How Gospel-Centered Are You?

Parents and students,

So, how Gospel-Centered are you? If you really want to find out, you have to do the math...Gospel Math! Jesus + Nothing = EVERYTHING!!! This concept is nothing new, but it is radical in our day and age. I know that most of us are not struggling with our works earning God’s favor in our redemption, but many of us struggle with thinking that God’s continued favor toward us is based on our performance. It is my desire to liberate you from that thinking by pointing you to the freedom that the Gospel brings! According to Colossians 1:12-23, The Gospel is about Jesus' performance on our behalf not about our performance for Him! Through the Gospel we have been qualified, delivered, transferred, redeemed, and forgiven! Preach this to yourself everyday when you wake up in the morning - “Because of God’s grace, I have been qualified to share in God’s inheritance as a son, delivered from the domain of darkness, transferred to the kingdom of Christ, redeemed from sin’s slavery, and forgiven from our lawless deeds!” Being Gospel-centered focuses your attention on becoming increasingly more of what you already are in Christ and never anchoring your identity to anything smaller than Jesus Christ. The Gospel causes us to rejoice that our lives are not primarily about becoming better Christians, but being a people who believe in the power of the Gospel to transform our lives and sanctify us! It was Christ’s obedience to His Father on the cross that empowers our obedience to the Father. What a liberating truth this is!

I encourage you to take this month of December and mediate on the Gospel. After all, this is the month that we celebrate the incarnation of Christ and His coming to earth in Bethlehem. He came be our Savior and be a ransom for us! In light of this, there are two resources that I would highly recommend. The first is already attached to this e-mail entitled, “Gospel Math – Jesus + Nothing = EVERYTHING.” This message by Tullian Tchividjian (weird name, I know!) will minister to your soul! His message is Gospel-centered and from Colossians 1. You can download the entire message here.

The other resource is the book entitled, What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert. This book can be purchased in church bookstore. You can also check it out in our new “Book Nook” in the Ministry Center Lobby and Carol Laury can direct you to this very helpful resource. You can watch a quick preview video of it on Amazon.com here.

In Sunday School, we are continuing our DVD series with John Piper on “The Blazing Center.” Last week we learned how glorifying God is not based on duty, but delight in God. Tonight we will continue our study on the church, and meet in Wednesday Discussion Groups, breaking down the one-another passages in the New Testament.

Here is what is coming up in 10:31...

• Christmas Caroling and Party: This annual event will be held on Saturday, December 11th from 3pm-9pm. Come ready to serve and fellowship with one another! We will start at the Student Ministry Room at 3pm and end at the church by 9pm. We ask that each student bake and bring 2 dozen of their favorite kind of cookies and we will sort them out and put them into gift bags. After caroling around our community, we will head back to the church for supper and our Christmas party. You will need to bring a gift to the party, but this gift DOES NOT have to cost any money at all. If you want to spend some money, I ask that you not spend more than $5. Please let me know if you are coming.
  

On a final note, it our intention as pastors to provide opportunities for the men in our church to be sharpened, discipled, and encouraged. That is why we are offering 3 men’s groups throughout the week! The time commitment would be at least 60-90 minutes, but feel free to come and stay as long as you are able to. The goal of these groups is to be intentional in our relationship to God, to our wives/families, and to one another as men in the body of Christ. Here are the times...

MONDAYS with Pastor Ferrell at 9:00pm at Pastor Ferrell’s house
WEDNESDAYS with Pastor Nathan and me at 6:30am in the new church library.
FRIDAYS with Pastor Brodie at 6:30am at the church


Let’s remember to pray for one another that we would all be Gospel-centered this month when the world around us will certainly be self-centered!

Your fellow servant,

Pastor Stephen