Good News Weekly Message

Most people would prefer a Christmas without surprises, a Christmas where everything goes according to plan. Usually when our expectations are not met, the results are disappointing. And yet, everything about the first Christmas was the opposite of what anyone would have expected. Today we see how that’s true as we ponder the place where God chooses to dwell. Many people wonder, “Where is God? What is he up to in our world?” On Christmas, God provides the answer. Rather than confining himself to a building made of stone, he came to dwell in human flesh. Now he makes his dwelling in our hearts through his Word. Because of Christmas, we know where we can find our God.

Most people would prefer a Christmas without surprises, a Christmas where everything goes according to plan. Usually when our expectations are not met, the results are disappointing. And yet, everything about the first Christmas was the opposite of what anyone would have expected. Today we see how that’s true as we ponder the miracle and mystery of the incarnation. In order that we might know him, God didn’t shout down from heaven. He came down from heaven. The second person of the Trinity took on human flesh and became one of us. Though this is a mystery, it is also something to marvel at. In Jesus, humanity can say: “Here is our God!”

Most people would prefer a Christmas without surprises, a Christmas where everything goes according to plan. Usually when our expectations are not met, the results are disappointing. And yet, everything about the first Christmas was the opposite of what anyone would have expected. Tonight we see how Christmas shatters our expectations for God’s salvation. God didn’t look down at our mess and send an instruction manual or a word of encouragement. He didn’t help us help ourselves but sent his Son to be our Savior. And perhaps the most unexpected part of God’s Christmas gift is this: It’s for us!

Most people would prefer a Christmas without surprises, a Christmas where everything goes according to plan. Usually when our expectations are not met, the results are disappointing. And yet, everything about the first Christmas was the opposite of what anyone would have expected. Today we see how that started with the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would be “expecting.” Everything about this child was different. Everything about him was miraculous. In carrying and delivering him, Mary not only played a vital role in God’s plan of salvation, she also learned an important lesson: that with God nothing is impossible. With him we can always expect the unexpected.

Conventional wisdom suggests that, in order to avoid disappointment, we ought to expect less out of Christmas. God suggests just the opposite. In the centuries leading up to the first Christmas, God revealed the truth about the coming Messiah and taught his people to raise their expectations for his work. This week we learn to produce more through Jesus. Many people frantically strive to acquire the blessings and benefits promised by Christianity. Fewer will accept that genuine fruit requires more than human effort. Yet the advent call of Christ is to produce more through Jesus—by rooting ourselves in the soil of his righteousness.

Conventional wisdom suggests that, in order to avoid disappointment, we ought to expect less out of Christmas. God suggests just the opposite. In the centuries leading up to the first Christmas, God revealed the truth about the coming Messiah and taught his people to raise their expectations for his work. This week we learn to prepare more for Jesus. Many people are content with measuring up to moral rules of their own invention. Fewer will accept the rigors of genuine excellence in the kingdom of the coming Christ. Yet the advent call of Christ is to prepare more for Jesus—by raising every valley and leveling every mountain.

Conventional wisdom suggests that, in order to avoid disappointment, we ought to expect less out of Christmas. God suggests just the opposite. In the centuries leading up to the first Christmas, God revealed the truth about the coming Messiah and taught his people to raise their expectations for his work. This week we learn to ask more from Jesus. Many people are comfortable asking Jesus to round out their lives with some timely blessings. Fewer will ask him to reorder their lives. Yet the advent call of Christ is that we ask more of him—that he do nothing less than save us.

The Christian life is lived "in between." The incredible things that God declares about us and promises to us are often hidden in a life that looks no different from anyone else's - maybe even worse. And yet, as we live in the space between appearance and reality, we find hope in the fact that this space was once occupied by Jesus too. When he appears, so will the reality of all we are - and all we have - in him! This week we look specifically at our in between investment. Just like everyone around us, we spend our time on earth using everything that God has given us for a specific purpose, hoping to receive a generous return. At times it might seem as though the way we invest our time, energy, and resources doesn’t lead to any tangible returns. However, when Christ appears, he will reveal the truth about those returns and give us a generous, undeserved reward.

The Christian life is lived "in between." The incredible things that God declares about us and promises to us are often hidden in a life that looks no different from anyone else's - maybe even worse. And yet, as we live in the space between appearance and reality, we find hope in the fact that this space was once occupied by Jesus too. When he appears, so will the reality of all we are - and all we have - in him! This week we look specifically at our in between anticipation. Jesus us warns us to be ready for his return at all times. That doesn’t, however, mean that we cease living life. We go about our daily tasks the way that those around us do. And yet, our life is oriented around Jesus’ promise to come back for his bride, the Church, and take her to be with him in the place he has prepared.

The Christian life is lived "in between." The incredible things that God declares about us and promises to us are often hidden in a life that looks no different from anyone else's - maybe even worse. And yet, as we live in the space between appearance and reality, we find hope in the fact that this space was once occupied by Jesus too. When he appears, so will the reality of all we are - and all we have - in him! This week we look specifically at our in between status. God has called us saints. God has called us children. And yet, that status is often hidden beneath a life that is as rough around the edges as everyone else’s. As a result, our hope is not in our constantly changing character but in God’s unchanging decree.

Way back in 1517, a few simple yet profound ideas changed everything - not just for the church, but for the whole world with it. Five hundred years later, those ideas are still shocking and radical. More importantly, they still bring the only kind of peace that can take our troubled hearts and make them...still. This week we explore the idea that God still gets. The last “sola” of the Lutheran Reformation really encompasses them all. Faith is nothing other than giving God all credit for every aspect of our salvation. He planned it by grace alone. He carried it out in Christ alone. He reveals it to us in Scripture alone. And because all of that is true, we give—and God gets—all the glory alone!

Way back in 1517, a few simple yet profound ideas changed everything - not just for the church, but for the whole world with it. Five hundred years later, those ideas are still shocking and radical. More importantly, they still bring the only kind of peace that can take our troubled hearts and make them...still. This week we explore the idea that God still sends. The same Christ whom God sent to this earth to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins he still sends in his Word and Sacrament to bring forgiveness to troubled sinners’ hearts. The gospel is the center of the Christian’s faith and thus it is the center of the church’s life. For it is in the gospel where God brings peace, joy, and hope—all in Christ alone!

Way back in 1517, a few simple yet profound ideas changed everything - not just for the church, but for the whole world with it. Five hundred years later, those ideas are still shocking and radical. More importantly, they still bring the only kind of peace that can take our troubled hearts and make them...still. This week we explore the idea that God still gives. Because it is in his loving heart to have mercy on sinners who deserve nothing but wrath, God must give. He must figure out a way for both his justice and his mercy to both be satisfied. He did that by sending Jesus to pay the price that sin deserved. God is both just and merciful—all by grace alone!

Way back in 1517, a few simple yet profound ideas changed everything - not just for the church, but for the whole world with it. Five hundred years later, those ideas are still shocking and radical. More importantly, they still bring the only kind of peace that can take our troubled hearts and make them...still. This week we explore the idea that God still works. When it comes to our greatest need—the ability to stand before him—he does all the work. The righteousness that he expects out of us is not one that we earn. Rather, it’s received through faith in Jesus Christ. That which we need most is our sure and certain possession—all through faith alone!

Way back in 1517, a few simple yet profound ideas changed everything - not just for the church, but for the whole world with it. Five hundred years later, those ideas are still shocking and radical. More importantly, they still bring the only kind of peace that can take our troubled hearts and make them...still. This week we explore the idea that God still speaks. His revealed word is the supreme authority for all matters of Christian faith and life. That concept is as challenging to us today as it was to many in Martin Luther’s day. However, the only way to be confident that we are on the side of the truth is to know that God still speaks—and for us to simply listen.

Sometimes before you can move forward, you have to take a step back to get everyone on the same page. Every fall we see it on the football field. It's just as true for the church. before sending the church out into the world, Jesus reminded them of what Christianity was all about, and, as a result, what they had to offer. This week we see that Christianity has no limit on letting go. Forgiveness is arguably the core message of the Christian faith—indeed, some have said it is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. We have no desire or power to forgive on our own, but in Christ we have a spiritual wealth so great there is no limit on what we will let go. Christianity offers full and free forgiveness to all.

Sometimes before you can move forward, you have to take a step back to get everyone on the same page. Every fall we see it on the football field. It's just as true for the church. before sending the church out into the world, Jesus reminded them of what Christianity was all about, and, as a result, what they had to offer. This week we see that Christianity distinguishes between tolerance and true love. The God of the Bible presents a paradox—on the one hand he pronounces stern condemnation of evil, on the other hand he announces full and free forgiveness to all. God’s attitude toward sin reveals that true love does not tolerate evil, neither does it leave people under sin’s control. Christianity proclaims the benefits of true love.

Sometimes before you can move forward, you have to take a step back to get everyone on the same page. Every fall we see it on the football field. It's just as true for the church. before sending the church out into the world, Jesus reminded them of what Christianity was all about, and, as a result, what they had to offer. This week we see that Christianity deals with the problem of pleasure. The Lord himself faced opposition when he predicted his coming death—the message of the cross offended followers looking for glory! Now, in a world seeking only pleasure, the gospel reorients Christian hearts to seek something more—not less—than mere pleasure.

Sometimes before you can move forward, you have to take a step back to get everyone on the same page. Every fall we see it on the football field. It's just as true for the church. before sending the church out into the world, Jesus reminded them of what Christianity was all about, and, as a result, what they had to offer. This week we see that Christianity demolishes walls that need to come down. The blood of Jesus Christ has torn down the wall of hostility between sinners and their God. This gospel bears fruit as Christians tear down the walls that divide this world. United as one family, what makes us different no longer divides us.

Sometimes before you can move forward, you have to take a step back to get everyone on the same page. Every fall we see it on the football field. It's just as true for the church. before sending the church out into the world, Jesus reminded them of what Christianity was all about, and, as a result, what they had to offer. This week we see that Christianity builds on a foundation that won’t fall. The name of the Lord is not just a title that distinguishes the true God from false gods, it is the very definition and who he is. By confessing the name of the Christ, Christianity builds on a foundation that won’t fall.