A Heart Aflame for God: A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Formation for the 21st Century

The purpose of this class is to explore and commend a distinctively Reformed Protestant vision of Christian growth for 21st Century evangelicals. We live in a society marked by a wide variety of options for approaching spirituality. Both secular people who are spiritual but not religious, and evangelical Christians wonder: “What will enliven my heart and my life? What must I do to experience transcendence, peace, and inner joy? Does new age spirituality, looking inward, practicing yoga, embracing Catholic mysticism or Eastern Orthodoxy present us with better options for communing closely with God than the traditional Christian means of grace?”

Despite the confusing array of options when it comes to spiritual formation in today’s marketplace of ideas, Reformed Protestants have rich biblical and historical resources for enjoying God and growing in the Christian life. The Christian life is a growing life. We are to “grow up into salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2) and we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). True Christian spirituality isn’t static but dynamic, inviting us to keep our hearts aflame for God. But how do we grow? And what is spiritual formation? 

Join us on Sunday mornings at 8:45am in the Ministry House as we ask and answer these questions and aim to become men and women who have hearts aflame for God in all of life. Along the way, we will not only define spiritual formation but will evaluate approaches to spiritual formation that are popular today but may prove to be unhelpful to long-term Christian growth.

Class details:

This class is taught by our Pastor of Mission and Formation, Rick Whitlock, and will run for 12 weeks, every Sunday morning beginning at 8:45am from Sept. 7 till Nov. 23.