DAVID ADAMS looks at a new resource to introduce people to the Gospel…
Tony Payne
Learn the Gospel: Deepen Your Understanding Of And Trust In The Message About Jesus
Matthias Media, Sydney, Australia, 2022
ISBN-13: 978-1925424782
“A useful resource for churches, friend groups or families to gain a basic understanding of the key concepts of the Christian faith. A forth-coming counterpart – to be named Share the Gospel – will be focusing on how to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.”
Designed to be read in a small group context – whether that’s a family, group of friends or church-related gathering, Learn the Gospel joins the ranks of those many resources which have emerged in the past couple of decades explaining the Gospel in simple terms.
Put together by Tony Payne, an Australian writer, speaker, and the chairman of the book’s publisher Matthias Media, this short (170 page) book starts with a chapter explaining why it’s important to learn the Gospel and then presents a series of chapters on key concepts.
Described as an “upgrade” of the ‘Two Ways to Live’ training course (‘Two Ways to Live’ was initially developed some 40 years ago as a simple tool for sharing the Gospel with others), the concepts covered include ‘Creation’, ‘Sin’, ‘Judgment’, ‘Jesus’ Death’ and ‘Jesus’ Ressurection’.
The book then closes with a chapter looking at our response to this “Good News” and another on “Building the Foundation” which looks at next steps and what the Gospel-shaped life looks like.
Learn the Gospel, which assumes a very basic level of Bible literacy, is designed to be interactive and as well as question and answer (and yes, activity) sections, includes space for the readers to record their thoughts and responses. It is also accompanied by a series of short films which can be seen on the Matthias Media website (designed to be watched and discussed as a group). And there’s also a handy eight week schedule for how to run the sections and graphic of the Two Ways to Live Gospel presentation at the end.
A useful resource for churches, friend groups or families to gain a basic understanding of the key concepts of the Christian faith. A forth-coming counterpart – to be named Share the Gospel – will be focusing on how to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.