The Heart of Renewal: Renewal, Lesson 6
By Steve Childers
The history of great awakenings and gospel renewal movements gives powerful evidence that renewal is not a result of your work, but God’s work. And when gospel renewal spreads through churches and communities, the work of God’s Spirit begins in individual hearts.
The revivalists used to say that the secret of revival begins when you take a piece of chalk, kneel down to draw a circle around yourself and then look up to heaven expectantly, praying, “Lord, send revival, and let it begin right here in this circle.” The old spiritual got it right: “Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”
So the most important aspect of gospel renewal is in understanding how the gospel renews the human heart, starting with your own. Only when the gospel renews your heart can we understand how the gospel renews other hearts and groups of human hearts called churches and communities.
In this final lesson, you'll learn more about how the gospel brings personal renewal to the human heart – beginning with yours.
In this lesson, you will be equipped to:
Understand how gospel renewal starts with your own heart
Describe what Paul means by his “only boast” being in the cross
Explain the multi-faceted nature of the gospel promises in Christ
Demonstrate how the gospel promises lead us to the Promisor
Explain why our efforts to obey God can lead to denial or despair
Illustrate how the gospel renews people into the image of Christ
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