
Gospel Foundations
A Rooted Short Study – $60
In this 10-lesson curriculum on the building blocks of the gospel, you will look at Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in the New Testament to see how the Bible has one ultimate author: God. This curriculum will help show students how the New Testament is a fulfillment and continuation of God’s redemptive work throughout time.
BUY NOWWhy teach Gospel Foundations?
No one would want to live in a house without a foundation– it’s an essential part of the structure! Similarly, we believe that a foundation of the gospel is essential for any Christian in their walk with the Lord. While “gospel” might be a word that students have heard many times, it’s important that they know what this word means. With the Gospel Foundations study, students will learn that the gospel is “God’s grace and redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
This study takes students through every word of that phrase, drawing out all that the gospel is and what it means for them. Using Scripture as its guide and incorporating rich theological truths like justification, atonement, and sin, this curriculum lays the essential foundation for any believer. Our hope is that with this study, students will not only know what the gospel is, but what it is for them.
Written by Cameron Cole, Edited by Tucker Fleming
Download Lesson 1 Guides Buy Now
Lesson Outline
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Gospel Foundations
Written by Cameron Cole, Edited by Tucker Fleming
- Lesson 1: Creation: A Relational God Makes Man for Relationship
- Lesson 2: Sin as Self-Rule: Sin Begins with Mankind Wanting to Be Their Own Savior and Lord
- Lesson 3: The Wrath of God: Our Sin Has a Consequence
- Lesson 4: Substitutionary Atonement: Jesus Takes Our Punishment on the Cross
- Lesson 5: The Need for a Mediator: Jesus Represents Us Before God
- Lesson 6: Repentance and Belief
- Lesson 7: Justification: God Makes Us Clean and Righteous Through Christ
- Lesson 8: Union with Christ: We Are Saved Into a Relationship with Jesus
- Lesson 9: Kingdom Life: Living Heavenward
- Lesson 10: The New Heavens and the New Earth
Contributors

Cameron Cole, Writer
Cameron Cole has been the Director of Youth Ministries for eighteen years at the Church of the Advent, and in January of 2016 his duties expanded to include Children, Youth, and Families. He is the founding chairman of Rooted Ministry, an organization that promotes gospel-centered youth ministry. He is the co-editor of “Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practice Guide” (Crossway, 2016). Cameron is the author of Therefore, I Have Hope: 12 Truths that Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy (Crossway, 2018), which won World Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year (Accessible Theology) and was runner up for The Gospel Coalition’s Book of the Year (First-Time Author). He is also the co-editor of The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School (New Growth Press) and the author of Heavenward: How Eternity Can Change Your Life on Earth (Crossway, 2024). Cameron is a cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University undergrad and summa cum laude graduate from Wake Forest with an M.A. in Education. He holds a Masters in Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary.

Tucker Fleming, Editor
Tucker Fleming was raised in the Atlanta area and attended both Mississippi State University and Beeson Divinity School. He’s lived and worked throughout the country in schools and non-profit organizations, and has worked with students for a decade, with over half of that time being in the local church.
Rooted’s Scope & Sequence
Don’t know where to start? Check out our Scope & Sequence
All the lessons you need for your students’ entire time in your ministry — from brand new middle schooler to high school graduate. Whether you choose to walk through the Bible chronologically or you’d rather stick with a developmental stage approach, we have both plans written out for you, free of charge! Download the Scope & Sequence Plans for free, and purchase all the included curriculum in the Scope and Sequence Bundle to get started.
LEARN MORE“My experience with the rooted curriculum, especially the prophet’s package has been nothing short of phenomenal. It offers an easy-to-understand Old Testament view into the person and work of Jesus Christ. As a teacher it is easy to follow but offers depth and richness in study that isn’t found in most curriculum.”
Michael P. | Student. Minister | Field Street Baptist Church
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Download NowWhat will students learn from Gospel Foundations?
The gospel is the central message of the Bible and the primary word of Christianity. From Genesis to Revelation, we see a narrative of human sin and failure, alongside divine mercy and redemption. Various studies have shown that the single strongest predictor of whether a child will attend church as an adult is their ability to articulate the gospel accurately and in terms of grace.
The gospel in ways is very simple. In very basic terms, it involves human sin, divine grace, and the work of Jesus. The definition of the gospel we will use in this study is the following: God’s grace and redemption for sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Various studies have shown that the single strongest predictor of whether a child will attend church as an adult is their ability to articulate the gospel accurately and in terms of grace.
As simple as the gospel is, there are many building blocks beneath the message. For example, the loving and holy character of God, the reality of sin, the perfect life of Christ, the cross, etc., are all essential foundations of the gospel. When a person does not know the building blocks supporting the message, they are susceptible to several dangers:
- A danger of believing a false gospel.
- A danger of not enjoying the peace, joy, and hope of the gospel.
- A danger of not being transformed by the gospel.
God is moving history in a redemptive direction and to an appointed end. A theme of the postmodern and post-Christian world in which students live is that mankind and the world do not live under a cohesive, purposeful narrative. There is a belief that there is no higher plan or meaning in life. The prophecies about the Messiah and the age to come demonstrate that, in fact, God is writing a narrative for the world. We see validation of that redemptive narrative and fixed plan when Jesus lives, dies, and is risen, as the prophets foretold. This also validates God’s total control in bringing about redemption. He calls His shot: I will restore my people and take my promise of grace to the nations. Through Christ, He does exactly that and demonstrates His sovereignty.
The unity of God’s Word, Old and New Testaments. One of the tougher issues for students to understand about the Bible is the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. It can be challenging for them to see the Bible as one cohesive book. When we look at Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in the New Testament, we see how the Bible has one ultimate author: God. They help to show how the New Testament is a fulfillment and continuation of God’s redemptive work throughout time.
Fulfillment of prophecy validates that Christianity is absolutely true. One reasonable question young Christians ask is, “Why should we believe that Christianity is absolutely true?” Fulfillment of prophecy is one of of the most compelling proofs of the veracity of the Christian faith. We can show that—hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus came—God made concrete predictions about Jesus’ life and work. When we show students the dozens of examples of fulfillment of prophecy in the Bible, their confidence in the truth of Christianity grows.