This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
Mark 1:1 (NLT)
We begin by reminder that the word “Gospel” Means “Good News”
It’s probably hard to imagine that the coming of Jesus would not be good news to someone but to many in the days of the Bible it was not. He upset and turned on its side everything about being religious. And, so it is the same these days. We need only to look at society in general and we can see that people do not want the accountability that Jesus requires. It’s not good enough that He offers life after death if people will just commit to following Him while they’re living. “It’s too much” they’ll say – or a myriad of other reasons (or excuses). They see following Christ as oppressive, boring, and just plain too hard. Satan has made them believe that it’s not worth it. How sad that people think they’ll have to give up too much – fun. As authentic followers of Christ, we know that it is a lot to give up and miss out on. Yes, we must give up our everything to follow Him – everyday. Yes, we miss out on a lot of stuff like a sin filled lifestyle and all the problems and burdens that go along with it.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting its problem free to follow Christ. It might be downright hard some days! But it is worth it. It does have a “payoff.” Maybe not here on earth, always. But in the afterlife, when we “shuffle off this mortal coil” if I may be Shakespearean for a moment, we will see it will have been worth it and more! More than we can imagine.
Sorry Brother Clayton, I’m borrowing your style for a moment:
These are the lyrics to a song written by some young guys a couple of years ago.
The Gospel
A restless generation We're turning over every stone Hoping to find salvation In a world that's left us cold
Can we get back to the altar? Back to the arms of our first love There's only one way to the Father And He's calling out to us
To the captive, it looks like freedom To the orphan, it feels like home To the skeptic, it might sound crazy To believe in a God who loves In a world, where our hearts are breaking And we're lost in the mess we've made Like a blinding light, in the dead of night It's the Gospel The Gospel that makes a way It's the Gospel that makes a way
It's the cure for our condition It's the good news for us all It's greater than religion It's the power of the Cross
So, can we get back to the altar? Back to the arms of our first love There's only one way to the Father And He's calling out to us
To the captive, it looks like freedom To the orphan, it feels like home To the skeptic, it might sound crazy To believe in a God who loves In a world, where our hearts are breaking And we're lost in the mess we've made Like a blinding light, in the dead of night It's the Gospel The Gospel that makes a way
The amazing news of the Gospel Is not that we can receive Jesus into our lives But that He's already received us Into His
In my own life, it means forgiveness When I know I deserved the fall It called me out of my darkness And carried me to the Cross In a moment, my eyes were opened In that moment, my heart was changed Like a blinding light, in the dead of night It's the Gospel
Oh To the captive, it looks like freedom To the orphan, it feels like home To the skeptic, it might sound crazy To believe in a God who loves In a world, where our hearts are breaking And we're lost in the mess we've made Like a blinding light, in the dead of night It's the Gospel The Gospel that makes a way It's the Gospel that makes a way (makes a way)
It's the Gospel The Gospel that makes a way
It is good news that Jesus came to earth.
To make a way.
To be the way.
To show us the way.
- Pray for a lost world that sees Jesus only as a hindrance to their fun.
- Pray that they would look for Him and desire all that He offers, both here and when we get there.
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Bryan Fowler / Ryan Stevenson / Toby Mckeehan