Mission Minded: Good News Excited to Share It!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 24, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Is Excited about Their Message!
Good news is always exciting to share! Or is it?
A new job…a new baby…college acceptance…a marriage…a good doctor’s report…and the list goes on. These events are always exciting to share.
So does sharing Jesus make this list? Not always, right?
The best news in the world is that our sins are forgiven, we are right with God and headed to heaven. So what makes it hard to share such good news?
Our culture has done well to communicate that the claims of Christianity are not scientific, not open-minded, and only one way of believing among many. So the uniqueness and goodness of Jesus is lost in the narrative of our culture.
Perhaps we feel like we’re imposing on someone’s beliefs or somehow will communicate inadvertently a superiority of belief to others. The positive impact of Christianity lost in the fear of personal perception.
Or perhaps I feel I will be challenged, shunned, or put out because of my beliefs and sharing them. The message of the Gospel gets relegated to a personal conviction.
Remember? The news is good!
Consider…if the message is counter culture…which it is…maybe we have to ask if the culture is thriving with their message and without Jesus?
Consider, if I feel people will react negatively to some challenging teachings…they may, but remember good news changes behavior…so share the good news before trying to change behavior – God’s Spirit will do that!
Consider…if I feel I will lose something (reputation, job, finances, etc.) remember the good news is better than anything I may lose.
Why would I potentially risk reputation, financial, even freedom? Because I believe the potential and goodness of the message and its impact on the hearts and lives of people.
I’m reminding myself of this because I too have kept this good news to myself and remained silent. I know I have feared negative reaction. But Jesus is here to tell us this morning, get excited and don’t lose that excitement. The news I have given you to share IS good…ALWAYS!
Perhaps we simply have to think like the angels did over the fields of Bethlehem. They didn’t worry about the shepherd’s reaction…they just had to tell someone! “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10)
Don’t worry about the reaction…remember the news you are sharing is GOOD…in fact it’s GREAT news!
Apply: Consider the fears and hesitations you have when you consider talking about Jesus. Consider not the potential negative reaction, but rather the possibility of what could happen if God’s Spirit takes hold of the heart to whom you are speaking!
PRAYER: Lord, give me the attitude of the angels. Let me without hesitation let people know that you have “good news of great joy” for them! AMEN.
Passage and Prayer for the Ministry of Cross & Crown
Friday – January 29 – Galatians 2:20 “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
PRAYER: God, teach us what these words mean, that by the power of your Holy Spirit we have a new life, lived by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. May our words, actions, thoughts and experiences be immersed in this truth that the world would see You in us.
Saturday – January 30 – 1 John 4:7-8 “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
PRAYER: May we first know the power of Your love for us, Lord, and in turn love others as You have loved us. Focus our hearts outward, to show your love to the people around us who have never experienced it.
Mission Minded: Good News…Everyone Needs It!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 24, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Is Excited about Their Message!
I have to be honest.
I never thought Bernie Sanders would bring a smile to the faces of millions of Americans. No political point to be made, just don’t see him as the “going to make you smile and laugh” person.
But he did…or at least his picture of him sitting all alone in his coat and mittens at the inauguration. Well, it wasn’t the picture at the inauguration, it is the 1000s of memes people have created putting him anywhere. All of a sudden “Where’s Waldo” has turned into “Where’s Bernie!”
My point? Every one needs good news…a reason to smile…a reason to laugh.
Perhaps the simplicity and silliness of the “Bernie memes” seems rather childish and superficial, but the reason they work, in my opinion, is people are starved for something good.
Everyone wants good news. Everyone needs good news.
That’s why everyone needs Jesus.
Not because he’s a silly picture Photoshopped into every scene imaginable, but because every person needs a solution to fear, death, and their relationship with God.
Jesus told Simon and Andrew, James and John that they were now going to be fishers of men.
Mark 1:16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
These four followed Jesus for over three years and when Jesus’ work was done he told them: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
Everyone needs Jesus.
What might this look like to people with whom you interact today? Let me give you one example.
Perhaps you know someone or will meet someone that is afraid of CoVid and its impact on their life or of someone they love. Do they need good news? Yes, like Mary and Martha did when their brother Lazarus was sick. Jesus said…“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4) But then Lazarus died! The good news? Jesus has power over death. For Lazarus, Jesus raised him back to life. For us when we fear death, he gives a promise to all of us, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
So what could you say to a person afraid of CoVid? “I know it’s scary, right? I am praying this illness will go away. But you know what gives me good news amidst the CoVid bad news? I have a friend who is more powerful than any illness and stronger than death itself. Can I tell you about him?”
Then tell them about Jesus and the good news he brings.
Apply: Jesus brings good news to many situations. What is a situation someone you know is facing? What promise or truth of Jesus could bring them a smile to an otherwise challenging situation?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being who you are and doing what you did. All of it is good news for me and the world. Use me today to bring a little bit of your good news to someone who is struggling, hurting, worried, or afraid. AMEN.
Passage and Prayer for the Ministry of Cross & Crown
Thursday – January 28 – 1 John 3:16 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
PRAYER: Thank you for giving us the definition of love—to serve and even lay down one’s life for another. Teach us to serve with passion and power, in unity and grace. Reveal the ways you have called us to love our brothers and sisters.
Mission Minded: Good News Turns Us from Bad Behavior!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 24, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Is Excited about Their Message!
There are two ways to stop bad behavior.
First with negative consequences.
A two-year-old who is having a tantrum in the grocery store, might (not always) stop if you say, “If you don’t stop crying, you’ll miss out on the ice cream cone I promised you when we are done.”
Much motivation to do what is right is motivated by the threat of negative consequence. You break the speed limit, you get a ticket. You cheat on a test, you fail the course. You rob a bank, you go to jail.
Bad behavior reaps bad rewards. A pattern of crime ends in prison time. A pattern of selfishness leads to broken relationships. A pattern of deception leads to a loss of employment.
The threat of these consequences can change behavior. Ultimately, the threat of God’s law can be a motivator as well. A sinful nature left unchecked eventually leads to an eternity apart from God in hell.
Jesus would rather motivate a change in our life and lifestyle by good news and the blessings that come from a life living with the Lord Jesus.
It was the heart of Jesus’ message: “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
Jesus could have come with the message, “Repent or go to hell!” But rather the message of good news, the Gospel, is what he calls us to believe. The good news to believe our sins are forgiven and sin is not a life worth living.
Jesus changes our hearts with the power of his Spirit and the compelling content of the good news he promised, proclaimed and procured.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1)
Perhaps these verses from Galatians 5:19-25 put forward what Jesus is calling us from and what the good news compels us to enjoy:
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Jesus wants us to enjoy the blessings of life with him. He gives his love, joy, peace, forgiveness and eternal life. He connects blessings to following his will as we live in the world. No wonder he calls us to repent (turn from sin) and to believe the good news (turn to Jesus).
The good news is so good it turns us from bad behavior.
Apply: Consider areas of life that are “bad behavior.” How is it working for you? Repent and believe the good news. Find joy in turning from sin to the blessings and forgiveness Jesus gives to you!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you for doing all for my forgiveness. Give me your Spirit to compel me to turn from sin to trust in you and live for you each and every day!
Passage and Prayer for the Ministry of Cross & Crown
Wednesday – January 27 – Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we do not seek to build anything apart from You. We seek your protection and your guidance. We do not want any glory for ourselves, or any success of man’s invention. Let us not waste our effort! Align our work to your design.
Mission Minded: Good News Overcomes Bad News!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 24, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Is Excited about Their Message!
“I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
Ever been asked this?
Which do you tend to want first?
Subconsciously when someone presents this to me, I am HOPING the good news overshadows the bad news.
Don’t we all?
We want good news to be better and more often than any bad news we may here.
We want news like, “I was laid off…but I got hired for my dream job the next week.” Or “I got COVID, but I had no symptoms.”
We want good news to overcome bad news.
That’s what the good news Jesus brings does…every time. With Jesus it is always good news!
Mark 1:14 starts this way, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.”
John the Baptist being put into prison was not going to end well. John had confronted Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee for divorcing his wife and taking his brother’s wife as his own. John would eventually be beheaded. It was not good news.
But the good news Jesus proclaimed overcame the bad news of John’s imprisonment. John was in prison, but he knew he had carried out the purpose God had given him – point people to Jesus – and he had confidence Jesus was the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” including his own. John was safe in the good news.
So Jesus doesn’t get stuck on the bad news, he continues “proclaiming the good news of God.”
As long as sin is in the world, bad news will come our way. We will experience evil. We will cry over loss. We will have disappointments and plans that fall apart.
But the good news Jesus proclaims will always overcome the bad news.
Jesus could approach us and ask, “I have bad news and good news. Which do you want first?”
There is both. Jesus said to his disciples the night before he went to the cross (bad news?): “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
No matter what the news of the day, the news that you are loved, forgiven, child of God will always be better than the bad news. The good news of Jesus ALWAYS overcomes bad news.
Apply: What is the bad news you are living with today? How does the fact you are a loved, forgiven child of God change your perspective on that news?
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for the good news you give us each day. We know there is bad news in the world, help us to remember you have overcome the world! AMEN.
Passage and Prayer for the Ministry of Cross & Crown
Tuesday – January 26 – Titus 3:5-8 “He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
PRAYER: God, help us remember where we’ve come from. You saved us not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of Your mercy and grace. Thank you for the power and renewal we receive through Your Holy Spirit. Fill us with joy, peace and hope, confident of the promises You have made to us through Christ.
Mission Minded: Good News Communicates God’s Eternal Plan for You!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from January 24, 2021
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Is Excited about Their Message!
What’s the news today?
Was that the first thing you looked at or watched this morning?
The daily news feed tends to set the tone for our day or discussions. Many wake up and check the news on their phones while others turn into their station of choice to get the morning news.
Most of the news is negative, creates fear, drives uncertainty, or pits one group of people against another. Then we let the news feed drive our day…or at least a bit of it. Subconsciously we allow the news to affect our day.
Even if it has no direct impact on our day by people that we don’t even know or certainly don’t know us.
Wouldn’t it be nice to rise above the daily news cycle and grind of the endless negative reporting and have a different narrative to fill our minds and hearts today…every day?
That’s what makes the news Jesus gives us so good.
It doesn’t depend on today’s news narrative, but rather is the culmination of God’s loving plan for you and communicates God’s heart for you!
What is the good news narrative God wants our hearts to be filled with each day? The prophet Isaiah put it this way…
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
If you heard on the morning news that someone was doing the following…
- Preaching good news…
- Binding up the brokenhearted…
- Proclaiming freedom…
- Proclaiming the Lord’s favor
- Comforting those who mourn…
- Providing for those who grieve…
- Bestowing a crown of beauty…
- Giving a garment of praise…
…and it wasn’t based on a government program or empty campaign promise, but based in the power of the Almighty God and the faithfulness to his promises…wouldn’t that peak your interest?
I’d be all ears!
In Luke 2:10 Jesus was reading this passage in the synagogue in Nazareth and proclaimed, ““Today this scripture (Isaiah 61) is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The good news report that Jesus wants you to hear every morning, even though it won’t be on the major networks or your social media feed is this, “I love you my child. I lived, died and rose again for you! You are forgiven and I promise that whatever the news today brings, the news that matters for you today is that you are a dearly loved child of mine. Enjoy living in that confidence and enjoy sharing this good news to people you know…as you can see, the world needs good news!”
Apply: Take a few minutes to reflect on this question, “What makes the news Jesus brings so good for me today?”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for having good news that isn’t dependent on what happens today, but on what you accomplished many years ago through your Son Jesus. Thank you for giving that good news to me today…
Prayers for the Mission and Ministry of Cross & Crown
Sunday – January 24 – Psalm 16:11 “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”
PRAYER: -You, God, are the provider of all things. In You we find joy and fulfillment. We seek You and Your presence, personally, and for this church. May we walk the path of life by Your guidance.
Monday – January 25 – Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
PRAYER: Lord, we thank You that Your light shines through Your children. We pray that You would first shine in us, to fill us with Your holiness and expose anything that needs to be removed. Then we pray that You would shine through us and let our lives be a reflection of Your amazing grace and love.