Q2 – The Garden State
Title: The Garden State – The Beginning Of The Story
Workbook Summary: In this second workbook, groups explore the origins of humanity. It includes conversations and exercises on the creation narrative, the image of God, reflection, dignity, Sabbath, and more.
It include leadership instructions, reflection questions, teachings, group discussion questions, exercises, assignments, and suggested materials to use during the quarter.
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This workbook explores the following ideas:
- God is telling a story in Scripture. The story begins with the God Imagination, a way of seeing reality from God’s perspective.
- God begins the story with a process of creating reality and the judging that reality. Everything in creation is good. But to see that good we have to slow down and reflect.
- Life includes chaos. But God begins the story by bringing creativity to the chaos. We engage transformation by dis-covering the dignity God originally establishes.
- The God imagination reveals our original identity. We are children of God and created in the image of God. To embrace God as Father often requires letting go of old images.
- The God imagination establishes our original purpose, which is to rule. We are called to a creativity and productivity, and to rule over the self.
- The God imagination establishes an authoritative judgment on creation. Embracing it often requires confronting the authorities that speak something else into our lives.
- The journey of transformation requires moving from the right answer to the real answer, and ultimately to the whole answer. This practice of getting honest with the self is called repentance.
- As human begins created in the image of God we are called to love. This judgment of good is the purest reflection of the God imagination, and the ultimate expression of humanity.
- We are created for unity in community. God calls out the sense of aloneness to make us aware that we are meant for relationship in community.
- God ends the creation process by making the day of rest sacred. This counter intuitive act continually invites us back into relationship with God.
- God begins creation in a garden, a symbolic act that invites humanity into the sacred notion of work. The act of working with the soil reveals the often slow, and patient process required for growth.