The Gospel Matters

Grace was known throughout the community for her unwavering faith and her commitment to living a gospel-centered life. She was not only a devout follower of Jesus but also a beacon of kindness and compassion.

Every Sunday, you would find Grace in church, sitting in her spot, right in the center. She listened intently, her eyes filled with a deep reverence for the Word of God. But Grace didn't limit her faith to just Sundays; she carried the gospel in her heart every day of the week.

One sunny morning, as Grace was outside in the front yard when she noticed a new family had moved into the neighborhood. The Johnsons had two young children and seemed to be settling in quite well. Grace felt a calling in her heart to welcome them with open arms and share the gospel's message of love and grace.

She baked a batch of her famous apple cinnamon muffins and walked over to the Johnsons' house. She knocked on the door, and a warm smile greeted her.

"Hello, I'm Grace, your neighbor from just down the street," she said, extending the plate of muffins. "I wanted to welcome you to our neighborhood and share a little something with you."

The Johnsons were taken aback by Grace's kindness and genuine warmth. They invited her in, and they chatted for hours, sharing stories and getting to know one another. Grace learned that the Johnsons had fallen on hard times and were in need of support, both emotional and spiritual.

Without hesitation, Grace invited them to join her at the church the following Sunday. She explained that their church was like a family, always ready to lend a helping hand and support one another. The Johnsons accepted her invitation, touched by her kindness and the promise of a caring community.

In the weeks that followed, the Johnsons attended the church regularly, and Grace continued to be a guiding light in their lives. She organized meals for them, helped them find employment, and introduced them to other families in the congregation who became lifelong friends.

How a person lives says a great deal about what they value in this life.

The Fellowship has 5 values that we believe are foundational or at the core of our mission, to become whole people who take the whole gospel to the whole world. Those 5 values spell the word great as in John 14 when Jesus says

Slide … whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, John 14:12

Our theme this year has been Greater Things! Believing that God is calling us to do greater things. To live lives that are about Jesus and His Kingdom! What we value gets reflected in our lives.

Slide Values are important.

Our values inform our thoughts, words, and actions. They are important because they help us grow and develop. They help us to create the future we believe God is calling us to.

Values are important because they serve as guiding principles that influence our behavior, decisions, and interactions with others. Values help us navigate life's complexities, make ethical decisions, and find meaning and purpose in our actions and relationships with God and others.

We have family values love, trust, honesty, generosity, grace … and there are corporate values like integrity, innovation, quality, safety … and community values like unity, respect, inclusivity, education, economic prosperity, public safety and community … and In our own church we have many values like, love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, faith, generosity, truth, and more. But we have five core values that we believe are necessary to living into our mission as a church … becoming whole people who take the whole gospel to the whole world.

Those 5 values spell G.R.E.A.T. and G is for Gospel centered!

Slide G is for Gospel centered!

Since the early 2000s, the phrase “gospel-centered” has become a buzzword in many Christian circles. A quick internet search will return an overwhelming number of results for things like gospel-centered marriages, counseling, discipleship, worship, life, motherhood, parenting, youth ministry, preaching, community, and more. In recent years, the trend has begun to decline, but here at The Fellowship we still use this phrase to describes a key value and desire … because we never want to lose site of the gospel.

Slide What is the Gospel?

The word gospel simply means “good news.”

The word "euangelizo" (or "εὐαγγελίζω" in Greek) is a term used in the New Testament and means "to proclaim good news" or "to announce the gospel." It is derived from the Greek words "eu," which means "good," and "angelizo," which means "to announce" or "to bring tidings."

Definition- The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that sinful people can be made right with God by repenting of their sin and calling upon Jesus as Savior and Lord. So, to be gospel-centered is to be focused on the life-changing good news of God in Christ.

Slide I’ve got Good News!

When a child is announced it is a wonderful moment. If you have waited over 700 years, it is other worldly! The prophet Isaiah wrote sometime between 700 to 740 BC these words.

Slide For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Isaiah 9:6–7

We are just 106 days away from Christmas! I know, I can see the panic in your eyes. You’re running out of days to shop for all those presents.

But it was over 2000 years ago that a long-awaited prophecy written 700 years earlier was proclaimed.

Slide And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord … Luke 2:10–14

Here’s the problem …

Slide It's GoodNews if you believe the Bad News!

Are you someone who wants the good news first or the bad news first? Bad news is … you have a condition called sin that is terminal, and it will lead to spiritual death after your physical death. Good News is Jesus paid the price, Jesus took your sins, Jesus fulfilled the penalty and then he broke through the barrier of the grave!

But … you have to believe the bad news if the good news is to have any meaning and value!

Slide for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

Slide For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

But it gets worse because … one study found that 25% of people don’t believe in the concept of sin or that they are sinners!

It makes it important … believe the bad news in order to see Jesus as Good News!

Slide How does someone receive this Good News?

Believing the bad news of our sin and personal culpability has always been at the core of conviction. Recognizing that I need an answer to my problem …

This gospel centered message says that you were created to live in relationship to a loving God who paid the price for your sin! As I said earlier

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that sinful people can be made right with God by repenting of their sin and calling upon Jesus as Savior and Lord. So, to be gospel-centered is to be focused on the life-changing good news of God in Christ.

Slide Believe – Confess – Repent – Receive – Live

John 3:16 is often called the Gospel in a nutshell.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16–18

This is support for a personal decision to believe, not some universal belief that everyone will be saved or even that I will do my best to be a good person and hopefully God will let me into heaven.

But the Apostle Paul writes …

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8–9

So you see the believe … here is the confess… again the apostle Paul writes in Romans 10 …

… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confessesand is saved. Romans 10:9–10

homilego" (ὁμιλέω) means to agree, to say the same thing as what God is saying about you. To agree with God!

Luke records Peter’s passionate speech at Pentecost!

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:38–39

Believe, confess, repent about face, turn from sin when see, see something say something!

Receive from God, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and most importantly the seal of the Holy Spirit. As Ephesians 1:13 says …

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13–14

So I believe, confess, repent and receive this new life in Christ seal with the Holy Spirit who is with me to convict, comfort, to gift me, to fill me, to transform … but now what? What does it look like to live into this new life that I have in Christ?

Let me ask you the question …

Slide Does this Good News make any difference in your life?

That’s a huge question. Sometimes, we may feel that we believe and yet we live like we don’t believe. We doubt, we fear, we struggle, we wonder what’s the difference? The truth is the gospel is about forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit in our that gives us grace, empowers us and emboldens us to live this life. Paul said …

Slide For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16–17

Nothing else can save you and me! Nothing else can save this world! The answer is Jesus and Jesus alone. Either that is true or it is not! There is no middle ground!

Living in this broken and fallen world like God doesn’t exist … doesn’t make sense … because came to deliver us evil …

Slide … Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father … Galatians 1:3-4

Even Jesus prayed … deliver us from evil! Yet the enemy is everywhere at every moment wanting you centered your life, focus your life on you not the truth of the Gospel. Just a quick comparison between the Gospel Centered life versus the me centered or self-centered life.

Slide Living a Gospel-Centered Life vs a Me-Centered Life

· Trust Jesus as Lord vs Appreciate Jesus’ life and example.

· Desire more of Jesus vs desire more of ______ _________!

· Want everyone to know Jesus vs all paths, all faiths are equal.

· Grieve personal sin vs consider myself a good person.

· Placed my shame, guilt on the cross vs carry it all with me.

· Eternally minded vs earthly minded.

· Desire fruit of the Spirit vs negative traits are “just the way I am.”

· Jesus is enough vs Jesus as a way to more!

· Joyfully serve as serving Jesus vs serve for personal satisfaction or approval.

· Finances are about faith vs finances are about stuff.

· Lives with gratitude vs compare and covets.

So how do we live out the value of a Gospel Centered life?

Slide A Gospel-centered life is a Jesus-centered life.

When we come to Christ by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), we do more than secure our eternal destination. We give our lives to Jesus.

Slide Salvation is a divine paradox: a free gift that costs us everything.

Jesus said …

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33

Becoming a child of God changes us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit moves into a repentant heart, He begins to change our desires, our outlook, our motivations, and our opinions. Hebrews 12:28–29 says that “our God is a consuming fire.” The fire of His presence burns away dross. It burns away that which is inferior and unworthy to what the gospel has called us to.

Slide A Gospel-centered life is an outward-looking life.

That is life that is ready to share the good news with others. Ephesians says that our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Peter writes that we are to be “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). In a world that tells you it is all about you … Jesus comes and says it is all about God and his love for the world and just look around … the harvest is plentiful.

A Gospel-centered life is a Jesus-centered life.

A Gospel-centered life is an outward-looking life.

And …

Slide A Gospel-centered life is a love-driven life.

Paul says that the love of God compels him. It is this truth we are seized by the love of God.

We are … disciples of Jesus, witnesses to truth, ambassadors for the Kingdom. We are love God with all our heart, minds, wills, hands …

Living a gospel-centered life involves aligning your beliefs, values, and actions with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the principles found in the Bible. Here are some practical ways to live a gospel-centered life:

Read and study the Bible, prayer, worship, care about your neighbor, forgive offenses, serve others, avoid sin, seek God’s will, practice generosity, maintain a grateful heart, live in community, be humble, speak to others about Jesus, and keep Jesus as the center of your heart and life!=

Remember that living a gospel-centered life is a lifelong journey, and nobody is perfect. You will face challenges and setbacks, but through prayer, reliance on God's grace, and a supportive community, you can continually strive to live according to the gospel message.

Slide But why would I do all those things? Why would I live a Gospel-centered life and be a part of a Gospel-centered church?

Slide Because it is why we are here!

It’s the reason we exist! Without the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are dead in our sins and lost in our lies.

So what do you and I need to do?

Slide Believe – Confess – Repent – Receive – Live

Remember the Johnson family and their neighbor Grace? Well, as the Johnsons grew in their faith and sense of belonging, they, too, began to live gospel-centered lives. They showed kindness to others, extended a helping hand to those in need, and opened their home to newcomers, just as Grace had done for them.

Word of the Johnsons' transformation spread and Grace's gospel-centered life ignited a spark in the hearts of many. The neighborhood and beyond began to thrive as a community that exemplified love, compassion, and faith, all because one woman had been unwavering in her commitment to living a gospel-centered life.

Grace's legacy lived on through the countless lives she touched, proving that the power of the gospel could transform not only individuals but entire communities when it was lived out with love and compassion at its core. And so, in the heart of that small town, the gospel continued to shine as a beacon of hope, thanks to the unwavering dedication of a woman named Grace.

With Jesus at the center of it all!

Pray