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HANDOUT 1
JOURNEY OF FAITH
Session 4 - Fruits of the Journey

Fruits Passages

The following three passages are about the impact of being a Christian. The
first is from the Bible. The second from a well-known Christian, and the
third from the secular world.

Please read the three passages and answer the following questions:

1. How can we expect someone who follows Jesus to behave?

2. What values can we expect someone who follows Jesus to have?
3. For you, which passage gave the most appealing picture of
Christianity? Why?
4. Which passage stretches your thinking the most?
5. What happens when we can't live up to the ideal?

1) Galatians 5:22-24

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with all its passions and desires.

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© Diocese of Guildford LIVING your FAITH 2011
JOURNEY OF FAITH SESSION 4
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2) Martin Luther King: extract from "I Have a Dream" speech

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and

frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted
in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed --- "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all
men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former
slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together
at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state
sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed
into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content
of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are
presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be
transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be
able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as
sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and
mountain shall be made low, and rough places will be made plains, and the
crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

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© Diocese of Guildford LIVING your FAITH 2011
JOURNEY OF FAITH SESSION 4
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3) Tony Burke, participant in the BBC 2 programme The

Monastery August 2004: extract from his personal story

My religious background is simple. I haven't got one. Apart from school

concerts, weddings and funerals and the occasional drunken teenage trip to
midnight mass, I'd had no exposure to organised religion, let alone serious
"I'm dedicating my life to god and I'm going to wear a black dress while I'm
doing it" religion. I knew nothing of Roman Catholicism (other than it being
seen as slightly controversial, a bit rock 'n' roll and it involving The Pope)
and knew even less about Benedictine traditions or any others for that
matter.

So I arrived and was instantly introduced to my four co-participants in this

television programme-making process. I also met my first monk, Father
Luke. Luke had the look I'd been expecting, quite severe, quite pale and
stoic. However, he came armed with a wonderfully warm sense of humour
and a genuine kindness and goodwill which I'd rarely experienced in a man
before. Another misconception had been laid to rest.

Soon I was introduced to every monk at Worth, and whether they'd been a
monk for five years or fifty years, they shared this communal good nature
and love. And that in turn set me instantly at ease and feeling secure in my
new somewhat bizarre surroundings. Twenty two very different men, all
with a common objective and a single focus within a fully functioning
community.

I was a big fan of this straight away. Who doesn't want to spend time with
lovely people? Who wouldn't want to live in a safe, protected environment
where people live in harmony, loving, respecting and supporting each other
through life?

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© Diocese of Guildford LIVING your FAITH 2011
JOURNEY OF FAITH SESSION 4
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HANDOUT 2
JOURNEY OF FAITH
Session 4 - Fruits of the Journey

Holy Living

Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted
God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the
sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require
of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Revelation 21:1-8
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as
a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is
with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from
their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for
the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then
he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and
the End.

To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the
water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God
and he will be my son.

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually
immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their
place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”

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© Diocese of Guildford LIVING your FAITH 2011
JOURNEY OF FAITH SESSION 4
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HANDOUT 3
JOURNEY OF FAITH
Session 4 - Fruits of the Journey

Which of these traits would your group like to add to the list you have
developed?

Some Christian Traits?

service self-acceptance

sense of connection to God joy

despair integrity peace

stewardship anger despair

love patience kindness

self-control tolerance

assertiveness

strength empathy certainty

assurance inclusiveness gentleness

selflessness self-denial loyalty

political involvement campaigning

ethical shopping moderation

modesty

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© Diocese of Guildford LIVING your FAITH 2011
JOURNEY OF FAITH SESSION 4
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