Celebration of Discipline:
The Discipline of Celebration
(Downloadable Word document)

"Worship and celebration are natural consequences of living with openness to God's active presence in our daily lives. If they are missing from our normal way of life, we can develop practices that will make them as normal as inhaling and exhaling".

What about Celebration?
What comes to mind, when you hear the word "celebration?"
(birthdays, anniversaries, successes, promotions, births, weddings, etc.)
Such events may include an acknowledgment of God's blessing and an inclusion of him in the celebration, but we don't often link celebration with our spiritual lives. However, this is what Foster has in mind by introducing us to the Discipline of Celebration.

Celebration is experiencing the goodness of God.

"Celebration is one of the most important disciplines of engagement, yet most overlooked and misunderstood. It is the completion of worship, for it dwells on the greatness of God as shown in his goodness to us. We engage in celebration when we enjoy ourselves, our life, our world, in conjunction with our faith and confidence in God's greatness, beauty, and goodness. We concentrate on our life and world as God's work and as God's gift to us". (Dallas Willard "Spirit of the Disciplines" p. 179)

Celebration focuses on all that God has done in our behalf. It is the discipline of choosing gratitude rather than grumbling and remembrance rather than indifference. When we celebrate, we review and relive the history of God's blessings, and this stimulates a renewed sense of devotion. Celebration, whether individual or corporate, is taking pleasure, amazement, and joy in how good God has been to us in specific ways and times. To revel in God's goodness is to gain a new sense of perspective.
(K. Boa "That I May Know God" p. 86)

Why Celebration?
--Celebration is the result of a consciously chosen way of thinking and living".
--The discipline of celebration is an essential spiritual discipline in our lives for "Without a joyful spirit of festivity the Disciplines become dull, death-breathing tools in the hands of modern Pharisees."
--Celebration gives us the strength to live the other disciplines. When faithfully pursued, the disciplines bring us deliverance from those things that have made our lives miserable for years which, in turn, evokes increased celebration. Thus, an unbroken circle of life and power is formed."
--These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11). In our spiritual life, obedience to God brings joy that is not transient, but rather undergirds our entire lives. Celebration brings joy and joy makes us strong i.e., "the joy of the Lord is my strength".

The Spirit of Carefree Celebration!
--A spirit of celebration comes when we learn to be careful for nothing.
1. Jesus - "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on" (Matthew 6:25).
2. Paul - rejoice always and to do not be anxious about anything (Phil. 4: 4-7).
--We will never have a carefree indifference to things until we totally trust God.

The Benefits of Celebration.
--Celebration saves us from taking ourselves too seriously.
--Celebration can be an effective antidote for the periodic sense of sadness that can constrict and oppress the heart.
--Celebration gives us a fresh perspective.
--Celebration tends toward more celebration.

The Practice (how to) of Celebration.
Each day can be celebrated by setting our minds on the higher things of life and looking for the joy in the daily provisions (of all things great and small) by the Lord.
-- We can sing, dance and shout.
-- We can laugh.
-- We can accent the creative gifts of fantasy and imagination.
-- We can make family events into times of celebration and thanksgiving.
-- We can take advantage of the festivals of our culture and really celebrate.
God is good and the life He gives us is good.
There is beauty to celebrate.
There is love to celebrate.
There is answer to prayer to celebrate.
There are victories to celebrate.
There are changed lives to celebrate.
There is a wonderful future to celebrate.

When dealing with death, we can celebrate because we know the mystery of the cross. In his dying, Jesus swallowed up death's power over us. It is no longer a scary unknown, but a conquered enemy.

We celebrate, even in our suffering, because we know the God who is with us. Henri Nouwen writes, "Joy and laughter are the gifts of living in the presence of God and trusting that tomorrow is not worth worrying about." Nouwen also writes that we celebrate because "we see that God, not the Evil One, has the last word."

There is much to celebrate in life. God has given us things to enjoy. Pleasure is good, not in the hedonistic sense of a life's pursuit, but as a gift to be received with gratitude (1 Timothy 4:4).

Discussion Questions:
Read Deuteronomy 14:23-27. How might such Biblical celebration challenge your attitude toward having a good time?

Understanding that our culture has made "having a good time" into a god, how can you redeem celebration as a spiritual discipline?

Does Philippians 4:4-7 have anything to say to you about celebration?

Can you think of some ways you might practice the discipline of celebration?
How might you as a group practice this discipline?