The document describes the four movements of Lectio Divina, a method of reading Scripture involving preparation, reading, reflection, response, and rest. It is done both individually and as a group in a house church meeting. Participants first quiet themselves before reading the passage four times. They then reflect individually on a word or phrase that stands out, consider its meaning in their life, pray a response to God, and read it once more to rest in their encounter with God's Spirit. [/SUMMARY]

2. LECTIO DIVINA: 2 CORINTHIANS 4: 5-12, MSG
“Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming
Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from
Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and
our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face
of Christ, all bright and beautiful”.
“If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry
this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our
ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s
incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that.
You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been
surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re
not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve
been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been
thrown down, but we haven’t broken”.

3. INTRO TO LECTIO DIVINA
Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is a way
of being with God in His Word in Four
Movements. Its roots go back to some
of the early church fathers and later
became formalized as a part of
monastic life beginning with Benedict
in the Sixth Century.

4. PREPARATION: SILENCE
We prepare by quieting ourselves before the Lord
and seeking to get in touch with and amplify our
heart’s desire to hear His voice. Once we are
quiet, we read the passage through four times
in our quest to become more present to it. Take
a moment to be quiet after each reading as if
listening to the last notes of a great piece of
music.
In our house church meeting, we will all sit quietly together for a few
moments. Then we have four different voices read the passage through
once each. Male, female, younger, older, etc. Good to mix it up.

5. MOVEMENT ONE: READ (LECTIO)
Now we return to the passage and read it once, maybe twice,
with particular awareness of any word or phrase that
strikes us. We are particularly looking for anything which
resonates more deeply within us or which we resist in
some way within. We will be gentle and reflective –
anticipating that God is present to speak to us. For a
moment, remain with the word or words that stand out,
savoring or repeating it (them) without trying to figure out
why they (it) got our attention.
In our house church meeting we do this as a group, each to
ourselves for a few moments.

6. MOVEMENT TWO: REFLECT (MEDITATIO)
Now we return to the passage again to specifically
reflect on why the word or phrase may being
meaningful to us today. If it is a story, we may ask:
“Where am I in this story?” Or we may reflect on
the question: “What is going on in my life that I
needed to hear this word today?” Try not to
overthink at this point, but to reflectively examine
anything that seems worth noting.
Again, in our house church meeting we will give people
time to do this on their own as we sit together

7. MOVEMENT THREE: RESPOND (FORMATIO)
Is God inviting us to something? Is He challenging us
in some way? How do we find ourselves
responding to this? This is the time to pray back to
the Lord out of the experience we are having. Let
the prayer be authentic, intimate, honest and
heartfelt. If we are aware of sin, confess it. If we are
inspired, rejoice with gratitude. If we are touched,
savor it. If we are amazed, admit it!
In house church, this is something we are processing to
ourselves but we will be willing to share with the church
after we complete our solo meditations.

8. MOVEMENT FOUR: REST AND EMBODY
(CONTEMPLATIO / INCARNATIO)
Now we read the passage through one final time
with an attitude of rest and satisfaction. We
have encountered the Spirit of God in His word.
We can rest in this encounter.and be at peace.
We resolve to embody or carry into life with us
anything we have received from our experience
of Him with the expectation that it will bring life
to ourselves and others.
In house church, we will follow this with a time of open floor sharing. What part of
the passage drew your attention? How did you respond to God? How will you
seek to live into the things the Spirit of God enlightened you with this week?