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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.

Companions in Christ: Exploring the Way Leader’s Guide

An Introduction to the Spiritual Journey

Stephen D. Bryant, Marjorie J. Thompson • April 2005

BUY Print $14.99

Exploring the Way Participant's Book is available for small-group members.

This user-friendly Leader's Guide provides complete guidance, content, and background material for each of the weekly meetings. Also included is general information about Christian spirituality and disciplines. It's the perfect condensed orientation to Companions in Christ! All weekly group gatherings follow the same basic outline:

  • Opening time of welcoming, centering, and worship (5 minutes)
  • Sharing insights from the week's spiritual exercises (10 minutes)
  • Teaching narrative (20 minutes)
  • Deeper explorations into a specific spiritual practice (20 minutes)
  • Closing worship (5 minutes)

Find the tools you need in this comprehensive Leader's Guide to make your group study both thought-provoking and full of lively discussion, including a full explanation of spiritual formation, a complete list of materials needed, and an outline for each session with suggestions for what to say.


Stephen D. Bryant was the world editor and publisher of Upper Room Ministries from 1997 to 2009 and is currently directing international ministry initiatives for the General Board of Discipleship. Before his election as world editor and publisher, Bryant served as director of spiritual formation for The Upper Room and as the international director of The Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis movements. His vision of small groups as important settings for spiritual formation and his experience in the contemplative life as well as local churches provided the inspiration for the Companions in Christ series. Bryant was instrumental in shaping the foundational 28-week resource.

Marjorie J. Thompson is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She has served as director of the Pathways Center for Spiritual Leadership and as spiritual director to Companions in Christ, a program outgrowth of the Pathways initiative of The Upper Room. Companions in Christ is a series of small-group resources for spiritual formation in local congregations, suited to ecumenical use. Marjorie has exercised a ministry of teaching, writing, and spiritual guidance for many years.

ISBN: 978-0-8358-9807-2

Imprint: Upper Room

Pub Date: April 2005

Trim Size: 7.3125 in (w) x 9.25 in (h) x in (d)

Page Count: 110

BISAC Categories: RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth

BISAC1: REL012120

BISAC2: REL012070

BISAC3: REL006000