Follow Friday | Of First Importance

Two years ago, my Bible Study went through the book of Galatians using a study by Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. The official title of the study is "Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel." I loved that study so, so much, and God taught me so much about Himself during my time in that book. But one thing that stands about in my mind, more than anything else— the Gospel of Christ is for the Believer.

Somehow, somewhere along the line, I thought that the Gospel was to get people saved, and then they moved on to the "growth part" of the Christian life. But in the past two years, I have come to understand that the Gospel is not something I move on from, but something I should come back to every minute of every day, as the basis of my walk with Christ.

One of the best tools that I have found to encourage this Gospel-centeredness is a blog called Of First Importance. "We've all spent far too much time looking inward instead of upward," writes the authors,"only to futility and despair. This blog was born out of our own need to live each day in the good of the Gospel."


Of First Importance posts daily quotes by wise men and women, both historic and current, who speak the truth about who we are and who God is, to "help us remember what's 'of first importance': the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

So allow me to encourage you to subscribe to the blog: firstimportance.org
Follow them on Twitter to read daily quotes, as well as good stuff from their archives: twitter.com/firstimportance

And learn to speak the truth of the Gospel to yourself, now, in the every day.
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If you're interested in more tools to encourage Gospel-centered living, I've listed some additional resources below.

• The Gospel for Real Life, by Jerry Bridges | An easy-to-read book that speaks straight truth. Study guide included in the back.
• The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotionals, compiled by Arthur Bennett | This is, hands down, my all-time favorite devotional book. I highly recommend it for anyone.
• Desiring God, by John Piper | A look at the Christ's sufficiency, and our satisfaction in Him.
• The One-Year Bible | What turns the heart more toward the Gospel than God's Word? This is the complete Word of God, divided up into 365 daily readings of the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.
• Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel, by Tim Keller | A study in Galatians. A study of the Gospel.
• Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing, by C. J. Mahaney
  

In addition to book-based resources, there are a number of other resources that encourage Gospel-centered living. One that I want to mention:

• NEXT is a conference put on by Sovereign Grace Ministries for singles and young adults. "Next is about faithfully receiving the gospel—the message of Christ and him crucified–from those who have gone before us, holding fast to the gospel personally, and passing the gospel on to those coming after us." The upcoming NEXT Conference will be held May 28-31 in Baltimore, MD. To learn more about it, visit thisisnext.org, or just go ahead and register here!
  

Blessings to all of you, for a Cross-centered life.