a Meeting?
We begin reading the Serenity prayer and the Twelve Steps for Christians together
from our guide, The Twelve Steps, a Spiritual Journey.
Then we devote the first our to working on a step.
The last half-hour is a time for sharing victories and mistakes,
and processing the emotions that would otherwise push us into addictive behaviors.
Here are the Twelve Steps for Christians
STEP ONE is about recognizing our brokenness
We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God –
that our lives had become unmanageable
I know nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (Romans 7:18)
STEP TWO is about the birth of faith in us
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to God’s good purpose.
(Philippians 2:13)
STEP THREE involves a decision to let God be in charge of our lives
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
STEP FOUR involves self-examination
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)
STEP FIVE is the discipline of confession
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed . (James 5:16)
STEP SIX is an inner transformation sometimes called repentance
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and God will lift you up (James 4:10)
STEP SEVEN involves the transformation or purification of our character
Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
STEP EIGHT involves examining our relationships and preparing ourselves to make amends
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)
STEP NINE is the discipline of making amends
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others.
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother or sister; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)
STEP TEN is about maintaining progress in recovery
Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)
STEP ELEVEN involves the spiritual disciplines of prayer and meditation
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. (Colossians 3:16)
STEP TWELVE is about ministry
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps,
we tried to carry this message to others,
and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Brothers and sisteres, if someone is caught in a sin,
you who are spiritual should restore them gently.
But watch yourself, as you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
Home... Next... or find your own path!
