Gospel-Centered Sports Ministry

Week One

“What is the Gospel?”

I. The Importance of this Class

Every sports ministry has a .

If not the gospel…..

If a small gospel……

If the full gospel……

II. Course Syllabus

Course Mission

For the participants would leave with and understanding of and passion for the four chapter/biblical construct of the gospel that forms the hub from which they will pursue the redemption of sports

Course Vision

At the end of the class, students would be able to:

1) Understand something of the intensity and importance of the question

“What is the gospel?” in our day

2) Understand the impact our definition of the gospel has on our sports

ministry

3) Identify/define the gospel according to the four chapter construct and begin to see what sports would look like in each of the four chapters

4) Identify the hub of their sports ministry and evaluate what gospel is being pursued in their sports ministry

5) Clarify what is and what isn’t gospel-centered sports ministry

6) Identify ways to move their sports ministry into a greater gospel-centricity and develop a plan to do so

Course Requirements

1. Faithful class participation – videos, conference calls, assignments

2. Complete required reading –

Assigned articles
Assigned book along with one page book report that gives the
Main idea of the book and the outline of that idea
Impact of the book on you

3. Complete a project approved by the instructor.

Course Grading

Grades awarded to participants will be based on participation and quality of work completed. Grades will be either excellent, satisfactory, unsatisfactory

III. The significance of this question – “What is the Gospel?”

“What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? You’d think that would be an easy question to answer, especially for Christians. In fact, you’d think that writing a book like this – one asking Christians to think carefully about the question, What is the gospel of Jesus? – would be completely unnecessary. It’s like asking carpenters to sit around and ponder the question, What is a hammer?” Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel?

“More than thirty years of teaching theological students have shown me that the most controversial question they may ask very from generation to generation – and the same is true of the broader Christian public….Today, the question most likely to light a fuse is – as the author of this volume points out – What is the gospel?” D.A. Carson, in What is the Gospel?

“The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it.” Jerry Bridges

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

(Galatians 1:6–9 ESV)

Points from Galatians

What is the gospel? (How would you answer)

IV. The Reasons for this Question – What is the Gospel?

Why is this confusion about the gospel a problem today?

- Emergent Church

- Pluralistic society

- Syncretism

How do we counteract this problem of confusion?

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,”

(1 Corinthians 15:1–3 ESV)

V. Typical answers – What is the Gospel?

The Gospel

Who What When Why

How do these answers compare to your answers to the question – What is the gospel?

Assignment

1) Ask 10 people the question “What is the gospel?” and record your answers (You can tell them why you are asking them.)

a) Make sure 5 of them are in leadership in your ministry or in ministry leadership.

b) Make sure 5 of them are “run of the mill” people – you should know them.

c) When you are finished, email your answers to everyone in the class, including the instructor.

2) Come up with brief definitions for each of the following:

a) The Emergent Church

b) Pluralism

c) Syncretism

d) Email those to everybody – including the instructor

3) What stood out to you in the two passages from the video?

a) Galatians 1:6-9

b) 1Corinthians 15:1-3

4) Read this blog - http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/02/15/why-the-gospel-is-good-news-for-believers-now/ - from The Gospel Coalition website.

a) After reading, and paying particular attention to the section “So What?” in the blog, how do you think the author would answer this scenario

i) Let’s suppose you struggle with pride on the basketball court, soccer or baseball field. What is the good news for that person today? What does the gospel tell us? (what do you think the author would say in light of the blog?) Email answers to the instructor only.