Grow Authentic, Gospel-Shaped Community We don't want to be alone. We want to love and be loved; and we know that genuine relationships make our lives rich. But somehow living in community always ends up being harder than we thought. This nine-lesson small group study helps participants learn how the Holy Spirit shapes diverse people into a Christ-centered community that reflects Jesus to a watching world. Each lesson is self-contained, featuring clear teaching from biblical Scripture, and requires no extra work outside the group setting. The self-explanatory Leader's Guide helps small group leaders with discussion questions and background material that clearly explain and apply the gospel truths from each lesson. The Gospel-Centered Community has been specifically designed to help bring Christian ethics based on biblical scripture to your community to help everybody live a more fulfilled, gospel-centered, happier life through stronger relationships with our neighbours and with Jesus Christ.
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.
This book has met me in every area of my life the past couple of months. It is encouraging and convicting, and I would recommend it for any group discussion or discipleship/accountability partners!
Helpful explanation of what “gospel-centered” really ought to mean. Good use of biblical and theological explanation followed by practical discussion and application in each lesson. A great resource to help Christians understand what “gospel-centered community” should look like and why. This book is designed to be read and worked through together as a group. Each lesson opens with a Big Idea/Bible conversation, an article, and an exercise.
Short and helpful book on the basis and characteristics of a church community that is committed to being shaped by the gospel. Best used as a small group study book. Some applications and examples seem a little stretched, but there are also many thought provoking questions aimed at personal applications and application to church communities.
My church has something called Community Groups and our group was able to go through this resource together. I thought it was great for our group to go through this resource which taught us how the gospel is supposed to infuse every aspect of our gathering. It also helped produce some good discussions as well.
Great workbook for my small group to go over for the semester and learn about developing community. The articles, lessons, and exercises were a helpful resource in grasping the examples and characteristics of a Christian community. They were the right length, too!
This book revealed some hard truths about myself and my relationship with Christ to me, but also fostered some incredible conversations in my community.