Celebrate Recovery

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.
   And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. - Romans 7:18
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
   For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. - Philippians 2:13
3. We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God.
   And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. - Romans 12:1
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
   Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. - Lamentations 3:40
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
   Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. - James 5:16
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
   Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. - James 4:10
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
   But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. - 1 John 1:9
8. We made a list of all the persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
   Do to others as you would like them to do to you. - Luke 6:31
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
   “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. - Matthew 5:23-24
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admit it.
    If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. - 1 Corinthians 10:12
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.
    Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. - Colossians 3:16
12. Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
    Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. - Galatians 6:1

The Celebrate Recovery curriculum is based on the following eight principles that come from Jesus' Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-10 and the Christ-centered twelve steps.

Eight Principles Based on the Beatitudes - By Pastor Rick Warren

The word RECOVERY is the foundation for the following acrostic and the eight principles we encourage participants to commit to.

1. Realize I'm not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendencies to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor.”
2. Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover. “Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
3. Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control. “Happy are the meek.”
4. Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. “Happy are the pure in heart.”
5. Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask him to remove my character defects. “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.”
6. Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I've done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others. “Happy are the merciful. Happy are the peacemakers.”
7. Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
8. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this good news to others, both by my example and by my words. “Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires.”