The Human Condition & Spiritual Formation
In January 2020, Pastor Drew preached three sermons that are instrumental for understanding Spiritual Formation and all that we do as a church:
January 12: The Human Condition
(44 min. — PDF of sermon slides)
In this sermon, he lays out a biblical anthropology, highlighting who we were originally created to be (made in the imago Dei), what happened (various distortions), and where that leaves us (trying hard to cover up the distortions) even though God is on a never-ending mission to heal and redeem us, in order that the distorted image might conform to the imago Christi.
January 19: Putting Off the Old; Putting on the New
(34 min. — PDF of sermon slides)
January 19th, Drew laid out a formational pathway based on the anthropology proclaimed on Jan. 12. This formational pathway involves the simultaneous combination of challenge, vulnerability, and safety. Listen to the sermon to find out more!
For people who dig into this, many questions will arise about fig leaves and false self. That’s good! You might enjoy this “Common Questions” file in which Pastor Drew and a congregation member exchange thoughts about all of it.
January 26:
Maturing in Christ
(47 min. incl. review for first 10 minutes — PDF of sermon slides)
In the final sermon, Drew presents various pictures of what the New Testament calls maturity. It’s one thing to say we are to be conformed to the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18), but what exactly does that look like? Often, people don’t have a clear picture of the end-goal of the Christian life (besides being with Christ in the age to come). Drew lays out 5-6 “measures of maturity” in the sermon and supplements those with this document: 10 Measures of Maturation. Be forewarned, this document is a bit unrefined. (it consists of notes compiled by Drew). Moreover, the content is thick. Each of the 10 “Measures” could be a class/sermon in and of themselves.
Those who want to go deeper may want to sign up for Kingdom Journey, a spiritual formation process that works to help people mature in Christ through an intensive, supportive process.