Good News Weekly Message

The teachings of the Christian faith come "from the top down." But not because they are oppressively imposed on us. Rather, they tell us things about God that are too good to be made up, things that we would never believe unless God himself revealed them to us by his Spirit. This week we listen as the Holy Spirit teaches us that only in Jesus can we find spiritual rest. Our natural inclination is to think that the way to get a job done completely and correctly is through work. God teaches his people that rest is a gift rather than something that is earned. The Old Testament day of rest pointed ahead to the perfect and permanent rest found in Christ.

The teachings of the Christian faith come "from the top down." But not because they are oppressively imposed on us. Rather, they tell us things about God that are too good to be made up, things that we would never believe unless God himself revealed them to us by his Spirit. This week we listen as the Holy Spirit teaches us that the cross comes first, then the crown. Jesus clearly taught this during his time on earth. His death and resurrection are proof that it is true. The Christian faith is not about having our best life now. It’s our assurance that our best life is still to come.

The teachings of the Christian faith come "from the top down." But not because they are oppressively imposed on us. Rather, they tell us things about God that are too good to be made up, things that we would never believe unless God himself revealed them to us by his Spirit. This week we celebrate the Festival of Trinity. Not only is the concept of the Trinity itself something unique to the Christian faith, but what the Triune God does for us and offers to us is completely unique. Our Triune God invites us into the blessed relationship that is part of his very nature. He makes us not servants or subjects but blessed members of his family!

The teachings of the Christian faith come "from the top down." But not because they are oppressively imposed on us. Rather, they tell us things about God that are too good to be made up, things that we would never believe unless God himself revealed them to us by his Spirit. This week we celebrate the Festival of Pentecost by focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit. After his resurrection, Jesus ascended on high to be the world’s advocate before God. As a result, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be God’s advocate before the world. During these last days he is by our side in God’s Word to teach us the truth about God.

Good stories are nice. Good lessons are valuable. But for life’s biggest problems, we need exactly what Easter provides: good news. This week we focus on the good news that Jesus gave his Church before ascending into heaven: “You have been clothed with power.” When Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his Church important work to do, to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. However, the success of this work did not depend on him. His ascension to the right hand of the Father and his sending of the Holy Spirit equipped them with divine power as they carried out this divine work.

Good stories are nice. Good lessons are valuable. But for life’s biggest problems, we need exactly what Easter provides: good news. This week we focus on the good news that Jesus gives us as our Good Shepherd: “My sheep know me.” There are countless spiritual shepherds in our world today - voices vying for our attention and devotion. However, amid this deafening myriad of voices, one stands out. It is only the voice of our Good Shepherd who says, “I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Good stories are nice. Good lessons are valuable. But for life’s biggest problems, we need exactly what Easter provides: good news. This week we focus on the good news that Jesus left his disciples with before his departure: “You will bear much fruit.” We innately desire to have a productive life - one that makes a difference and leaves a lasting impact. Jesus provides us with the clear solution for that desire. Connected to him, our living Savior, we will produce a rich harvest of fruit that leads to the eternal praise of God’s saving name.

Good stories are nice. Good lessons are valuable. But for life’s biggest problems, we need exactly what Easter provides: good news. This week we focus on the good news that Jesus delivered to his disciples: “Peace be with you.” This was a common greeting in Jesus’ day. But coming from the lips of a resurrected Savior, these were anything but common words. Jesus’ resurrection means that peace had been restored between God and mankind and that we will one day enjoy the fullness of everything that God created us for.

Good stories are nice. Good lessons are valuable. But for life’s biggest problems, we need exactly what Easter provides: good news. This week we focus on the good news that the disciples delivered to Thomas: “We have seen the Lord.” Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t done quietly in a corner. Over a period of forty days, Jesus appeared to many people, making them eyewitnesses of his resurrection. Far from having a blind faith, Christians believe what others have seen and heard. We can be confident that, by believing what we have heard about Jesus, we will have life in his name.

Conventional wisdom is that you should always hedge your bets. Never go “all-in” on anything. Jesus did just the opposite. He made everything about his work as our Savior hinge on one thing: him rising from the dead. When he did, every bold claim he made about himself and difficult thing he taught us was vindicated. He was in fact who he said he was. His payment for sin on Good Friday was in fact sufficient. His promises of life and salvation in his name will in fact be kept. His enemies can say about him whatever they want. Because of his resurrection from the dead, Jesus gets the last word.

Everyone in the world has assumptions about God, and every religion in the world has certain assumptions about God in common. But Jesus came to proclaim a religion that not turns those assumptions completely upside down. Tonight we rethink the concept of sacrifice. Sacrifice is a common theme in many religions. It usually involves people offering sacrifices to appease fickle or bloodthirsty deities. However, in Christianity, God himself makes the sacrifice. Jesus offers his life as payment for ours.

Everyone in the world has assumptions about God, and every religion in the world has certain assumptions about God in common. But Jesus came to proclaim a religion that not turns those assumptions completely upside down. This week we rethink the concept of strength. It’s easy to assume that real strength means exerting your will over another by using any means necessary—including force. But Christ demonstrates a different kind of strength: strength in weakness. He demonstrated that kind of strength on Palm Sunday as he humbly and willingly rode into the hands of his enemies. During the next week, they would appear to be the ones in position of power and he in the position of weakness. And yet, what he did during that week changed the world forever.

Everyone in the world has assumptions about God, and every religion in the world has certain assumptions about God in common. But Jesus came to proclaim a religion that not turns those assumptions completely upside down. This week we rethink love. Every religion tells that its followers to love its deity above all. However, Christianity is unique in that the love God demands is the love he himself provides. His love for us led him to send his Son. Christ’s perfect love in our place becomes ours through faith. The love God demands of us is not forced under threat of punishment. Rather it is won at God’s own expense.

The psalms provide a rich variety of heartfelt, emotion-filled prayers for people as they go through every aspect of life in a fallen world. Join us as we see how various psalms highlight the trials Jesus endured during the closing hours of his life as our perfect substitute. As we do, we'll also see how he is the perfect embodiment of how human beings are to go through seasons of suffering.

We are all in search of something that's hard to find - something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been on a quest for us. This week we’re talking about our quest for authenticity. With every need we’ve talked about in this series (identity, community, credibility, purpose), there are ultimate realities and cheap imitations. Jesus’ transfiguration shows us that the glorious life he came to bring us—while often hidden beneath apparent weakness, suffering, and defeat—is in fact the real deal. Accept no substitutes!

We are all in search of something that's hard to find - something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been on a quest for us. This week we’re talking about our quest for purpose. By nature we are not content spending our days doing things that make no difference or have no lasting impact. Thankfully, when Jesus calls us to be members of his Church he also calls us to be partners in his mission. Jesus has found us with the purpose we desperately long for.

We are all in search of something that's hard to find - something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been on a quest for us. This week we’re talking about our quest for credibility. In a world saturated with fact checking and accusations of “fake news,” we long for a reliable source of information—especially answers to life’s biggest questions. During his life on earth, Jesus revealed himself to be exactly that.

We are all in search of something that's hard to find - something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been on a quest for us. This week we’re talking about our quest for community. Everyone searches for a group to which they know they belong, where they can be themselves, and where their uniqueness is not just tolerated but embraced. We quest for community. But through the gospel, Jesus brings just that community to us.

We are all in search of something that's hard to find - something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been on a quest for us. This week we’re talking about our quest for identity. Everyone is in search for a clear understanding of who they are and one that they are satisfied with. Thankfully, God provides an identity better than we could ever imagine by uniting us with Christ and clothing us in him through baptism.

When we think of quests, we imagine ancient kings or explorers embarking on long, arduous journeys stretching the limits of their maps, all in search of something rare, prized, and worth the sacrifice. Although today we might not embark on quests like that, we are all in search of something that's hard to find - something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been on a quest for us.