The Gospel-Centered Life Participant's Guide

by Robert H. Thune, Will Walker

The Gospel-Centered Life by World Harvest Missions Bob Thune and Will Walker is a nine-lesson small group study to help participants understand how the gospel shapes every aspect of life. The Gospel-Centered Life will challenge you to develop authentic relationships as the gospel moves you to love and serve others. Each lesson is self-contained, featuring clear teaching from scripture and requires no extra work outside of the group setting. Developed by experienced church-planting pastors, the material is designed to promote transformational conversations among groups of mature Christians, new Christians, and even non-Christians. The self-explanatory The Gospel-Centered Life Leader's Guide contains directions and added material to help small group and discipleship leaders clearly explain and apply the material. 

Genres: Christian, Theology, Discipleship, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living, Devotional

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Robert H. Thune, MA (Reformed Theological Seminary), is the lead pastor of Coram Deo, a gospel-centered church he planted in 2005 in Omaha, Nebraska. He is the coauthor of The Gospel-Centered Community, another Christ-centered small group study. Bob and his wife Leigh have four children.

Reviews

[Brother Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book that I think every Christian needs to take the time to read (probably best in a small group). This will challenge you to think about the gospels implications in your life and through your life.

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally finished this book!
I loved this book. IMO, it is the best resource on explaining what the gospel is and how it works itself into everything we do.

This was a great book for small groups. I did most of this book with my Sunday School class. My friend and I are going to be leading a small group together in a couple months and will be using this book (and it's sequel) because it explains so well and simply the most important thing any person could know: the gospel.

[Cal Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this with my small group. While the book can be helpful in parts and can facilitate discussion, I thought it was lacking in making its readers think critically on Biblical texts, which for a book written to be used in Church small groups, is a must in my opinion. That being said, it did portray what the Bible says about many aspects of the Gospel’s impact in Christian life in helpful and simple terms, which is never a bad thing. The writers were faithful in making sure that their book was accurate to the Bibles teaching which I did appreciate.

[lyndzelizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

updated after reread in 2023: okay i read it again with another small group and there are more conversational topics & application than i thought. so now it’s getting 5/5 stars!! GREAT resource for new believes & long-time believers alike!

thoughts after the first read:
really good resource to explain the simple gospel!

i think this book was very good at covering the basics, but i found myself wishing for a little more conversational topics & application, especially because this book is meant to w be read in small group settings.

[Rachel Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I think this study may perhaps be useful for newer Christians as it clearly articulates the "simple gospel", I find the language and presentation of this study to be overly simplistic, missing elements of the metanarrative of scripture and therefore leaving the reader with quite a limited view of the gospel. This resource emphasizes a personal relationship with God and fighting sin -- great subjects and foundational for new life in Christ. However, the authors don't do a great job of expanding on the Kingdom of God, the people of God (i.e. communal aspects emphasized throughout scripture). For that reason, I found this resource to be overly inward, to the point where one might walk away, in the words of Chandler, "navel gazing" -- focused on themselves rather than Christ. My last criticism is that the questions of each chapter are overly focused on one's sin and what they have wrong. I would hope if there are future edits the authors would add more encouragement, hope, areas of praise, prayer, grace and thanksgiving where God IS at work in, around, and through the reader's life. I'd hope it will simply guide the reader towards scripture telling them the story of the gospel and it's relevant application to discipleship today rather than choosing topics and using scripture to support it.

[Michael Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Full disclosure: one of the authors is my pastor and a man I greatly respect.)

This book has some helpful insights on discipleship. It's a great resource for new believers, with some timeless remarks that serve seasoned saints also.

In particular, the cross chart is incredibly helpful for making sense of the paradox of discipleship: as our knowledge of God grows, so does our awareness of our own sinfulness, which in turn creates deeper appreciation for the cross. The emphasis in early chapters on repentance as a lifestyle, not just a decision, is also a crucial point that Christians need constantly recover.

This is a really easy read with lots of questions for reflection (and ample space for note taking).

[Daniel Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went through this book with my gospel community at church. This book is a great tool for helping the church to understand the significance and the implications of the gospel. Churchs can get very legalistic or licentious very quickly and this book helps the reader to avoid those traps.

[Colton Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good small group discipleship material.

[Tim&Kelli Buczek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't rate and recommend this book highly enough. It's delightfully short yet full. If you give it the time it deserves, it's life-transforming.

[Molly Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so deep and challenging for my small group to go through, and we all loved it. The wording makes the Gospel seem fresh and new even if you have heard it a thousand times.

[Kristen House · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I read it, I have been able to see the gospel transform every part of my life. Practical and great to walk through with other new believers!

[Chelsea Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small group resource was life-changing for my husband and me. It helped us understand how the gospel applies to all of life.

[Jenna Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian should do this study

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of books is intentionally very entry-level (as far as explaining the Gospel goes), but that does not mean that it is fluff or unbiblical. The theology is very solid. The books are intended for group-discussion. I would recommend group leaders not be too tied to the “lesson plan” (get your nose out of the book and don’t read the plan out loud to people while you are leading them… prepare beforehand and just use the lesson plan as a basic guide for the discussion… feel freedom to skip questions or pick the 3-5 questions that you think would be most beneficial for your group). If you lead a group through Gospel-centered Life followed by Gospel-centered Community and it goes well, then consider following that up with the Gospel Trilogy by World Harvest Mission (Book 1: Gospel Identity, Book 2: Gospel Growth, and Book 3: Gospel Love).

[Sara Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the simple way this book lays out the theological foundations of the Gospel. The introduction states that The Gospel-centered Life is designed for mature Christians, new Christians, and non-believers and I agree. I would have preferred more Scripture references when major doctrine is introduced and will add it when involved in a group study. I look forward to working through these 9 lessons as a group in gospel fellowship.

[Savio Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to understand the Gospel of Jesus. What it really is and what it isn't. It looks at the motives of the heart and is a great book to start understanding Gospel-centered teaching. I think this book is something that one needs to go back to every couple of months to review.

[Savio Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to understand the Gospel of Jesus. What it really is and what it isn't. It looks at the motives of the heart and is a great book to start understanding Gospel-centered teaching. I think this book is something that one needs to go back to every couple of months to review.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good study guide I used with my small group.

[LaShara Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh yeah.

[Pam Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

My church small group really enjoyed this study.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for small group study.