DSMN 520 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Spiritual Assessment Assignment_2025.pdf

Letice Morgan

DSMN520 Spiritual Formation

Dr. Richard Odom

Spiritual Assessment Assignment

October 6, 2024

SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

This assignment has 3 sections that will be submitted as 1 paper in the assigned Module: Week. Each section is

intended to direct you toward an assessment of your spiritual life in its current form. Without knowing where

you are spiritually, it will not be possible for you to move forward; thus, this assignment will focus on an

assessment of your spiritual life.

INSTRUCTIONS

The purpose of this assignment is to lead you to reflect on 3 aspects of your spiritual life so that you can see

how/where you need to mature. In order to accomplish this goal, this assignment will require a level of

vulnerability and honesty, which can result in growth (if you embrace the process). Approach this assignment

prayerfully, asking the Lord to reveal to you how He wants to work in your heart throughout this course and over

the remainder of your life.

This assignment must be 1,000–1,250 words and divided into the following sections:

PRACTICING THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

In this section, describe your current practice of the spiritual disciplines. If you need help knowing which

disciplines to include, refer to Whitney’s textbook as an example. Specifically, examine which disciplines are

commonly applied in your life and how regularly you apply them. Be honest here—dishonesty will not impress

anyone, and your current investment in the disciplines is not part of the grade. How thoroughly you describe

your investment is what will be graded in this section.

COMMON TEMPTATIONS

In this section, discuss the temptations you face. After reading through Killjoys, consider how the authors have

described the common temptations that you face on a daily basis. Some of these temptations are just that—

temptations only. In other cases, these temptations have become full-blown sins as you have given into

temptation. Be specific and honest about which category describes you and what the common temptations are

in your everyday life. Such sins may include laziness, anger, pride, covetousness, gluttony, lust, envy, and gossip.

Be specific about whether these are common temptations or common sins, addictions, or bondages. You cannot

begin to address these temptations or sins unless you are willing to admit the reality of their presence in your

life.

BLIND SPOTS AND WEAKNESSES

In this section, evaluate where the blind spots are in your life. If you need help identifying them, ask a close

friend or family member. This is a very important aspect of this assignment as it will help lay the foundation for

moving toward a spiritual growth plan. Blind spots, by definition, are areas in your life that you are either blind

to or unconscious of without clear inspections.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

What is Good News? God desires that no one should perish, and the Bible says in Romans 10:13

(New International Version), “13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be

saved.”[a]whoever calls on him will be saved.”1 It is an invitation to everyone to be a part of God’s

family. The gospel is the good news that God sent Jesus to undo the sins of Adam. Romans 5:12-19

(King James Version), “12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by

sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”2 Jesus died and rose again for sinners,

just as God promised. It is the good news that we can be one with God. We are no longer removed from

God’s presence and under his wrath. It is the good news that we are the sons of the second Adam. We’ve

been re-born, and re-generated. Now all who are saved have something we must share with all of those

who don’t believe.

When Jesus commissioned His church, He told us in, Matthew 28:19-20(New International

Version), “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”3 When God made this decree He left a

blueprint, the Holy Bible; and the Holy Spirit. The enablement comes, not by our own good intentions,

but by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives.

However, what the Good News means to me is simply means forgiveness, redemption, and

eternal life. Vanderstelt noted that “ if we are going to grow up to be like Christ, we have to grow up

with the very truths of Jesus.4 I initially lived my life looking for meaning, who I was, and why I existed.

This Gospel helped me redefine God’s purpose for my life and gave my calling meaning and

significance. The good news is that God reconnected with me through His son, Jesus.

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1. Romans 10:13 (New International Version)

2. Romans 5:12-19 (King James Version),

3. Matthew 28:19-20(New International Version)

I realized, it’s not about just barely making it into Heaven, and only focusing on myself and my

issues, but I want to share the Good News here on Earth. I want others to experience God in the same or

greater capacity than myself. I’m have gotten out of the stage of only wanting something from God, and

I’m finding out what God wants from me. The scripture that has helped me during this process is, Mark

12:29-30 (New International Version) says, “29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”5

I couldn’t find a better expression to exemplify the Good News than Jeff Vanderstelt’s

sentiment-“Jesus is the true and better human, and everything in life is better if Jesus is brought into it.

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4. Jeff Vanderstelt, Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 30.

5 Mark 12:29-30 (New International Version)

6. Jeff Vanderstelt, Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 31.

Bibliography