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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

The Cycle of Grace

Living in Sacred Balance

Trevor Hudson, Jerry P. Haas • January 2013

BUY Print $15.99

BUY eBook (Available in ePub or Kindle) $9.99

Are you soul-weary? Do you struggle to make time for God in the midst of a packed schedule? Or do you sometimes stay so busy doing things for God that you can't relax and just "be"?

Jesus faced amazing pressure and overwhelming demands throughout his ministry, but he did not experience the burnout so common today among Christian ministers and laypersons.

You can learn the rhythm of living that Jesus demonstrates — the Cycle of Grace — throughout the Gospels. Use this workbook and accompanying video about the Cycle of Grace either individually or in a small group.

The Cycle of Grace examines 4 components of a grace-filled life:

  • Acceptance
  • Sustenance
  • Significance
  • Fruitfulness

Trevor Hudson, a dynamic pastor, author, and speaker, introduces each part of the Cycle of Grace in a short video segment (available on YouTube). The video segments are titled as follows:

In the workbook Jerry Haas provides practical exercises for individuals and groups, complete with suggestions for journaling and preparing for group sessions.

This 6-week study will help you

  • know that God loves you
  • nurture your spiritual life
  • understand who you are called to be in the world
  • learn how to restore balance to your life

The workbook includes a Leader's Guide and several useful appendixes. A must-have resource for clergy and lay leaders, The Cycle of Grace is also an excellent text for seminary and college classes preparing students for ministry.


Categories: Healing & Wholeness
Rev. Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement in Southern Africa for more than 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, South Africa, he is deeply committed to the work and ministry of the local congregation. In addition to preaching and teaching on a regular basis in South Africa, he is also involved with the Institute for Creative Conversation and the Jesuit Institute of South Africa. A significant part of his weekly work is giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching, teaching, and lecturing in the areas of spiritual formation, spiritual direction, and pastoral therapy. In the USA he lectures at Fuller Seminary and Gardner-Webb University in their Doctor of Ministry programs, the Next Frontiers Program for Ministers, the Renovaré International Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation at Westmont College. Trevor is the author of over 20 books, including the Pauses series (Pauses for Advent, Pauses for Lent, and Pauses for Pentecost) with Upper Room Books. Trevor is married to Debbie, and they are the parents of two adult children, Joni and Mark.

Jerry P. Haas is executive director of Border Community Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising cross-border awareness and fostering binational relations along the Arizona/Sonora, Mexico border. Before assuming this role, he served as director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation and spiritual director of The Upper Room (1999–2012). He pastored churches in California and Arizona for 25 years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Jerry is the coauthor of The Cycle of Grace: Living in Sacred Balance (with Trevor Hudson) and Shaping a Life of Significance for Retirement (with Jack Hansen). He was project coordinator for Upper Room Worshipbook: Music and Liturgies for Spiritual Formation. Jerry and his wife, Donna, live in the Tucscon, Arizona, area.

ISBN: 978-0-8358-1198-9

Kindle ISBN: 978-0-8358-1229-0

EPub ISBN: 978-0-8358-1202-3

Imprint: Upper Room

Pub Date: January 2013

Trim Size: 7 in (w) x 10 in (h) x 0.234 in (d)

Page Count: 112

BISAC Categories: RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Adult

BISAC1: REL109010

BISAC2:

BISAC3:

Balance—we all want this, some of us us seek it, but very few of us achieve this. Trevor Hudson and Jerry Haas bring us a sacred gift of a journey toward balance. This multifaceted approach will give you time to discern the holy shifts you must make to approach a more balanced life. Read, reflect, watch, interact, and be blessed by the gift of sacred balance.
—Bo Prosser Coordinator for Missional Congregations Cooperative Baptist Fellowship [Alternative endorsement by Bo Prosser, depending on the target] This is not another program; Lord knows we don't need another program. What we do need is an approach to sacred living that helps us achieve vitality in our spirituality. This is what Trevor and Jerry have prepared for us! As you enter into this cycle of living into sacred balance, you begin to discern life in a variety of ways. You begin to know Jesus in ways you've only hoped for. And, you begin to know, truly know that you are a child of our Heavenly Parent, God.
—Bo Prosser Coordinator for Missional Congregations Cooperative Baptist Fellowship