The Gospel-Centered Life: Study Guide with Leader's Notes

by Robert H. Thune, Will Walker

Build Gospel-DNA in Your Small Group Lots of Christians talk about the gospel, but how many really understand the gospel and know how to apply it to their lives? Featuring nine self-contained lessons with discussion questions, articles, practical exercises, and comprehensive leader s notes in the back, The Gospel-Centered Life helps participants understand how the gospel shapes every aspect of life. Designed Pastors and leaders who want to spur gospel renewal in their churches and ministries. Church-planters who want to form gospel DNA in the churches they start. Students and campus ministers who are looking to live out the gospel on campus. Christians who want to be more deeply formed around the gospel. Small group leaders who are looking for content that works with diverse groups of people. Missionaries who are looking for simple material to disciple new Christians.

Genres: Christian, Faith, Christian Living, Theology

130 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2018

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

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title says it all, this study is about how to center our lives on the Gospel. great for 1-1 meetings or probably a small group too. I will be revisiting several of the articles and exercises!!

[Luke Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent small group resource.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very helpful for sharing the gospel in a 1:1 study. I didn't use all of the study but took the parts most pertinent for someone seeking a relationship with God.

Serge is publishing some really interesting material. I didn't realize that the group was founded by one of my favorite authors, Jack Miller, and that it also published the fantastic What's Up: Discovering the Gospel, Jesus, and Who You Really Are Teacher Guide. It is filling a gap in Bible studies focused on explaining the gospel. These studies are written for both believers and not-yet believers, which can make for confusing presentation, but that is my only small issue with them. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Serge has to offer.

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

We just finished this book in my community group and I love it. The book and The Gospel-Centered Community are two of the best books on the gospel that I've read, and easily the best group study I've seen on the subject. Must read.

[Karissa Brar · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed this workbook! I completed it with a summer discipleship group, and I think it would definitely be appropriate for small groups/ discipleship groups/ community life groups etc or even one-on-one or self study.

Probably best for adult readers! in many ways it goes through the very basics of our faith and the Gospel - salvation, forgiveness, reconciliation, and lots more - but it's still well suited + challenging for Christians of all maturity levels.

- not specifically written for non-believer audiences, but definitely has tools that can illustrate the gospel better for people who are unfamiliar !!

[Adam Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

good for what it is which is a deep dive into what the gospel is and how we respond. i feel as if the last few lessons could have been better used somewhere else in theology such as coming to a more whole understanding of the divine nature of Christ or what the gospel does for us in our spiritual selves. Good for people who have just come to faith, could be more beneficial for those who have been walking for a while.

[anna gillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went through this book for discipleship and it was SO good each chapter was so incredibly written and I learned so much about the Gospel from it and living it out in our day to day life! Definitely recommend!!!

[Brett Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The material in this book is really solid. I don’t love the formatting always, but it’s great resource for small groups or discipleship groups to think through what gospel-centered growth looks like.

I’ll use the cross chart from now on when teaching others about sanctification and maturity.

[Christian Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise but extremely helpful and practical. Will definitely use this with discipleship in the future!

[Chris Delany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with our growth group at church.

Core concept: We never move on from the gospel. The gospel should impact all parts of our lives.

They book discusses a diagram which they call the Gospel grid - as we mature in our faith, our awareness of our sin should be growing, our awareness of God's holiness should be growing, and therefore our appreciation for the work of Jesus on our behalf should grow. In the book discusses various points of application of the gospel in her life, including repentance, heart adultery, missions, conflict, and forgiveness.

I found the chapter on repentance to be especially helpful. it highlighted that repentance usually has a negative connotation, but repentance is an opportunity to turn away from false saviors in fraudulent sources of righteousness and turn to Jesus as our only hope. Repentance is concerned with the heart, looks to Jesus for deliverance, and should be a lifestyle rather than an occasional practice.

[Ian Tully · Rating 5 out of 5]

There has been no more influential book than this that’s opened up the core realities of what Jesus has accomplished on my behalf. It impacts my daily life and my work as a counselor immensely.

Having read this 3 times now across 10 years, I’ve noticed some of the downsides of the condensed, shorter style studies. There’s not much room to expound on the human experience of suffering.

The book also suffers if it’s read across long stretches of time (in this case a whole semester). The author very much assumes you’ll remember the depth of Jesus’s love and care for you (outlined in the first few chapters), and doesn’t spend much time reminding you in the later chapters like I hoped he would. As a result, if you are a month or more divorced from having read the first few chapters, the final few can begin to feel brutal and overwhelming in the task of maturing as a believer.

[Noah Hosking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger, would give this to any new or mature Christian. Awesome book to read as a group or with someone

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpfully confrontational and to the point. Some parts appeared confusing but then makes sense after deeper reflection. Whether this book ultimately proves useful, to some extent, still depends on my daily course of action.

[Namito Yokota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome workbook for what it looks like to walk with Christ in every day occurrences. I found the frameworks to be super helpful to simplify my understanding of different topics like the magnitude of faith and handling conflict. The leader’s guide wasn’t too helpful for me since it was pretty rigid on what each step looks like, but the questions were great - deep and straight to the point.

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first sentence of the description — "Lots of Christians talk about the gospel, but how many really understand and know how to apply it to their lives?" — ironically captures what’s lacking in this book.

We're reading this as part of a men's equipping class with my church. These are supposed to be the leaders of our congregation, and yet, it would seem, based on the choice of the book, they don't actually know how the gospel affects them. If one doesn't know how the gospel saves them or what it saves them from, how can they be called a Christian?

First, I'd like to say that there's nothing heretical in the book. It's not the content I'm frustrated with as much as who this book is written for. Depending on your spiritual maturity, this book may be the best thing you've ever read. I'm not trying to discredit that or have a critical spirit.

That said, there is nothing profound here. I know that is going to make me sound prideful or arrogant. There's no way around that, I suppose. But these are tidbits I remember learning in middle-school small group — where I believe it was most appropriate.

If you're a newer believer, this book may be helpful. As the back cover suggests, it’s likely a great resource for missionaries meeting with seekers or in youth discipleship groups. But this is not a book for church-planters, elders, deacons, or those whose souls burn to know Christ more deeply.

In the end, The Gospel-Centered Life provides brief, structured reflections that may help someone begin to grasp the implications of being saved. But without a Spirit-given hunger for Christ, these tips mean nothing. And for those who do have that hunger, the examples and exercises here will likely feel more relevant to a worldly mindset than to a regenerated one.

[Hannah Deaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed walking through this book with our community group. It was helpful to have the leader's notes in the back of the book. The book had short but impactful chapters on different aspects of the gospel in order to get a well rounded view. I would highly recommend this book for all people; seekers, new believers, experienced believers, ex-believers. Jesus truly worked on my heart and transformed it after walking through this book. The only criticism I had for this book is... I felt the last chapter didn't evenly tie the book together with a nice bow. It seemed like the "Mission" chapter could have been a better ending chapter.

[Adam Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I went through this book reading the first half on my own, then sharing my answers with a leader and this book was so beneficial for me and my faith, and I think this book would have significant impact for any Christian no matter where they are at in their walk of faith, anywhere from someone who is new in their faith to those who have lived in their faith a long time, this book is so clear and also very in depth in its content. I plan sometime in the future to go through this book again, and I think it would be a great tool for individual or group settings.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent resource! My husband is a pastor and we used this with a small group at our church. I have been a believer for over 30 years and this little book brought some refreshing clarity to my own heart with regards to how the gospel applies to everyday life. We also had some great discussion with our group, mostly made up of seniors. It was thought provoking, succinct, easy to understand, and very biblically grounded. Would recommend to anyone!

[Danny Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of this book with my small group. I finished the last chapter myself because my group hasn't met for several weeks because of stupid corona virus. It's definitely a book intended for small groups. It bring up a lot of good ideas, but it also brings up issues that small groups can debate about.

[Michael Goforth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study on how the gospel works in us and through us. Topics include: judging others, minimizing sin, pretending & performing, orphans vs. children, heart idolatry, forgiveness, conflict resolution, and more.

It’s meant to be a small group study for churches, but I read it once a year for my own soul and highly recommend it.

[Caleb Tseng · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ironically, not at all a gospel centered book. Focused on personal sin from start to finish, which leads to self-determinism given being so light on the gospel and grace.

Is my review too harsh? Probably. But there's no reason to use this as a study guide when there are a plethora of better resources out there.

[Kayla Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for new and old Christians alike. If you’re looking for something to go through with an unbeliever or a new believer this is the book for you!

It is a fairly easy read but gives great practical questions that can go as deep as you want it too. Found myself both challenged and encouraged throughout the book.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that takes daily life and points it back to the gospel over and over again. The concepts are simply explained, tied in to real-world examples and then applied with thought-provoking questions. A great tool for personal reflection or small group study.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

We went through this book as a small group. There were some really good items that we discussed as a group. My church encourages all of their small groups to read through this together to help with how a small group should operate.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear study on the most important subject. I read through this with one of my sons this year and it was excellent on a second read-through. Our church uses this in some of our small groups to help participants have a common "grid" to work from. Excellent.

[Bailey Cowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually my second or third time through this study. I did it with my freshman girls Bible study this spring and it’s such a great study! Core Gospel truths and really good applications to daily life. Really glad to be able to do it!

[Nathan Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great workbook for personal growth, but it’s best used in a group setting. I used it to disciple 5 guys and the material was great! Foundational enough for new believers but deep enough for everyone to grow in ways every single chapter. Can’t recommend it enough!

[Kathryn Kollmansberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

It indeed took a long time to finish this one as we studied it for Bible study this whole year. Lots of solid concepts; I struggled, however, with making it applicable for a wide range of spiritual backgrounds/current realities. We facilitated it, though! Praise God.

[EA Kellogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO practical and rich! even though the purpose is to lead groups through this study, i benefited from it in my personal development. i specially loved the graphics & visuals provided for gospel centered thinking

[Jenifer Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Studying through this with my church. I read it three times this month because I'm teaching it. It contains some incredible questions but I wish it presented more Biblical evidence for its claims and concepts.