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Spiritual Disciplines for Families

Spiritual Disciplines for Families

By Jordan Duncan

A podcast for both parents and kids, introducing you to the spiritual disciplines and teaching you how to practice them as a family.

This podcast is a part of the Cathedral Library. For more Cathedral Library resources or updates check out cathedrallibrary.com, or on social media @cathedrallibrary.
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20. Let's Pray the Examen Together!

Spiritual Disciplines for FamiliesSep 22, 2020

00:00
12:43
23. Let's Do Spiritual Reading Together!

23. Let's Do Spiritual Reading Together!

Parents and Kids, let's try out doing Spiritual Reading together!


Music is "White Waves" by Lama House.
Intro music by "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 26, 202013:06
22. Kids: What Is Spiritual Reading?

22. Kids: What Is Spiritual Reading?

Some people have talked about the Bible being like a love letter from God to us. What they mean is that through every chapter of the Bible, God wants to be with us and love us. How cool is that!? How come when I read the Bible, sometimes it just seems confusing or boring? How can we learn to read the Bible to experience God's presence and love and hear his voice speaking to us? 

Well, what if we started combining some of these Spiritual Disciplines together? See, for thousands of years, Christians have found that when they learn to combine things like Reading the Bible, with Contemplation and Prayer, and other Disciplines, they find themselves opening up and being more aware of God's presence. 

Christians have found that as they do just a few simple steps while reading the Bible, they experience the Bible in a whole new way, feeling the Holy Spirit guiding them and bringing God's love deep into their hearts.


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 26, 202007:56
21. Parents: Spiritual Reading

21. Parents: Spiritual Reading

Spiritual Reading is also known as Lectio Divina. But despite these names, and despite it being an ancient art developed by monks and mystics, Spiritual Reading is NOT ONLY for the elite. Spiritual Reading is for EVERYBODY.

Because it is an art, it takes some practice to get a feel for it. However, the good news is that Spiritual Reading is simply about learning to read the Bible with the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is involved (and, isn't he always?) we can trust him to take over and guide the process so that we find ourselves being read by scripture even as we are reading it. 

Spiritual Reading is alot like learning a dance with a partner who knows the dance very well! The steps are easy: Read, Reflect, Respond, Rest, React. In each step, God is there in Scripture and in us, guiding us further into himself by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yeah, this is a pretty powerful discipline.

Sep 26, 202010:01
20. Let's Pray the Examen Together!

20. Let's Pray the Examen Together!

Parents and Kids, let's try out praying the Examen together!


Music is "Forget" by Jakob Ahlbom.
Intro music by "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 22, 202012:43
19. Kids: What Is the Examen?

19. Kids: What Is the Examen?

You know how you often talk about how your day was with your parents? Well, imagine you did this with God, except instead of just ranting about your day, you stopped to hear from God about what HE saw happening in your day? I mean, he's been present for all the parts that you remember, and he even saw the things that you missed! 

Do you think he might have some good thoughts about what you did today? How do you think he felt about the things that happened to you? Where do you think he was at work, and you didn't even notice!? Do you think there were any gifts that he tried to give you that you missed because you were too distracted??? 

Why don't we ask and find out!?


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 22, 202010:52
18. Parents: The Examen

18. Parents: The Examen

So many things happen in a day. Much of the good that happens we soon forget or completely overlook, while much of the bad stands out and sticks with us like glue. What is worse is that we are so often completely unaware of where God was present and at work in our day.

The Examen not only helps us be more "mindful" (as the kids call it these days). Though it does help us remember and receive the good that happened, as well as weed out and relieve us of the bad that happened. But most importantly, the Examen is like a guided tour of your day, completely directed by God, who was present for every moment and saw it more clearly than you did. So, any mindfulness practice without God would be useless, as he is the source of all that is good, and he is the end to which we direct all that is bad. 

Sep 22, 202010:35
17. Let's Do Contemplative Prayer Together!

17. Let's Do Contemplative Prayer Together!

Parents and Kids, let's try out doing Contemplative Prayer together!


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Music for prayer is "Forget" by Jakob Ahlbom.

Sep 12, 202008:51
16. Kids: What is Contemplative Prayer?

16. Kids: What is Contemplative Prayer?

How might you live differently if you remembered that the God of the universe is living in you? What would it look like to take a minute (or three!) to pause, put away all distractions, all our thoughts, feelings, and words, and simply spent time trying to be present with the God who is always present with us and who loves to have our attention!?


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 12, 202005:27
15. Parents: Contemplative Prayer

15. Parents: Contemplative Prayer

Contemplative Prayer is probably the simplest Spiritual discipline there is. Yet it might be one of the hardest ones to learn because it flies in the face of how we have been unknowingly shaped by the hectic pace of our culture where "doing", "achieving", and "productivity" have become idols that we slavishly serve. 

Contemplative Prayer works to set us free from these idols by teaching us to rest in God's presence and let him work. It's precisely because it is so difficult for us to learn that it is probably one of the most important disciplines that we ought to learn for the sake of our own health, and for the sake of our kids!

Sep 12, 202007:10
14. Let's Read the Bible Together!

14. Let's Read the Bible Together!

Parents and kids, lets read try out reading the Bible together!


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 08, 202009:59
13. Kids: What is the Bible?

13. Kids: What is the Bible?

Have you ever wished that God would speak to you? What if he already has!? The Bible is a big book that has many different stories, and letters, and poems, and a bunch of other things. But we call the writings in the Bible "the Word of God" because we believe that God has given us the Bible as a way that he can speak to us! 

If God is always speaking to us through the Bible, what should we do about it???


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson.

Sep 08, 202008:46
12. Parents: Reading the Bible

12. Parents: Reading the Bible

I'm sure we've all heard that as Christians we're supposed to be reading the Bible... but... why? Also, what is the Bible? And what is all our Bible reading supposed to actually do for us? 

Sep 08, 202010:42
11. Let's Pray Together!

11. Let's Pray Together!

Parents and kids, let's try out a few different simple ways of praying together!


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Mattias Andreasson.

Sep 06, 202009:02
10. Kids: What is Prayer?

10. Kids: What is Prayer?

We all have ideas about what prayer is, but we probably still find it a little strange to do. What is prayer? And how can we learn to pray better? 


Intro music is "Brooklyn" by Matthias Andreasson


Sep 06, 202008:36
9. Parents: Prayer

9. Parents: Prayer

Obviously you've heard of prayer... but have you ever stopped to think about how to pray better? Or how to explain and teach it to your kids? Better yet, have you ever thought of what a miracle it is that we can talk with the creator God!? 

Let's take a few minutes to think together about prayer, what it is and how we can do it with our kids.

Sep 06, 202012:19
8. Let's Pray the Daily Office Together!

8. Let's Pray the Daily Office Together!

Parents and Kids, let's pray a Daily Office together. To get a copy of this particular Daily Office, email jordan.d@viachurch.ca. 


The music is "Forget" by Jakob Ahlbom.

Sep 06, 202006:42
7. Kids: What Is the Daily Office?

7. Kids: What Is the Daily Office?

The Daily Office is one way to get the Bible deep inside our hearts by praying it and reading it daily. As we do that, we find ourselves communicating with God and being shaped into being like Jesus!


Intro music is "Brooklyn" Mattias Andreasson

Sep 06, 202007:56
6. Parents: The Daily Office

6. Parents: The Daily Office

Exploring the biblical idea behind the Daily Office, where it came from, and why it's such a helpful discipline for disciples.

If you would like a simple version of the Daily Office for your family or want to pray along with me in the upcoming episode, "Let's Pray the Daily Office Together!", email me at jordan.d@viachurch.ca and I will send you the pdf for it.

Sep 06, 202012:13
5. Kids: What are Spiritual Disciplines?

5. Kids: What are Spiritual Disciplines?

An introduction to the idea of spiritual practices (or disciplines) for kids. 

What things can Christians do to make the most of their relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe!? 

Well, the Spiritual Disciplines are some of the ways we can do this. They are powerful practices we can do that will transform our lives, bringing us closer to God and making us more like Jesus as we learn to spend time with Jesus. 


Intro music is "Brooklyn" Mattias Andreasson

Sep 04, 202008:51
4. Parents: Introduction to Spiritual Disciplines

4. Parents: Introduction to Spiritual Disciplines

What can parent - or anyone else, for that matter - do to disciple their kids, and train their hearts? Well, among other things, the Spiritual Disciplines are designed for that exact purpose: opening oneself up to God and saying yes to all the work the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives.
For this reason, the Spiritual Disciplines are powerful tools that can bring about transformation in anyone's life - yes, even in your child!
Sep 04, 202017:15
3. Parents: Training a Disciple's Heart

3. Parents: Training a Disciple's Heart

How, exactly, does a person make disciples of children? Does that simply mean we need to teach them the truth about God, the Bible, and following Jesus? Or is there more involved?

Of course, teaching them the truths of Scripture and our faith is necessary and important. But in the journey of being transformed into followers of Jesus, who are like Jesus, requires more than learning truth and believing it. It also involves training our hearts, our desires and loves, to be directed towards God, his will, and his way. 

This is one of the reasons why parents have the primary task of training their children as disciples of Christ - no one else could do it as effectively!

Sep 04, 202016:18
2. Parents: As Disciple Makers

2. Parents: As Disciple Makers

What is the connection between parenting and discipleship? Don't parents have enough on their plates to do already? Why would they take on discipleship, too? Isn't that job best left to pastors?

Not at all! In fact, discipleship goes hand in hand with the Christian view of parenting. It's not an extra thing to add on top of parenting, but more like the way one approaches parenting. 

Parent's are actually the best suited, the best equipped, and the ones called by God to be the primary disciple-ers for their children!

Sep 04, 202017:47
1. Parents: How to Use This Podcast

1. Parents: How to Use This Podcast

Parents, I would suggest starting here so I can quickly explain what this podcast is about and how to go through the episodes!

Aug 22, 202008:27