Three Learning Exercises
Cooperating with the Spirit of Truth in Proclaiming Jesus’ Gospel Today
This document contains . . .
· An introduction
· The assigned Learning Exercises with instructions and links for the Urantia University Institute Gospel Training requested by the General Council of the Urantia Book Fellowship.
· The initial reading assignment with the link to the online document of quotes of Jesus’ gospel teaching.
· Assigned and optional links, advanced questions, instructions on how to prepare for our 90 minute Zoom session on March 10, at 12:00 Central Time, plus a THANK YOU FOR GOOD-HEARTED PARTICIPATION in this week in which we give you a lot to think about.
Focus quote: Updating the gospel expression
194:2.1 (2060.6) Jesus lived on earth and taught a gospel which redeemed man from the superstition that he was a child of the devil and elevated him to the dignity of a faith son of God. Jesus’ message, as he preached it and lived it in his day, was an effective solvent for man’s spiritual difficulties in that day of its statement. And now that he has personally left the world, he sends in his place his Spirit of Truth, who is designed to live in man and, for each new generation, to restate the Jesus message so that every new group of mortals to appear upon the face of the earth shall have a new and up-to-date version of the gospel, just such personal enlightenment and group guidance as will prove to be an effective solvent for man’s ever-new and varied spiritual difficulties.
We are trying to hear what the Spirit of Truth is saying. We are to have “a new and up-to-date version of the gospel.” What version of the gospel is the Spirit of Truth stating today? This is our overall question. The first time that Jeff sincerely asked himself this question, his honest reply was, “I don’t know. I have no idea.” To give you a path to go beyond such a reply, we have designed this week’s activities by adding three more questions.
· What spiritual difficulties are especially urgent in the present generation?
· What resources for meeting these difficulties do we find in the eternal truths of Jesus’ many-sided gospel?
· And how would you state today’s gospel in your own words?
Work on these questions expands our capacity of receptivity to what the Spirit of Truth is saying.
The Urantia Book contains tremendous resources to help us answer the question of what today’s gospel is. Study can take us far.
But we also need experience. We learn people’s difficulties by getting to know them—in the ways that Jesus did. And in our conversations, we allow truth to come forth spontaneously and naturally. We thus find language that enables us to share truth effectively. Such experience helps us discover what the Spirit of Truth is saying.
You see: in order to discover the gospel, we must participate in the gospel movement. We learn to live the truth and express truth so that Jesus can minister through us to dissolve these difficulties. To do that, we increasingly become the truth of the gospel. For example, to reveal the Father’s love, we take time to get to know others and facilitate their self-expression and their expression of the spirit within.
Although we encourage you to engage in every dimension of this process beginning now, Cristina and I recognize that it would take many of us more than a week to practice all these phases of the gospel process in a meaningful way. Therefore, our homework assignments are restricted to what she and I believe should be a reasonable expectation for most participants to accomplish in one week.
Jesus trained the first six apostles in 100 sessions that were “long and earnest, though cheerful and joyous.” As you do what you can with these assignments, stay in the spirit with Jesus. If your work sessions become long and earnest, be sure to keep up your good cheer and joy. Rise above any feeling of being overwhelmed. If this feels like gospel bootcamp, do not react like a new recruit intimidated by the drill sergeant. If you become confused, ask. Anchor yourself in the overarching questions of each learning exercise. And know that “in the gospel of the kingdom there resides the mighty Spirit of Truth.” Report your results in the spiritual liberty of a son or daughter of God, making a sincere contribution to an important inquiry.
This development of the gospel that we are boldly seeking is something that Jesus himself called for.
178:1.15 (1931.6) This gospel of the kingdom is a living truth. I have told you it is like the leaven in the dough, like the grain of mustard seed; and now I declare that it is like the seed of the living being, which, from generation to generation, while it remains the same living seed, unfailingly unfolds itself in new manifestations and grows acceptably in channels of new adaptation to the peculiar needs and conditions of each successive generation. The revelation I have made to you is a living revelation, and I desire that it shall bear appropriate fruits in each individual and in each generation in accordance with the laws of spiritual growth, increase, and adaptative development. From generation to generation this gospel must show increasing vitality and exhibit greater depth of spiritual power.
Initial reading
During this week, we are undertaking a bold venture with the Spirit of Truth—an effort to discern how to update the expression of Jesus’ gospel today. We cannot hope to succeed without first being steeped in the gospel as Jesus preached it and taught it in his day.
Therefore, before doing any of the learning exercises, please refresh your understanding of selected presentations of the gospel from The Urantia Book. Here is the link:
Learning exercise # 1 (respond by TUESDAY). What spiritual difficulties are especially urgent in the present generation?
Here’s the recommended way to go about answering this question. (Read the whole list through before beginning work on any one stage.)
1. First, pray sincerely for the extension of the kingdom of God. That prayer engages you in Jesus’ gospel movement. Pray for guidance in this class project. Do not expect to become conscious of the Spirit of Truth. He never creates a consciousness of himself. What you can expect to experience is enhanced fellowship with Jesus.
2. Pray for this generation on earth. Although a gospel messenger is prepared to interact with anyone, you may prefer for this week to simplify, to begin with one or more specific groups of people that you want to reach out to. The Focus Quote does speak of personal enlightenment and group guidance. But the quote also speaks of “man’s spiritual difficulties,” “each new generation,” and “every new group of mortals to appear on the face of the earth.” And Jesus’ gospel spoke to the problems of his society and of other cultures that he interacted with (not to mention other worlds in Nebadon). Perhaps people under thirty-five and people over 65 have different sets of spiritual difficulties. But those sets overlap. No matter how broadly you frame the question, it is not easy to answer; so invigorate in the presence of difficulties, and see what happens.
As Cristina began to work on this question, she discovered a way to come up with meaningful groups. She wrote, “The main struggle I had was thinking of “my group of people,” since I tend to minister one on one. What helped me was focusing on individuals in my life. Then I could begin to see the group themes that emerged. For me it was:
Agnostics / atheists
People who are sick
People who are in a life transition
The most difficult group for me is the first one, because they are not asking for help. But this is my family and my best friend.
The other students might find that this process of thinking of individual examples could enable them to discover what their groups are.”
3. Then take 20 minutes to think about the spiritual difficulties of the individual or group you have chosen to work on.
4. Make a list of spiritual difficulties that you come up with. Write down questions as well as ideas. At this initial stage, do not consult The Urantia Book or other resources. To do so might overload your intellect and short-circuit your creative spiritual communion.
5. Next, read the following document on spiritual difficulties: https://sites.google.com/site/ubquestionsandstudies/a-gospel-school/the-spiritual-difficulties-of-our-generation
Stay in the Spirit to avoid overwhelm and keep your sense of humor. Although you are welcome to revise your own list in the light of whatever may strike you as insightful in the online document, please continue to be selective. What spiritual difficulties are especially important now in the group(s) that you have chosen.
6. Finally, give us a glimpse of your findings. Your post should be brief, but real—for example, a summary or a story. Go to the Week 1 Class Plan, scroll down to the bottom, and follow the instructions to post your contribution.
Learning exercise #2 (respond by Wednesday). What resources do you find in the eternal truths of Jesus’ many-sided gospel for meeting the spiritual difficulties that you previously identified?
1. Again, take time to pray and commune before starting to construct your response.
2. Then make notes in response to this question that you come up with on your own, before you consult The Urantia Book or other resources.
3. Then read the list of gospel truths (with some references and quotes) in “Truths in the Gospel”:
https://sites.google.com/site/ubquestionsandstudies/a-gospel-school/gospel-themes-list
Stay in the Spirit to avoid overwhelm and keep your sense of humor. Revise your initial list if you like, continuing to be selective so as to avoid ending up with too much to say. Express concepts in your own way, and use your own favorite quotes to illustrate them.
4. After you have selected some themes and some quotes to illustrate them—plunge your mind and soul into those quotes and soak in gospel consciousness long enough to drink deeply.
5. On a sheet of paper, list gospel resources on the left and spiritual difficulties on the right. Draw lines connecting resources and difficulties.
6. Finally, give us a genuine glimpse of your findings, as you post and share with the group.
Learning exercise #3 (respond by Thursday). How would you express the gospel in your own words for the group of people that you have in mind?
This learning exercise represents one phase of the third and last part of this method: “Ever be wise in your choice of methods for presenting the good news to the different races and tribes of mankind.”
How delightful: study and social interaction do not enable the intellect to Know For Sure and Formulate what the Spirit of Truth is saying (smile)! “When you undertake the human formulation of divine truth, it speedily dies.” Nevertheless, the larger process, with its dimensions of mind, soul, and spirit, can indeed enhance our understanding, strengthen our soul confidence, and come closer to Jesus. On this basis, we can express the gospel sincerely without presuming to formulate a doctrine or creed. We are getting closer. And the Father’s will never requires an impossible ideal, which leaps high above our ability to live up to it.
1. Pray, commune, and soak in the truth of the truths that you have chosen to present.
2. In love and mercy, think of the group(s) to whom you want to bring truth. And think of the kind of communication that is appropriate for them.
3. Give voice freely to the gospel for them. And write down a version of the gospel for them. If you are specifying the gospel for multiple groups, repeat this process for each one.
4. Finally, post your gospel version for the group(s) you have in mind.
Links, advanced questions, and preparation for our Zoom session
The first link gives selected quotes from The Urantia Book pertinent to Jesus’ gospel teaching.
The next three links are to be used only after you have done the previous steps in the relevant learning exercises as presented above.
For learning exercise #1:
For learning exercise #2:
https://sites.google.com/site/ubquestionsandstudies/a-gospel-school/gospel-themes-list
For learning exercise #3:
Advanced questions on the Focus Quote (optional)
1. What is a spiritual difficulty?
2. What is the relation between a spiritual difficulty and a physical, social, economic, or political difficulty?
140:8.31 (1583.5) The Master offered no solutions for the nonreligious problems of his own age nor for any subsequent age. Jesus wished to develop spiritual insight into eternal realities and to stimulate initiative in the originality of living; he concerned himself exclusively with the underlying and permanent spiritual needs of the human race. He revealed a goodness equal to God. He exalted love — truth, beauty, and goodness — as the divine ideal and the eternal reality.
140:8.10 (1580.5) No generation is exempt from the labor of discovering how best to adapt Jesus’ life to its own problems.
101:7.5 (1114.3) The acid test for any religious philosophy consists in whether or not it distinguishes between the realities of the material and the spiritual worlds while at the same moment recognizing their unification in intellectual striving and in social serving.
3. What does it mean that the gospel is “an effective solvent” for spiritual difficulties? Consider the following.
196:3.1 (2093.6) Personal, spiritual religious experience is an efficient solvent for most mortal difficulties; it is an effective sorter, evaluator, and adjuster of all human problems. Religion does not remove or destroy human troubles, but it does dissolve, absorb, illuminate, and transcend them.
How can we help the spirit to accomplish these transformations?
Please prepare for our 90-minute Zoom video session, which will take place on Saturday, March 10, at 12:00 noon Central time. If you can join us, please consider the situation as you prepare to participate. We may not have time for everyone to share. And we could have over 50 participants. You see the situation. Obviously, we will need our listening skills, our empathy, and our willingness to limit what we say in view of our time constraints. Therefore, think peacefully about what you could initially report in two minutes. For the sake of efficient sharing, it is suggested that you write out your contribution(s) in advance. Give us your statement of today’s gospel, a question surging in your mind or soul, or a report of your experience of discovery. We are eager to interact with you within the framework of Urantia University Institute and beyond. There may be a way to facilitate your sharing beyond the Zoom video session.
Finally, THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD-HEARTED PARTICIPATION. Even with the simplifications offered, this is a lot to think about.