Gospel Centered Life (Gospel-centred) Paperback – May 15, 2013

This is a fantastic concise guide written by two experienced church planters in England designed for individuals, one-on-one, or in small groups. This is one of four books in a series of guides on the themes of being gospel centered. All four of these guides (also on the Church, Marriage, and Family) are loaded with great topics, questions for discussion, and saturated with good theology and biblically based. The best thing about this guide is that it is short, without sacrificing depth - for people who don't have a lot of time, or simply don't like to read. It gets you straight and to the point of discussion quickly - designed for action.This book has 14 short chapters that each contain these elements: 1) A Principle based on the biblical topic being discussed; 2) Consider this - a short case study on the topic at hand; 3) a biblical background reading on the subject of the case study; 4) Read all about it - a brief discussion on the topic tying in the context, bridging the biblical passage, and it's relevancy to the topic; and 5) Questions for reflection and discussion.Here are the Principles and Key Biblical Passages Developed in the Three Sections of this book:Part One: Gospel-Centered ChangeChapter 1: "A Life for God" - Principle: "It's not about me--it's about God and His glory." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1.Chapter 2: "A Life for others" - Principle: "It's not about me--it's about loving God and others." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Matthew 22:34-40.Chapter 3: "A Life of change" - Principle: "God is making me more like Jesus for His glory and my good." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Hebrews 12:1-11.Chapter 4: "A Life of Miracles" - Principle: "The Holy Spirit changes me through the gospel." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Romans 8:1-17.Part Two: Gospel Centered PerspectivesChapter 5: "Look up to God" - Principle: "I respond to the gospel with daily repentance and faith." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Acts 20:17-24.Chapter 6: "Look back to the cross" - Principle: "The cross is the foundation and pattern of my life." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Romans 8:28-39.Chapter 7: "Look around at the Christian community" - Principle: "Belonging to Jesus means I belong to His community." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Colossians 3:1-17.Chapter 8: "Look forward to eternity" - Principle: "Eternal glory offers more than this life." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Hebrews 11:8-11, 24-26; 12:1-3.Part Three: Gospel Centered LivingChapter 9: "Decisions" - Principle: "My top priority is serving Christ." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:3-12.Chapter 10: "Relationships" - Principle: "I have a duty of care for others that involves taking the initiative to serve and resolve conflict." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from James 3:1-4:12.Chapter 11: "Friends" - Principle: "My willingness to speak about Jesus arises from my delight in Jesus." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Colossians 1:13-20.Chapter 12: "Horizons" - Principle: "The gospel enlarges my horizons, giving me a concern for God's world." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from Isaiah 12.Chapter 13: "Possessions" - Principle: "God gives me blessing that I might glorify Him." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from 1 Timothy 6:6-19.Chapter 14: "Suffering" - Principle: "God gives me suffering that I might glorify Him." The Biblical background for this chapter comes from 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.I highly recommend this book for all followers of Christ. The most beneficial way to read it will be in the context of community with other believers so that the many ideas in this book can be immediately fleshed out among real life. It is theologically sound, biblically saturated; Christ centered, and will truly help you live a more gospel-centered life.

I used this book as a devotional guide and liked it better than almost any other that I have tried.

Some good helpful thoughts

So good

Highly recommend this book to all seeking to be made one step closer into the people GOD created them to be...

I'm a church planter and this blog is published to help my core group and missional community grow in their understanding and living of the Christian life on mission through missional training.One of the resources that I'm using is Steve Timmis & Tim Chester's The Gospel-Centred Life: becoming the person God wants you to be. This material was created to help "Ordinary Christians live the truly extraordinary life that God calls us to." It continually teaches and demonstrates, through scriptures and stories, how the Gospel message changes everything. It will help reshape your identity, how you spend your time and money, how you prioritize your life, how you deal with heartache and how you witness to others in everyday non-threatening ways.This booklet could be used as a small group study. Yet we are using it more for a weekly devotion for each of our leaders. Our Core group meets every Tuesday. I ask them to read each chapter on their own every Wednesday and come back to it once or twice a week. I want my core group to not only read the content but to live it and incorporate it into their lives. Then at the next meeting we discuss the content and how we've put it into action or how it's changed us. This material has been a helpful tool to slowly shift our perspectives and priorities. Its helped us to understand the Gospel more and to understand how to live with greater Gospel intentionality.

I'm a church planter and this blog is published to help my core group and missional community grow in their understanding and living of the Christian life on mission through missional training.One of the resources that I'm using is Steve Timmis & Tim Chester's The Gospel-Centred Life: becoming the person God wants you to be. This material was created to help "Ordinary Christians live the truly extraordinary life that God calls us to." It continually teaches and demonstrates, through scriptures and stories, how the Gospel message changes everything. It will help reshape your identity, how you spend your time and money, how you prioritize your life, how you deal with heartache and how you witness to others in everyday non-threatening ways.This booklet could be used as a small group study. Yet we are using it more for a weekly devotion for each of our leaders. Our Core group meets every Tuesday. I ask them to read each chapter on their own every Wednesday and come back to it once or twice a week. I want my core group to not only read the content but to live it and incorporate it into their lives. Then at the next meeting we discuss the content and how we've put it into action or how it's changed us. This material has been a helpful tool to slowly shift our perspectives and priorities. Its helped us to understand the Gospel more and to understand how to live with greater Gospel intentionality.

great book, ideal for small groups