Tag: Gospel-centered
-
Illustration of a Healthy Church
If our congregation were to be a church with the gospel, plus a group that enjoys being together in community, but we were not on mission to reach out to our neighbors and the Nations, for the sake of advancing Christ’s Kingdom, then we would just be another social club for people to attend. Gospel…
-
Gospel vs. Legalism
What is the difference between legalism and the gospel? Legalism (or Moralism) says God looks at how well we keep the law. The Gospel says we are hidden in Christ. So God sees how well Jesus kept the Law (perfectly), all his works, and his death on our behalf. Consequently, because we are hidden in…
-
Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves Each and Every Day
C.J. Mahaney reminds us of the importance and benefits of preaching the gospel to ourselves each and every day.
-
Gospel Wakefulness
One of the more helpful works I have read concerning gospel-centered Christianity is Jared Wilson‘s Gospel Wakefulness. Perhaps most insightful to me was Jared’s point that gospel-centeredness can be explained but cannot be taught. In other words, it requires a grace of the holy spirit. I do not think this realization moves gospel-centeredness into a…
-
11 Personal Heart Examination Points to Consider
It might be beneficial to periodically take some moments to consider if, to some degree, we are functionally forgetting the gospel. “Forgetting the gospel?” Yep. As absurd as such a thing may sound, it is a very common spiritual issue for all of us. Consider 2 Peter 1.3-9: His divine power has granted to us all things that…
-
REAL Christians Waltz
Listen to how Bob Flayhart, Senior Pator at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL, describes a Gospel-centered Christian Life: A Gospel-centered life is the Christian Waltz. A waltz is a dance made up of three steps. Christians need to consider the Christian three step when it comes to growth. In the first step, we…
-
Sad State of Evangelicalism
An excellent, “must read”, article by Mark Galli for Christianity Today: The Troubled State of Christian Preaching. This is a great example of a “I Wish I’d Said That”. All of Galli’s insight resonate … Here is the gist of Galli’s tought, set within the context of the Presidential Inauguration and Louie Giglio being put…
-
2 Mistakes Christians Make
People tend to make two mistakes when they think about the redeemed life. The first is to underestimate the sin that remains in us; it’s still there and it can still hurt us. The second is to underestimate the strength of God’s grace; God is determined to make us new. As a result, all Christians…
-
The Difference That Makes All the Difference
Francis Schaeffer, of his own testimony, writes: “I became a Christian once for all upon the basis of the finished work of Christ through faith; that is justification. The Christian life, sanctification, operates on the same basis, but moment by moment. There is the same base (Christ’s work) and the same instrument (faith); the only…
-
What If We Omitted Gospel, Community, or Mission?
The refrain from an old song says: “Two out of three ain’t bad.” But would this be true for a church, or a Christian, who incorporates 2 out of 3 of the core values: Gospel, Community, Mission? Consider these thoughts, framed as a mathematical equation: Gospel + Community – Mission If we have a Gospel…
-
Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad
I began reading Paul Tripp’s Broken Down House earlier this week. I had read it before, or rather I should say I skimmed it before, but did not take the time to allow Tripp’s poignant insights to resonate in my soul. I raced through it last time, getting the general gist, but not digesting much…
-
Take a Repentance Tri-p
On a few occasions I have posted some thoughts and things about the concept of Tri-Perspectivalism. Tri-Perspectivalism (or, as some call it, Tri-P) is a fancy word for the simple concept of looking at our spiritual lives, and the ministry of our churches, from three distinct perspectives. Introduced by John Frame and Vern Poythress’ monumental…
-
Gospel-centered Foundation
Tom Wood and Scott Thomas explain the essence and importance of being truly gospel-centered: We are persuaded that the gospel must be the central foundation for effective, God-honoring biblical [leadership]. It is imperative, therefore, that we know what the gospel is and how it informs our practices. Terms like justification, adoption, sanctification, and sin are…
-
Recovering the Grand Cosmic Significance
“We need to recover the grand, cosmic significance of Jesus’ saving activity that moves the gospel out of the narrow realm of self-preoccupation. One of the marvelous things about the gospel is that He has saved us so that we can be a part of His redeeming activity. The gospel, properly understood, is much broader…
-
Wading in the Gospel Deep
The message of the gospel is shallow enough for a child to wade in and yet deep enough to drown an elephant, and to grasp it we suggest following the summary of the gospel story through the four narrative acts of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. As each act of the drama unfolds, it’s important…
