All too often we feel the buzz of a smartphone and see our news feed light up the screen—another shooting, another natural disaster, another crisis. We also see the lavish lifestyles of so many people on social media chasing another adventure, another lover, another outfit. Then we go to the coffee shops and sit with our friends. We use buzzwords like shame, trauma, and abuse. We self-medicate with sex, fame, and food. We look for rescuing from our books, our celebrities, and our vacations. The whirring chaos of false security and empty promises takes its toll, and we keep hitting refresh waiting for tweets and grams to tell us something good. We need something to cut through the noise, something to refresh the soul, something to bring hope to a world marked by despair. We need good news.
We Need Good News
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.
Watch Session One: Created for this
A Big Enough Gospel
Complain about Uber Eats forgetting your Mexican Coke or dressing on the side, and you know to brace yourself for the snarky “first world problems” rebuttal from a frenemy. While your missing tahini-garlic dressing should not register as a big problem on a human level, these interactions leave us wondering if our problems matter in the face of global epidemics we see on our news feeds. Does it matter that I am heartbroken about my singleness when babies go to bed hungry? Does it matter that I struggle with depression and anxiety when refugees wander this planet looking for a home? Does it matter that I am addicted to my smartphone when women and children endure sex trafficking in staggering numbers? What if God is compassionate and big enough to care for every person hurting? What if God’s gospel is big enough to comfort the lonely, set the captives free, minister to us in our despair, and mobilize a generation to push back against the evil we see in our world? Is the gospel big enough for all of this?
the gospel everyday
The gospel of God—the good news that the kingdom of God has been inaugurated by Jesus— means good news for the world. Rather than thinking of the gospel as a one-time event in the life of the believer, we recognize that the gospel is a worldwide proclamation that Jesus has come to deliver us from our sin, comfort us, strengthen us, and mobilize the cavalry to go into the world “gospel-ing” it through word and deed. The gospel bears witness that we live in a kingdom, we belong to a king, and we have faith, hope and love at our disposal for every moment—big or small.
Daily Question
How can the gospel—the good news of the kingdom of God—be a way for you to bring hope, joy, and peace in your own life and in the lives of others?
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There is no greater joy no greater peace and no greater wisdom and hope than the gospel. When the foundations are crumbling the gospel is the rock on which we stand. When the war is raging the gospel is the armor that we bear. The gospel allows me to have joy in the midst of sorrow, Hope in hopelessness. It is my refuge my rock, my fortress that protects me from the world around. How could I not long for that myself and for others!
The gospel is truth and it’s so good. When we have problems – any problem, we seek a solution. The gospel is the answer to every problem. When we remember that our hope is in Christ alone, this world seems far less scary. I think the gospel has a way of magnifying Christ and minimizing everything else. I love that.
It may be hard now but Jesus overcame it all. We have hope that in the end he will restore all things new. We have eternity with him
Simply by living as a disciple of God and allowing Him to work through you is something I focus on daily. I can share the good news with others, but if I don’t live it and share the good news by being an example, I am not being true to God.
To live and walk by Jesus example.
It is good news. When we are excited about something good, we want to share it. When we share it we find hope, peace and joy through it.
IN this particular time, with Covid-19, my husband’s back pain that is never ending, businesses closed, family and friends kept at a distance, and people dying in unprecedented numbers around the world, the Gospel is the only source of hope, joy and peace in my life right now. Knowing that I serve an amazing God who loves me in spite of myself and is continually faithful to me when I tend toward faithlessness, is the news that gets me out of bed and doing what needs to be done each day.
While I do not always find it easy to "speak" the Gospel to others, I hope that in my actions and my words, that others are able to see and experience it daily.
In light of the current world circumstances going on around us, this study will take on a whole new meaning for me. If this doesn’t end soon and last longer than we hoped and if I am walking with and putting my trust in Christ, then I am a child of God. My peace comes from him and he has commissioned all of His children to be about his business. Today that means to demonstrate and spread the hope, joy, and peace that I have in Him.
The good news brings hope for a future without struggle and strife. I hold onto that joy and forgiveness in hard times.
“In this world, you WILL have trouble, but take heart, I (JESUS-THE MESSIAH) have overcome the world.” In the midst of chaos, uncertainty, and even death on this side of eternity, He (the very Spirit of God) gives us peace, joy and comfort…not something the world can give, but a supernatural presence of the very CREATOR of the universe! It is Real, Legit, Authentic…I know this to be true, because He has proven Himself to be faithful throughout my life! He is a good good Father! ❤️