A.R. Bernard – Study Guide
03.08.10
Week of March 7, 2010
MONDAY
We must have a relentless drive for progress, an attitude that never says, “I’ve fully arrived.” There are no plateaus in our growth, only resting places. You can’t grow in isolation; you can only grow in community.
- How do you view your own growth process? Where have you assumed you had “arrived” or “plateaued”?
TUESDAY
We live life on levels and in stages. There is always another level of growth, and it requires character. Talent can take you to levels that only character can sustain. Your character is a developed set of habits and mindsets that mark and engrave who you are.
- What marks your character? Will it sustain proper growth?
WEDNESDAY
Faith is a reasoned trust. It does not surrender the intellect, but engages it. It ties into our mind, emotions and will. Critical thinking has a place within Christianity. In the absence of a clear worldview, you will lack focus.
- What relationship do your faith and your mind have?
THURSDAY
Jesus had a holistic growth. He grew intellectually, physically, spiritually, socially and emotionally. Such complete growth requires focus and structure. After all, God is a God of order.
- What areas have you neglected growth in?
FRIDAY
Structure gives you both order and freedom. Even spontaneity is based on preparation. A well-structured life includes: a clearly articulated worldview, core values and core purposes.
- What kind of structure does your life have? Which of these three elements do you need to define?
SATURDAY
There is a difference between values and a value system. Values are what you prize and stand for. A value system is the order in which you rank those values. People can share the same values, and still have opposing value systems because the order is different.
- What do you value? Where do faith, family, spirituality, health, career, etc. rank for you?
MEMORIZATION:
3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
