Spiritual Formation
This Lantern video series explores Spiritual Formation from a Wesleyan perspective.
This 5-week study explores the essential questions of spiritual formation: What is it? How does it happen? Where does it happen? And what obstacles stand in our way? Through this journey, participants will discover what it means to truly follow Jesus—not just believe in Him, but apprentice under Him, learning to think, talk, and walk like Him.
Core Scripture: Romans 8:29 (NIV) - "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."
Trailer
The Danger of Belief Without Discipleship
The church today faces a critical challenge: we have people who are happy to believe in Jesus but aren't interested in following Jesus. Spiritual formation addresses this gap—it's about becoming more like Christ in every aspect of our lives.
Lesson 1:
What Is Spiritual Formation?
The Problem with Doing the Right Thing
What do you do when you know you ought to forgive someone, you believe forgiveness is the right thing, you speak words of forgiveness—but your heart still holds resentment? This reveals the limitation of focusing only on right behavior.
Lesson 2:
How Does Spiritual Formation Happen?
The Idolatry of Individualism
Richard Foster calls it "the idolatry of individualism"—the tendency to view spiritual formation as a solo endeavor between "just me and God." But this isn't the biblical model at all.
Challenge: Read through the book of Acts and the epistles. You'll see that spiritual formation happens in community, not isolation.
Lesson 3:
Where Does Spiritual Formation Happen?
The Dangers of Spiritual Practices
Now we address: What are the obstacles to spiritual formation?
Anytime we begin talking about spiritual practices, we run into obstacles and dangers. There are many, but we'll focus on four major ones.