The Gospel: God's Rescue Story
Preamble
Our shared faith as members of the Lake Avenue Church family centers on God's evangel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the power of this gospel, God accomplishes His salvation plan: rescuing His people from sin, making each one complete in Christ, and making all things in His creation new. Our most basic theological convictions are aspects of this gospel:
Objective
To learn about the gospel and its impact on our lives. [In each section start with the green question and do the others as time permits.]
Open in Prayer
Watch the Video [5–10 minutes]
Video Reflections [10 minutes]
- What do the words "gospel" and "evangel" mean? Why are they important to the life of a follower of Jesus?
- What might be wrong with limiting the definition of the word "gospel" to just the plan of salvation or the way to be forgiven?
- What might be wrong with limiting the definition of the word "gospel" to just the notion of social justice (which means fighting for and advocating for what is right in the wider world)?
Read
Our shared faith as members of the Lake Avenue Church family centers on God's evangel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the power of this gospel, God accomplishes His salvation plan: rescuing His people from sin, making each one complete in Christ, and making all things in His creation new. Our most basic theological convictions are aspects of this gospel.
Questions from the Statement of Faith [20 minutes]
"Up" Questions (Worship)
- What role does God play in the story of the gospel? How has God revealed his good news, his gospel, in your life?
- Read over the text from the Statement of Faith and underline all the words in it that reveal that God is worthy of worship. Which words did you underline? Which of them is most meaningful to you and why?
- Theology is really the story of God's efforts to bring salvation to everything and everyone he created. Does this change the way your think about theology?
"In" Questions (Community)
- What is significant about the phrase "shared faith"? Talk about each of the words separately.
- How can the good news of Jesus Christ shape the way a community of followers of Jesus behaves and operates? In other words, what should distinguish a Christian community from any other sort of community?
"Out" Questions (Service)
- Our Statement of Faith makes it clear that the gospel is focused on human beings: setting them free from sin, bringing them into Christ-likeness, and making them new at the end of time. How should these realities affect how we view the people with whom we come into contact every day where we work, live, and play?
- How should we view our friends, family, and neighbors who need rescuing from their sin? How can we treat them with love and respect, doing our best not to be judgmental?
- CHALLENGE: Each day this week think of two good things about the good news of Jesus Christ. Come prepared to share some of these things at your next meeting.
Questions from Scripture [10 minutes]
- Read Isaiah 52:7. What does this passage say about the good news? What does it say about the one who brings the good news? What does it compare the good news to?
- Read Mark 1:14-15. Jesus' primary message was centered around the good news. What does this say about what our primary message should be? How can we imitate Jesus better in this regard?
Prayer
Father, Thank you for your grand rescue plan! We admit that without you we cannot save ourselves; we would be utterly lost apart from you. Teach us how to speak your good news and how to live out your good news in our lives as individuals and as a community. Give us boldness to proclaim your gospel with words and actions. We ask you to bring people along our paths each day with whom we can shine the beautiful light of your evangel. In Jesus' holy name. Amen.