REFORMED SPIRITUALITY

REFORMED SPIRITUALITY SYLLABUS

Dates & Time

• April 13 – June 15, 2023
• Thursdays, 6-9pm 

Course Description

This course seeks to deepen the devotional life and practices of Christian leaders as they pursue personal holiness.  It aims to accomplish this by exposing students to the teachings of contemporary and historical Christian leaders in the Reformed tradition, especially with reference to the Puritans.  The course begins by considering our calling to spirituality, then the means by which we pursue it, followed by the fruit it produces in our lives. 

Course Objectives

1. Deepen the student’s love for Christ and desire to live a holy life
2. Develop the student’s devotional habits to nurture communion with Christ
3. Expose the student to Reformed devotional literature (past and present)
4. Demonstrate Biblical motives and methods for the student’s pursuit of holiness

Classes

1 – Knowing & Loving God (April 13)

• Teacher:  Chris Drinkard
• Objective: To prove that knowing and loving God are the highest virtues of Christian leaders and to explore the effects and benefits of this pursuit.
• Assignments:
  • Required:  Training the Next Generation of Pastors and Missionaries – John Piper
  • Supplemental:  The Beauty of the Heart of Christ (Gentle and Lowly, Ch 10 – Dane Ortlund)

2 – Experiential Calvinism (April 20)

• Teacher:  Chris Drinkard
• Objective:  To demonstrate through the life and writings of John Calvin that Reformed Theology should not produce cold orthodoxy, but a passionate pursuit of intimacy with God, holiness and service.
• Assignments:
  • Required: John Calvin, The Reformer’s Spirituality – James McGoldrick

3 – Meditation (April 27)

• Teacher:  Chris Drinkard
• Objective:  To examine the Christian discipline of meditation along with its objects, practices, benefits and obstacles. 
• Assignments:
  • Required: The Puritan Practice of Meditation – Joel Beeke

4 – Prayer (May 4)

• Teacher:  Chris Drinkard
• Objective:  To consider the duty and necessity of prayer as a means of authentic spirituality and to examine the Lord’s Prayer as our guide in prayer. 
• Assignments:
  • Required: The Prayer of Prayers (Prayer, Ch 8 – Tim Keller)
  • Supplemental: The Touchstones of Prayer (Prayer, Ch 9 – Tim Keller)

5 – Sabbath (May 11)

• Teacher:  Chris Drinkard
• Objective:  To examine the Sabbath command as it applied to Israel and consider the relevance, application and benefits of observing the Sabbath for the New Covenant Community. 
• Assignments:
  • Required: The Sabbath and Reformed Piety – Joseph Pipa

6 – Sacraments (May 18)

• Teacher:  Chris Drinkard
• Objective:  To consider how our participation in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper nourish our love for Christ and how we ought to prepare for and partake of them.  
• Assignments:
  • Required: Heidelberg Catechism Q 65-82
  • Required:  Westminster Larger Catechism Q 161-177
  • Supplemental:  Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapters 27-29 

7 – Sin (May 25)

• Teacher:  ??
• Objective:  To examine the nature and deceitfulness of sin, how a proper view of sin is essential to the pursuit of holiness and how complacency with sin is damaging to our souls. 
• Assignments:
  • Required:  Lot – A Beacon (Holiness, Ch 9 – JC Ryle) 
  • Supplemental:  Sin (Holiness, Ch 1 – JC Ryle)

8 – Sanctification & Holiness (June 1)

• Teacher:  ??
• Objective:  To consider the necessity, nature and marks of sanctification and with what means and practices we must pursue holiness in our lives. 
• Assignments
  • Required:  Holiness (Holiness, Ch 3 – JC Ryle)
  • Supplemental:  Sanctification (Holiness, Ch 2 – JC Ryle)

9 – Union with Christ (June 8)

• Teacher:  ??
• Objective:  To explore the nature of our Union with Christ and how our understanding of this union is of great benefit to our comfort and joy and a mighty weapon in our fight against sin. 
• Assignments:
  • Required:  Union (Deeper, Ch 3 – Dane Ortlund)
  • Supplemental:  Embrace (Deeper, Ch 4 – Dane Ortlund)

10 – Contentment (June 15)

• Teacher:  ??
• Objective:  To consider Christian Contentment as a genuine mark and product of spiritual maturity, what contentment is and is not, and how we might grow in Contentment. 
• Assignments:
  • Required:  Christian Contentment Described (The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Ch 1 – Jeremiah Burroughs)
  • Supplemental:  The Evils of a Murmuring Spirit (The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Ch 5 – Jeremiah Burroughs)

Class Structure

• Each class will be approximately 3 hours long and will be composed of three 45 minute sections with a 15 minute break between the first and second section.  Class sections will generally follow this outline:
  • Section #1 – Lecture
  • Section #2 – Discussion
  • Section #3 – Application 
• The application section of each class will also be a discussion on how we can practically apply the principles of each lesson to our personal lives and to those we shepherd.  We will consider each of these questions:
  • What does this lesson reveal about my NEED?
  • What does this lesson reveal about God’s SUPPLY in Christ?
  • How should I RESPOND to God’s grace?
  • How can I SHEPHERD God’s people in these truths?

Requirements

Grading

• The total possible points for the course is 100 points.  Points are awarded for assignments as described below.   
• A total of 70 points is required to pass the course.  

30% – Reading Assignments

• Students are required to fully complete all “required” reading assignments before their corresponding class. 
• Sign the Completed Reading Assignments page at the end of the course indicating which assignments were completed.  
• Each weekly assignment is worth 3 points (maximum of 30). 

40% – Reflection Journal 

• For any five (5) of the assignments (articles or sermons), write a personal reflection of 300-400 words.  This SHOULD NOT be a summary of the assignment nor should it include long quotations from the work.  Rather, it SHOULD be your personal processing of the assignment, including insights you gained from the content and how these insights will affect your pursuit of knowing and loving God.  Word choice and sentence structure should be appropriate for a Master’s level course. 
• All reflections should be written in the same Google Document using this TEMPLATE. 
• Each reflection is worth 8 points (maximum of 40). 

30% – Class Participation

• All students are expected to be present and participate in each class discussion.
• To receive participation credit for a class, a student must contribute significantly to the class discussion by asking relevant questions and/or offering thoughtful comments on the lecture or assignment. 
• Each class participation is worth 3 points (maximum of 30).  Students are allowed to miss only one class without penalty.