Gospel-Centered Church
Sermon Series: Who We are
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1–11
John son
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Series Introduction
This morning, we’re beginning a new series called Who We Are.
And I think this is a fitting time for us to pause and revisit that question. We’re stepping into a new season together — a new ministry cycle, a new Life Group season, and a new school year for many of us. And new seasons have a way of giving us an opportunity to step back and ask: Who are we as a church? What do we value? And what has God called us to be?
Now, for many of you, what I’m about to say won’t be new. Over the past several years, we’ve talked about this vision many times. You’ve heard me say it, we’ve prayed about it, and we’ve been trying to live it out together.
But that’s exactly why it’s worth coming back to. Because a vision isn’t something we hear once and then move on from. It’s something we continually come back to — to remind ourselves who we are, to realign ourselves when we drift, and to ask whether the way we are living and ministering actually reflects what we say we value.
And for those who are newer to New Hope, or perhaps you’re visiting or exploring this church, this series is also an opportunity for you to understand who we are and what kind of church we’re seeking to become.
And so, our vision here at New Hope DT is : To become a multigenerational disciple-making church that moves with a gospel-centered missional spirituality.
And I want us to slow down and really understand this vision statement — because every part of that sentence tells us something important about who we are and who we believe God is calling us to become.
And There are really two parts to this vision:
The first is “gospel-centered missional spirituality.” This describes the spirit, posture, and ethos that we want to characterize our life together as a church. It’s the DNA that runs through New Hope Fellowship across all our campuses. It’s not simply a program or something we add to our ministry calendar. It’s the way we want to live — receiving everything from the gospel and allowing the gospel to move us outward missionally as we grow in our relationship with God and with one another.
The second part is “a multigenerational disciple-making church.” This describes what we are seeking to become, particularly here at the Downtown campus. We want to be a church where disciples are being formed across generations — where grandparents and grandchildren, singles and families, longtime members and newcomers are all growing together into the likeness of Christ.
So over the next several weeks, we’re going to revisit this vision phrase by phrase. Not because we’re introducing something new, but because we want to remember what God has placed before us and allow that vision to shape us more deeply.
And today, we begin with the foundation underneath everything else: gospel-centered.
Introduction
So today, our first focus from our vision statement is “gospel-centered.” What does it actually mean for us to be a gospel-centered church?
It’s easy for a phrase like this to become a churchy slogan — something we say often without really stopping to ask what it means or whether it is actually shaping the way we live.
That’s why this passage in 1 Corinthians 15 is such a fitting place for us to begin. Paul is writing to a church that had lost sight of the very foundation on which it was built.
The Corinthian church was gifted, active, and full of activity — but they were also divided, distracted, and drifting. They were arguing over which leaders they followed, chasing after status and eloquence, and allowing all kinds of things to pull them away from the heart of the gospel.
And so Paul brings them back to what matters most: the gospel. He reminds them of the gospel they had received, the gospel on which they had taken their stand, and the gospel through which they were being saved — because the gospel is the foundation of the church. And when the foundation becomes shaky, that’s where you begin to see the cracks. The divisions, distractions, and confusion in Corinth were not isolated problems; they were signs that the church had begun to lose its grip on the foundation.
That’s exactly where we need to begin this series.
Before we talk about being missional, before we talk about growing in spirituality, before we talk about making disciples, before we talk about being multigenerational — we need to begin with the gospel.
Because the gospel isn’t simply one part of our vision. It is the foundation underneath everything else. It is what makes us a church in the first place, and it is what must shape who we are, how we live, and how we move together as a church.
So the first question we need to address is: What Is the Gospel?
Look at verse 1 with me. Paul writes, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you…” Notice — he doesn't say, let me tell you something new. He says, let me remind you. Sometimes the most important thing a church needs isn't a new idea. It's to be brought back to the one thing that was true all along.
So what is this gospel Paul is reminding them of? He tells us plainly in verses 3–4: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Notice how concrete this is. The gospel isn't a vibe, it’s not a value system, nor is it a vague sense of God's love. It is news — an announcement — with specific content: Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He was raised on the third day. And Paul says this is “of first importance.” Not one truth among many, but the truth that everything else is built on.
So this is what we mean when we say gospel-centered. We’re not centered on a feeling, or on a certain program, or even a set of values — but we are centered on this good news, and on the person at the center of that good news is: Jesus Christ!
And notice something else here in v.1 and 2. Paul describes three different relationships we have to this gospel we receive it, we stand in it, we are being saved by it — and he calls us to hold fast to it and pass it on. And these verses give us a beautiful, simple framework for what it means to be a gospel-centered church: that We exist because of the gospel, in the gospel, and for the gospel.
So let’s go over these three parts, starting with:
We exist because of the Gospel
The first thing to see is that the church exists— not because of our effort, not because of our strategy, not because of our cleverness— but because of the gospel
Look at how Paul describes his own story in verses 8–9. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
He calls himself “one untimely born,” the “least of the apostles,” someone “unworthy to be called an apostle,” because he had persecuted the church of God. This is not false modesty. Paul is remembering who he was —that he was once an enemy of the church, dragging Christians to prison, approving their deaths. And yet look at what he says next: v.10a - “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.”
Paul doesn't say, I had a realization and I worked hard to turned my life around. He says, by the grace of God I am what I am. His entire identity — apostle, preacher, church planter — exists because of grace he didn't earn and couldn't have produced on his own.
And this is true, not just of Paul, but of the church as a whole! The gospel Paul preached is something the Corinthians “received” Paul says in v. 1 - Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received…
It was received, not achieved. It was a gift given to them by Christ. And the same is true for us. We have received this same gift from Christ
And that means the church itself exists because of the gospel. The church is not something we created through our own effort or built through our own strength. We are here because God, in his grace, has called people to himself through the good news of Jesus Christ. The gospel creates the church. It is the reason we exist, the foundation on which we stand, and the gift from which everything else flows.
That’s why we gather every Sunday to worship. Our worship — the singing, the giving, the praying, the preaching — isn’t how we earn God’s favor or prove our devotion to him. It is our response to a favor already secured for us at the cross. When our worship team leads us in song, when we give an offering, or when we come forward to receive communion, we’re not performing for God’s approval — we already have his approval! How? Because of the gospel. We worship because we have already received what we could never achieve for ourselves.
And so, when we talk about being a gospel-centered church, we are not simply saying that the gospel is one of the things we believe or one of the things we do. We are saying that Without the gospel, there is no church. New Hope Downtown exists because of the gospel. We are here because of what God has done in Christ, not because of what we have done for God. And that is where we must begin — remembering that we are, first and foremost, a people who have received.
We exist in the Gospel
If the first thing we see is that the church exists because of the gospel, the second is that the church lives in the gospel.
Paul says that the gospel is something the Corinthians had received, but he doesn’t stop there. V.1-2 - 1Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2and by which you are being saved…
He says they are to “stand” in it — and that they are “being saved” by it.
Notice the language. Paul is not talking only about something that happened in the past. The gospel is something in which we stand and by which we are being saved. The gospel is not simply the message that brought us to Christ; it is the message that sustains us in Christ. We never graduate from the gospel. We never move beyond our need for it.
To stand in the gospel means that we continually return to what is true because of Jesus Christ. When we fail, we return to the gospel and remember that our standing before God rests not on our performance, but on Christ’s finished work. When we are discouraged, we return to the gospel and remember that God’s grace is greater than our weakness. When we are tempted, we return to the gospel and remember who we are in Christ and what he has already accomplished for us. When we suffer, we return to the gospel and remember that our hope is anchored in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
This is what it means to be “being saved” by the gospel. Salvation is not merely something we look back on and say, “I was saved.” The grace that saved us is the grace that continues to save us — day after day, as the gospel exposes our sin, calls us to repentance, strengthens our faith, assures us of God’s love, and keeps drawing us back to Christ.
And that is why Paul tells the Corinthians to stand in the gospel. There will always be voices telling us to find our identity somewhere else — in our success, our relationships, our appearance, our reputation, our accomplishments, or even our failures. But the gospel keeps bringing us back to one unchanging reality: you belong to Christ. Your identity is not something you have to create or constantly prove. It has been given to you in Christ.
And Paul makes this even clearer by reminding the Corinthians of all the people who encountered the risen Christ (show v.5-7) — Cephas, the twelve, more than five hundred brothers and sisters, James, and all the apostles. This was not a private experience belonging to a few individuals. The resurrection was witnessed and proclaimed by a whole people, united around the same gospel.
That is what the church is. We are a people who stand in the same gospel, returning again and again to the same Christ, the same cross, and the same empty tomb. Our unity is not that we are all alike. We come from different generations, backgrounds, personalities, and experiences. What holds us together is that we have all been brought into the same gospel.
This is why baptism matters. In baptism, we publicly declare our belonging and allegiance to Jesus Christ. We are saying, I belong to him. And baptism marks our entrance into the family of God — identifying us not only with Christ, but with his people.
And this is why communion matters. When we gather around the Lord’s Table togetehr, we remember again that Christ’s body was broken for us and his blood was shed for us. We come not because we have somehow become worthy, but because Christ has made a way for us to come. We return to the gospel together. We remember what Christ has done, receive his grace with faith, and are reminded again that we belong to him and to one another.
This is also why we need one another. Our LifeGroups and our fellowship are not substitutes for the gospel; they are places where we remind one another of the gospel and help one another continue to stand in it. We share our struggles, pray for one another, confess our sins, encourage one another, and point one another back to Christ.
Because none of us stands in the gospel perfectly or consistently on our own. We need the gospel every day, and we need one another to keep returning to it.
So as we begin this new season, let me ask you: Are you standing in the gospel? Not simply, Did you receive the gospel once? But are you still standing there? When life gets difficult, where do you go? When you fail, what do you believe about yourself? When you feel like you’re not enough, what do you look to for assurance?
The invitation of the gospel is not simply, Come to Christ once. It is keep coming to Christ. Keep standing in the gospel. Keep trusting in what he has done.
Because everything else in our lives can shift. Our circumstances can change. Our relationships can change. Our accomplishments can fade. Even our feelings about ourselves can change from one day to the next. But the gospel remains. And the same grace that saved us is the grace that continues to save us, sustain us, and keep us standing in Christ.
We exist for the Gospel
The third thing to see is that we exist for the gospel — to hold it fast and advance it.
V.2b-3 - if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received…
Paul tells the Corinthians to “hold fast to the word” he preached (v. 2) — the same gospel that he has also received, which in turn, he delivered or passed on to them (v. 3).
And then, remarkably, this same Paul — the one who calls himself the least of the apostles — says in verse 10, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Notice the order. Grace comes first. It is undeserved and freely given. But that grace does not make Paul passive. It moves him to work. The gospel that saved him is the same gospel that sent him. Grace received becomes grace carried forward.
This is what it means for us to exist for the gospel. We are not simply here to enjoy the gospel or to keep the church running. We are here to advance the gospel — to hold firmly to the good news we have received and to carry it forward to others.
That is why we serve the way we do at New Hope Downtown. Every ministry and every act of service has a purpose beyond itself: to advance the gospel.
Our welcoming team welcomes people at the door so that someone’s first experience of this church is warmth and hospitality that Christ taught us through the gospel.
Our Sunday operations team prepares everything we need for worship and fellowship so that people can gather and worship our Lord Jesus Christ without distractions and enjoy fellowship with each other.
Our children’s ministry faithfully pours the gospel into the next generation, trusting that what is planted today will bear fruit for years to come.
And when the Local missions team steps outside these walls to serve our community, we are carrying the love and truth of the gospel further into the places God has called us.
None of this is simply about keeping a church functioning. It is about advancing the gospel. We serve because we have received grace, and that grace moves us to give ourselves for the sake of others.
And this matters especially as we enter this new season. A new academic year means new students, new faces, and new opportunities to welcome people into our community. But our goal is not simply to fill seats or become a bigger church. Our desire is to be a church that faithfully holds fast to the gospel and continually advances it.
So as we serve here at New Hope Downtown, the question is not simply, “What can I do?” but “How can my service help advance the gospel?”
Because the gospel we have received is not meant to stop with us. We hold it fast, and we carry it forward.
Gospel-Centered Beyond Sunday
Now, everything we've talked about so far has to do with our life together as a church — our worship, our LifeGroups, our serving, our outreach. But gospel-centeredness was never meant to stay inside these walls for an hour or two on a Sunday. If the gospel is truly what we exist because of, in, and for, it has to shape the rest of our week too — our homes, our workplaces and schools, our everyday relationships.
In our homes, it means spouses, parents, and children don't have to perform for one another's approval or control one another out of fear — we can love the people closest to us out of the same grace we've received, even on our worst days.
In our workplaces and classrooms, it means our worth isn't set by a performance review or a grade. We can still work and study with integrity and excellence — not to prove something about ourselves, but because Christ has already secured who we are.
And in our everyday relationships — with neighbors, classmates, coworkers, friends — it means we get to carry good news into ordinary conversations, not in a preachy or forceful way, but simply as people who've been given grace and want others to know it too.
My brothers and sisters, a gospel-centeredness that only shows up in a church setting on Sundays isn't really gospel-centeredness. It's who we're called to be wherever we are — at church, and everywhere else this week takes us.
Conclusion
So my brothers and sisters, as we begin this new season together, and as we begin this series on who we are and what we value as a church, I want us to come back to this one, unshakable foundation: the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We exist because of the gospel. We are here not because of our own effort or strategy, but because of the grace of God freely given to us in Christ.
We exist in the gospel. We find our identity, our belonging, and our hope in Christ — not in our performance or in anything else this world can give us.
And we exist for the gospel. We are called to hold fast to the gospel we have received and to advance it to the people God brings into our lives.
Whatever our differences — whatever generation, background, or story brought each of us here — we are united by one gospel. And that gospel is not simply something we believe. It is the reason we exist, the ground on which we stand, and the good news we are called to advance.
Reflection and Response
Let's take a moment to reflect and respond.
So before we come to the Lord’s Table, let’s take a moment to reflect and respond.
Where have you been relying on your own effort or performance instead of resting in the grace that saved you?
Where is your identity actually standing right now — in the gospel, or in something else? Your career, your achievements, your relationships, your reputation?
Where might God be calling you to advance the gospel this week? Is there someone in your home, workplace, school, or circle of friends to whom you can carry the grace and good news you have received?
