Gospel Formed by J.A. Medders is a recent release from Kregel Publications that seeks to bring the reader's focus on the gospel, over and over again through 27 devotional-style chapters. Medders recommends to read one chapter a day and this would seem to be a good fit as each chapter ranges from around 3-6 pages. So why keep coming back to the gospel over and over again? Medders answers this question well by saying, "Gospel-centered Christians are God-enjoying, God-centered, Jesus-exalting, Spirit-loving, Bible-devouring Christians. We don't worship the gospel; we worship the God of the gospel. The gospel is God's act of turning scoundrels into saints, turning sin-seekers into people who now find their utmost satisfaction in God." This is wonderfully good news and we should seek to ponder on it regularly. Gospel Formed is a book that will help the reader do just that.
The book is divided into five parts: The Gospel Starting Block, What is Gospel Worship?, What is Gospel Identity?, What is Gospel Community?, What is Gospel Mission? Each section contains chapters that focus on various aspects of the gospel's impact on these areas. All of these sections a Christ-exalting and bring great encouragement to the reader. I was especially blessed by some of the devotions focusing on community. In one chapter Medders states, "I love the church because Jesus does. How much do you care about the church? Are you connected to the church? Are you faithful to a local church? Jesus shed his blood for the church and never takes her lightly - nor should you. So how involved are you? How connected are you? Fringe? Once-a-monther? C'mon...The early church braved the sword to gather with God's people, and Christians in our day will hardly brave the rain. That's a problem - one that's bigger than church attendance. This is a love-for-Jesus problem. How we treat his bride equals how we treat him." Strong indictment about how many modern day Christians think little of the great privilege that we have been given.
Overall, I found this book to be a wonderful encouragement and a great addition to the large number of "gospel" books out there. I did find the book to be a bit repetitive at times. The whole point of the book is to bring a gospel focus into various aspects of life so the gospel will be repetitive and that is a good thing. However, some of the chapters felt as if they were a stretch to be a stand-alone chapter and would have fit better if combined with another one. Not a huge knock on the book but worth noting. Also, there are quite a few attempts at humor throughout the book that didn't really fit my style. They weren't off-putting, just were a distraction at times from the main point of the chapter. Again, this is a minor issues that speaks more to a personal preference, but since some will probably share it, it was worth a mention. If you are looking for a devotion that will point you over and over again to the wonderful grace of God in the gospel and how it impacts all of life the pick up this book, you will be blessed.
I received a copy of this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.
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