The Life You've Always Wanted

129 Pages·2004·5.03 MB·English

Digital Download Full Book
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Books by John Ortberg
Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them
If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get
Out of the Boat
The Life You’ve Always Wanted
Love Beyond Reason
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John Ortberg
with stephen and amanda sorenson
SIX SESSIONS ON SPIRITUAL
PARTICIPANT’S GUIDE
DISCIPLINES FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE
ZONDERVAN
The Life You’ve Always Wanted Participant’s Guide
Copyright © 2004 by John Ortberg
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
ISBN 978-0-310-78163-9 (Full text; group use download)
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New
International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used
by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are
offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by
Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life
of this book.
All rights reserved. The original purchaser of this product shall have the right to make copies
for their group, provided such copies are not resold or distributed to the general public.
Otherwise, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or
any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the
publisher.
Interior design by Nancy Wilson
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Contents
Preface 7
Session 1:
It’s “Morphing” Time 9
Session 2:
Slowing Down and Celebrating 29
Session 3:
Praying and Confessing 49
Session 4:
Meditating on Scripture and
Seeking Guidance 67
Session 5:
Practicing Servanthood, Finding Freedom 85
Session 6:
Going the Distance with a
Well-Ordered Heart 103
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Preface
If you have ever been frustrated with the state of your spiri-
tual life. If you’ve ever wondered why spiritual growth seems
to go so slowly. If you’ve ever wondered if real change is pos-
sible. If you’ve ever felt confused or stuck in your spiritual
life—you’re my kind of person.
I have struggled (and still do struggle) with those same things.
But I have also discovered that it is possible to live the life I’ve
always wanted to live. You see, the Christian gospel insists that
the transformation of the human personality really is possi-
ble. It is never easy. It is rarely quick. But it is possible. I see
it happening in people sometimes—occasionally even in
myself.
It happens any time people become intensely serious about
learning from Jesus how to arrange their lives. It happens any
time people set their focus on learning to live as Jesus would
live if he were in their place.
Throughout the centuries, wise people have devoted them-
selves to following Jesus in this way. This series is an attempt
to make some of that wisdom accessible to people who live in
a world of freeways, corporate ladders, and X boxes. When you
are through, my hope is that you will accept Christ’s invita-
tion to live life his way because it truly is the life you’ve always
wanted.
—John Ortberg
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It’s “Morphing” Time
SESSION ONE
The good news as Jesus preached it is
that now it is possible for ordinary men
and women to live in the presence and
under the power of God.... It is not
about the minimal entrance requirements
for getting into heaven when you die. It
is about the glorious redemption of
human life—your life. It’s morphing time.
—John Ortberg
9