What makes a Gospel-centered church
November 24, 2009
The Gospel Coalition (a group organized to build up local churches toward Gospel-centeredness) articulates on their website the distinctives for Gospel-centered ministry. The first item on their list is empowered corporate worship:
The gospel changes our relationship with God from one of hostility or slavish compliance to one of intimacy and joy. The core dynamic of gospel–centered ministry is therefore worship and fervent prayer.
In corporate worship God’s people receive a special life-transforming sight of the worth and beauty of God, and then give back to God suitable expressions of his worth. At the heart of corporate worship is the ministry of the Word. Preaching should be expository (explaining the text of Scripture) and Christ-centered (expounding all biblical themes as climaxing in Christ and his work of salvation). Its ultimate goal, however, is not simply to teach but to lead the hearers to worship, individual and corporate, that strengthens their inner being to do the will of God.
This is what we strive for weekly in our services. Please pray toward this end, that we might gather to both encounter our God and respond to Him rightly. And pray for the ministry of the Word, that we would be continually strengthened in our inner being to do the will of our God.
(ht: Justin Taylor)