Title: Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life
Author: Jeff Vanderstelt
Summary
Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt brings the good news of Jesus Christ to all aspects of life. The author goes through different aspects of life and how the gospel applies to each area. He begins with believers and salvation. Then, encourages the believer to think about how the power of Jesus can change all areas of life. Once we begin to have a gospel-frame-of-mind, we begin to see Jesus in all areas of our lives.
As a believer, the power of the gospel affects all we do and we have to teach ourselves to walk in these truths. Our friends and family members will see the difference in us as we learn to walk in this new life that Jesus gives us. That same power that affecting change in our lives can change the lives others around us, too!
Interesting Pieces
Page 67: “We have been saved from the penaly of sin; we are being saved from the power of sin; and we will be saved from the presence of sin.” Our salvation is past, present, and future!
Page 70: Jesus was baptized—not because he had sinned—but to identify with sinners.
Page 78: In salvation, the work we are called to do is rest from our own work and believe in the work of Jesus on our behalf. “We are saved by faith in Jesus’s work, not our own.”
Page 93: Demonic forces instill fear into Christians to make them feel inadequate or rejected, minimizing the impact of the gospel’s transformation in their lives.
Page 98: Vanderstelt encourages believers to read at least one Gospel per year to regularly reacquaint yourself with the love of your life.
Page 113: Our view of God must be bigger than our view of other people in our lives!
Page 118: Vanderstelt lists four questions that can be helpful in counseling: 1. Who is God? 2. What has God done (which reveals who God is)? 3. Who am I in light of God’s work? And 4. How should I live in light of who I am? When seeking to discern unbelief in the gospel, reverse the order of those questions.
Page 134: God wants us to remember his blessing of abundance through eating meals. He provides in creative ways and we can be reminded of His goodness through eating.
Page 144: Vanderstelt offers four questions to ask when work “stinks:” 1. How does the gospel bring good news to this situation? 2. What about the gospel do we need to hear right now? 3. What about the gospel have we forgotten or failed to believe? And 4. How is Jesus better than what we have or what we want?
Page 159: The author shares a template to share our own gospel stories called “Instagram Stories.” Use a large post-it note and draw twelve quadrants. Draw a still-fram picture that captures the essence of each stage of their faith journey.
Page 167: Jesus is the hero of your story! Make much of Jesus and help others make much of Jesus as we coach others to share their faith story.
Page 176-177: Listening “Up.” Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and listen to His prompts as you engage people to share the gospel’s impact in your life.
Page 191: “We need to do more than just be nice. We need to tell them why we live as we do.” Serving and living for Jesus will help us build relationships with people, but they still need to hear the good news!
Review
Overall, Jeff Vanderstelt’s book is very helpful as we consider how to embrace the gospels’ influence over our whole lives. He helps us acquire that gospel language he refers to; helping us become more “Gospel Fluent.” I would highly recommend this book, especially for church leaders wanting to see people better embrace the gospel and better communicate the gospel’s affect on the believers’ lives.
Where to buy
You can purchase Gospel Fluency from Amazon
