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Gospel-Centered Life

In the midst of a culture inundated with magic formulas, easy shortcuts, and soft answers to difficult questions, we are convinced that real growth can only be achieved through the continual rediscovery of the historic gospel. We are deeply committed to seeing gospel renewal spread in our generation. We envision a movement of mission-hearted faith, anchored in enduring truth, working itself out in unashamed discipleship, eager to stand the tests of kingdom-calling and sacrifice. A movement such as this starts with people who are passionate about living a gospel-centered life: a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects them from depending on their own religious performance, and being seduced and overwhelmed by idols.

For more on gospel centrality, visit The Gospel Coalition, The Resurgence, and take advantage of the resources below.

Scripture

[1] Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, [2] and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. [3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Quotes

To be gospel-centered means that that the gospel – and Jesus himself – is our greatest hope and boast, our deepest longing and joy, and our most passionate song and message. It means that the gospel is what defines us as Christians, unites us as brothers and sisters, changes us as sinner/saints and sends us as God’s people on mission. When we are gospel-centered, the gospel is exalted above every other good thing in our lives and triumphs over every bad thing set against it.

Joe Thorn

Many Christians live with a truncated view of the gospel. We see the gospel as the “door,” the way in, the entrance point into God’s kingdom. But the gospel is so much more! It is not just the door, but the path we are to walk every day of the Christian life. It is not just the means of our salvation, but the means of our transformation. It is not simply deliverance from sin’s penalty, but release from sin’s power. The gospel is what makes us right with God, and it is also what frees us to delight in God.

Bob Thune

We never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to something more “advanced”. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity. We are not justified by the gospel and then sanctified by obedience, but the gospel is the way we grow and are renewed. It is the solution to every problem, the key to every closed door, the power through every barrier. The main problem in the Christian life is that we have not … “used” the gospel in and on all parts of our life.

Tim Keller

Group Studies

The Gospel-Centered Life is a nine lesson small group study intended to help participants understand how the gospel shapes every aspect of life. Each lesson is self-contained, featuring clear teaching from scripture, and requires no extra work outside of the group setting.

“This is a rich gospel-centered small group curriculum that I am really excited to see published.” – Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church

“I have not seen a better resource for training people in the implications of the gospel. It communicates both to the new Christian and to the seasoned pastor, much like the gospel itself.” – Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor of The Journey

Course Material:

Leader’s Guide Participant’s Guide

Gospel in Life is an eight-week course on the gospel and how it is lived out in all of life— first in our hearts, then in community, and out into the world.

Week 1 opens the course with the theme of the city: our home now, the world that is. Week 8 closes the course with the theme of the eternal city: our heavenly home, the world that is to come. In between we will look at how the gospel changes our hearts (weeks 2 and 3), changes our community (weeks 4 and 5), and changes how we live in the world (weeks 6 and 7).

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Course Material:

DVD Study Guide

Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discpleship is a radical call to fight the fight of faith in the strength of the gospel.

In it Jonathan Dodson calls us to join the fight against sin, legalism, and license by looking to Christ and His gospel. Fight Clubs equips us to fight by exposing the fleeting promises of sin and drawing us into the grace-saturated promises of God. Displacing defective forms of discipleship, Dodson keeps the gospel at the center by tapping into various layers of biblical motivations to promote joyful obedience to Christ. He also provides a strategy to fight sin as the church, small fighting communities called Fight Clubs. These communities are shaped by three rules: 1) Know your Sin 2) Fight your Sin 3) Trust your Savior. Read the book or an article to find out more; form a “fight club”; and start fighting in the joy of the gospel.

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Books

What Is The Gospel?

By Greg Gilbert

How are we to formulate a clear, biblical understanding of the gospel? Tradition, reason, and experience all leave us ultimately disappointed. If we want answers, we must turn to the Word of God.

Greg Gilbert does so in What Is the Gospel?Beginning with Paul’s systematic presentation of the gospel in Romans and moving through the sermons in Acts, Gilbert argues that the central structure of the gospel consists of four main subjects: God, man, Christ, and response. The book carefully examines each and then explores the effects the gospel can have in individuals, churches, and the world.

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The Prodigal God

By Timothy Keller

In The Reason for God, renowned minister Timothy Keller offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, he uses one of the best-known Christian parables to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation.

Taking his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity, Keller uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable Jesus reveals God’s prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

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Knowing God

By J.I. Packer

J.I. Packer’s Knowing God has become a classic of the Christian faith. In 2006, Christianity Today voted this title to be one of the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals! During the past 20 years, this classic has revealed to over one million Christians around the world the wonder, the glory and the joy of knowing God.

While Knowing God gives us information about God with clarity and grace, it does much more–it aids us in actually knowing him, in building our relationship with him, and helps draw us closer to him in love and worship.

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Disciple

By Bill Clem

This guide looks at the essential elements of discipleship while encouraging readers to think and journal through Scripture. Christians are disciples of Christ. Since our entire identity is defined by Christ, we do well to think carefully about what it means to be a disciple.

Disciple grounds our identity as disciples in the storyline of the Bible, using Scripture and real-life stories to illustrate the essential elements of Christian discipleship.

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