But how do we make sure that Jesus is center-stage in our church? How do we keep other things from taking His place in our sermons, our Sunday School classes or our small groups? In other words, how do we maintain Christ-centeredness when there are so many other good things vying for our attention and time?

As editor of The Gospel Project, LifeWay's new curriculum for Sunday School classes and small groups, I've wrestled with this question. It's one thing to have "core values" like "Christ-centered" and "mission-driven" written on the page. It's another thing entirely to make sure that these values are actually expressed in the lessons. To help our writers, we've put together three big questions we want them to ask of every lesson.

The more I've thought about these questions, the more I am convinced that pastors ought to ask these questions of every sermon they preach. Teachers ought to ask these questions of every lesson they prepare. The questions are a helpful guide to keeping Christ as the focus of our ministry.

1. How does this topic/passage fit into the big story of Scripture?

It's not uncommon anymore for me to talk with lost people who have little, if any, knowledge of the Bible. Surprisingly, I even meet church-goers who know individual Bible stories and some of the morals taught in the Bible, but don't know how they connect to the Gospel. They don't know the overarching storyline of the Bible that leads from creation, to our fall into sin, to redemption through Jesus Christ, and final restoration. If we are to live as Christians in a fallen world, we must be shaped by the grand narrative of the Scriptures, the worldview we find in the Bible.

Asking the "big story" question will help you as a pastor or teacher to connect the dots for your people. We need to help people learn to read the Bible for themselves, to understand the flow of the narrative, how the different genres fit into that narrative, and how to apply the truths of the Bible with wisdom.

2. What is distinctively Christian about the way I am addressing the topic/passage?

Here's the question that will lead you back to the Gospel. The distinctively Christian thing about Christianity is Jesus and His grace. It's the good news about how He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave on the third day. So how do we ensure that our preaching and teaching gets to Jesus? I suggest three follow-up questions under this one.

-- Is there anything about my treatment of this Old Testament text that a faithful Jew could not affirm?

If we preach the story of Moses, for example, without ever pointing forward to our Passover Lamb (Jesus Christ), then we are preaching the Old Testament much like a rabbi, not like a Christian herald of the Gospel. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus told His disciples that the Old Testament pointed to Him. The Baptist Faith and Message says "All Scripture is a testimony to Christ." So when we preach from the Old Testament, it's imperative that we point people forward to the Messiah.

-- Is there anything about my treatment of this New Testament text that a Mormon could not affirm?

LifeWay's Ed Stetzer often says that this is one of the questions he asks of every sermon he preaches. The issue isn't whether or not you talk about Jesus. Mormons talk about Jesus. Jehovah's Witnesses talk about Jesus. Self-help preachers talk about Jesus. The question here is about how we present Jesus. Is He Savior and Lord? Or is He just a helper? Is He God in the flesh? Or is He just a good teacher? We must make sure we do not present Jesus only as a moral example, but that we present Him as the only Savior, the One who calls for repentance and faith. Continued...