HEAR,
LIVE, AND TELL THE STORY:
“Goodnews Is For Sharing”
Scripture Lesson: Luke 2:15-19
Key Verses: (vs.
15-19) “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds
said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and
Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured
up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
I.
Introduction:
A. This is
the third Sunday of Advent and the theme for the Christ Birthday Observance
this year is: “Hear, Live, and Tell the Story”.
1. The
passage of Scripture from which this theme has been lifted is the story of the
Angels appearing to the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20.
2. The first
week we looked at verses 10-12 and the fact the “Goodnews is For Everyone”.
3. Last
week we looked at verses 13 & 14 which speaks of “The Glory of God”…
whenever God breaks through eternity into our time and space world, God’s glory
is manifest.
4. Today I want us to look at verses 15-19 which
speaks of the fact, that Goodnews is for sharing.
B.
As a pastor I hear and receive good and bad news almost
everyday.
1.
This week I ran across one of these “Good News and Bad News for
Pastors”:
Good
News and Bad News for Pastors
Good News: You
baptized four people today.
Bad News: You
lost two others in the swift river current.
Good News: The
Women's Association voted to send you a get-well card.
Bad News: It
passed 31 to 30.
Good News: The
church board accepted your job description the way you wrote it.
Bad News: They
also formed a search committee to find someone capable of filling the position.
Good News: Your
stand on nuclear disarmament has won the respect and admiration of many people.
Bad News: None
of them are remotely connected to your church.
Good News: You
finally found a choir director who approaches things your way.
Bad News: The
choir mutinied.
Good News: Mrs.
Jones is wild about your sermons.
Bad News: Mrs.
Jones is also wild about "The Gong Show" and "Texas Chain Saw
Massacre."
Good News:
Seventy junior high students showed up last Thursday.
Bad News: The
meeting was on Wednesday.
Good News: Your
women's softball team won their first game.
Bad News: They
beat your men's softball team.
Good News: The
trustees finally voted to add more church parking.
Bad News: They
want to blacktop the front lawn of the parsonage.
Good News:
Church attendance rose dramatically the last three weeks.
Bad News: You
were on vacation.
Good News: Your
biggest critic just left the church.
Bad News: He's
been appointed bishop.
Good News: You
finally got a key to the church kitchen.
Bad News:
Somebody re-keyed the lock.
Good News: Your
deacons want to send you to the Holy Land.
Bad News: They
are stalling until the next war.
Good News: It's
Sunday!
Bad News: It's
Sunday ...
Citation: James D. Berkley, Leadership, Vol. 3, no. 3.
C.
Have you ever tried to keep good news to yourself?… --you
can’t.
1. The
angels announced to the shepherds, the good news of Jesus’ birth… but did
anyone tell them to go share it? No!!!
2. Once
they had heard the good news… and once they had seen and witnessed the good
news, no one could keep them from sharing it.
3. (vs.
17 & 18) says: “When they had seen him, they spread the word
concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it
were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
II.
Experiencing the Goodnews:
A.
Sometimes as Christians and as a Church we get hung-up on this
evangelism and mission thing.
1. I
personally don’t have the gift of evangelism…,
it’s not easy for me to sit down with someone and in five minutes lead
that person to Jesus Christ.
a. I’ve
heard people like Robin Wood and Lori Salierno tell stories about setting down
with someone on an airplane and before the flight is over they have won that
person to the Lord; or going golfing
with someone and before the golfing outing is over, they’ve won that person to
the Lord.
b. I
don’t have that kind of gift and personality.
2. Being
an introvert, I have a hard enough time meeting people in general, to say
nothing of asking a complete stranger to accept Jesus Christ.
3. Does
that let me off the hook?… --does that mean I don’t have to be a witness?… --If we have a whole church like myself,
does that mean, we don’t have to “go into all the world and preach the
Gospel.”
4. No!… that’s not what it means…
B.
We get these mistaken ideas of evangelism and missions… --So
what does it mean?
1. There’s
no question we are to be witnesses regardless of what Spiritual Gifts we may
have… --In Acts 1:8 Jesus said: “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
a. It
doesn’t matter what Spiritual gifts we may have… --it doesn’t matter what kind
of personality we may have…, --if we have given our lives to Jesus Christ and
his Holy Spirit indwells our hearts and lives, we will be his witnesses…
--we’ll be his witnesses each in our own unique style.
2. There’s
no question that as Jesus’ disciples and followers, we as a Church, are
responsible for taking the Gospel into all the world… Jesus’ last words to his
disciples were: (Matt. 28:19: “Therefore go make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”…
3. We
aren’t off the hook… we are to be his witnesses and his disciples.
C.
It reminds me of the Story of the “Abbot and a Novice Monk”,
which Leath Anderson tells:
Sharing Good News
The
abbot of a monastery called a novice into his office and instructed him to give
the homily at the next morning's chapel.
The
novice was struck with fear. The next morning, chapel came. He stood in the
pulpit. The brothers were there. His hands were trembling. His knees were
knocking. His voice was quivering. There was a long pause before he first
spoke, and then he asked a question. "Do you know what I'm going to
say?"
They
had no idea, so all of their heads went back and forth almost in unison, as if
it were choreographed. He said, "Neither do I. Let's stand for the
benediction."
The
next day was almost an exact repeat of the day before. All the brothers sat
there before him. His hands shook. His knees knocked. His voice trembled. Long
pause. "Do you know what I'm going to say?" he asked.
Well,
after the previous day's experience, they had a pretty good idea. So all of
their heads nodded yes.
"Then
there's no need for me to tell you. Let's stand for the benediction."
The
abbot was angry beyond description. He brought the young man into his office
and said, "If you do that again, you are going to be in solitary
confinement, eat bread and water for thirty days, and receive any other
punishment I can think of. Tomorrow morning give the homily; do it right."
The
third day, chapel attendance hit an all-time high. Everyone was there to see
what he would say, and it was almost an exact repeat. He stood, trembling,
voice quivering, and after a long silence asked, "Do you know what I'm
going to say?"
After
three days of this, about half of them had a pretty good idea and they nodded
their heads yes.
The
other half noticed the switch from day to day, and they weren't sure what to
expect, and so they shook their heads no.
The novice observed this and said, "Let
those who know tell those who don't. Let us stand for the
benediction."
D.
Evangelism… being Christ’s witnesses is basically: “Letting
those who know tell those who don’t know.”
1. You
know what… when something really exciting happens… and I have truly experienced
good news… I don’t find it hard at all sharing that good news with my friends
and family.
2. And in
reality that is what evangelism and missions is all about… one person telling
another person about the good news that has been happening in his/her life.
a. Quote:
“Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where the bread is.”
b. Of
course the catch is: “You have to have some good news to share… --you’ve got to
know where the bread is.”
E.
In the story of the Shepherds here, when the angels had finished telling the shepherds about the
birth of the Christ child and had gone back into heaven, the first thing the
shepherds said and did was: (vs. 15) “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried
off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”
1. To
share the good news, you have to have experienced some good news to share.
2. For
some of us our news and our bread is so old, even if we were to shared it, no
one would want it… it’s so stale.
3. For
some of us our prayer list is the same old stale prayer list we’ve been praying
for for the last 20 years…
a. What’s
new that God is doing in your life?… --your family?… --your work place?…
4. If God
isn’t doing anything new in our life, then why not?
F.
The Goodnews of the Christmas story is that God is doing
something new…
1. It’s
not the same old story… --it’s not the same old sacrifices… year after year…
--God’s perfect sacrifice…, --the Messiah and Savior of the world is being born
in Bethlehem…
2. And
when the Shepherds came and saw the Child, they were never the same again…
--and they couldn’t keep the good news to themselves.
G. Some
of you could use some good news in your lives this morning!!… --some of you
could use some good news in your family!!… --some of you could use some good
news in your work place!!… --We could use some good news in this Church this
morning!!
1. The
Goodnews is: Christ the savior has been born… --and the Goodnews is: He is here
present this morning in the person of the Holy Spirit and he wants to give you
some good news in your life.
a. He
wants to take your old life… your old self… your old heart… you old attitudes…
--your old priorities… and he wants to give you a new life, a new self, a new
heart, a new set of attitudes and new set of priorities.
b. He
wants to give you some good news in your life.
2. Most
of us have heard the Christmas story so often, it doesn’t grab us any more…
--it doesn’t amaze us anymore… --it doesn’t speak to us anymore… --it doesn’t
change us.
3. I wish
there was a way I could turn the clock back 2000 years and have us all
experience the same thing the shepherds experienced that first Christmas night…
--their lives were forever changed… --ours would be too.
4. If we
are to share the Goodnews, our lives must be changed as well.
III.
Sharing the Goodnews:
A.
Verse 17 says: “When they had seen him, they spread the
word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it
were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
1. Once
you’ve truly experienced the life-changing Goodnews of Jesus Christ, you can’t
keep it to yourself.
B.
First of all, people will see the change in your life…
1. They’ll
see a new attitude… --they’ll see more love, peace, and patience; --they’ll see
a deeper kindness and goodness…, --your spouse and family will find you more
faithful and gentle…, and within yourself you’ll experience more self-control.
(Gal. 5:22-23)
2. They’ll
see new priorities and goals in your life. (Matt. 6:20; Rom. 12:1)
3. When
they see the difference in your life, they may even ask you: “What’s going on?…
What’s happening?… What’s new?…
4. Then
as Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepare to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have… But do
this with gentleness and respect.”
5. When
we have truly experienced the Goodnews of Jesus Christ, our lives will demand
an explanation.
C.
Secondly: When we have truly experienced the Goodnews of Jesus
Christ, we won’t be able to keep still about it.
1. Shortly
after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, Peter and John were
arrested and jailed by the Jewish authorities for preaching the Goodnews. When
they were commanded and order never to speak or teach “in the name of Jesus”
anymore, Peter and John answer by saying: (Acts 4:19f) “Judge for yourselves
whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God, for we
cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
2. When Peter and John had “seen and heard”…
--when the shepherds had “seen and heard”… when we have truly “seen and heard”
Jesus Christ, we will not be able to keep it to ourselves.
3. No one
will have to say: “Go be my witnesses”… --no one will have to commission us:
“Go make disciples of all nations”… we won’t be able to help ourselves from
going and sharing the Goodnews of Jesus Christ.
4. You
can’t keep good news to yourself… you can’t keep the Goodnews of Jesus Christ
to yourself.
D.
This last week someone asked me: “Why do we give so much to missions?…
--Instead of the Youth Leader and Pastor having to take a cut in salary to meet
the budget, why don’t we cut back in our mission giving?”
1. Good
question: At first I didn’t have a very good answer except to say: “From
experience (not just this church, but every church I’ve ever pastored), I know
that every time we have increased our mission giving, the budgetary giving has
gone up as well.”
2. I
though more about the question this week and I think I’ve come up with a better
answer: “Goodnews remains Goodnews only if it’s shared!!”
a. If we
don’t share the Goodnews God has given us, it ceases to be Goodnews… --just
like love ceases to be love, if you don’t share it.
3. By
it’s very definition Goodnews is something to share, or you loose it…, --if you
don’t share it, it’s not Goodnews.
4. When we personally refuse to share the
Goodnews God has given us…, we loose it… --our spiritual lives die and we don’t
have any Goodnews to share.
5. As a
Church if we refuse to fulfill our mission of taking the Goodnews of Jesus Christ
into all our world, we cease to be the Church God has called us to be… --we
loose it… We have no Goodnews to share.
E.
I’m not saying all our mission’s giving has to go to Africa or
some foreign county, … sometimes our greatest need for the Goodnews may be
right here in SE Fort Wayne.
1. In
Acts 1:8 Jesus said: “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (home), and in
all Judea (state) and Samaria (neighboring state/country), and to the ends of
the earth.”
2. The
bottom line is: “Goodnews is for sharing… Keep it to yourself and it ceases to
be good news.”
F.
Next Sunday, we’ll be taking our Christ Birthday Mission
offering…. That is one way this Church helps to share the Goodnews.
1. The
offering goes to support our colleges and seminary, as well as our
missionaries…
2. A few
years ago, it was projected that in the next 10 to 15 yrs when we, who are
Pastors in the baby-boom generation begin to retire, there is be a significant
shortage of pastors…. that’s the bad news.
a. The
Goodnews is: In the last 4 years there has been something like 600 high school
and jr. high students in the Church of God, who have indicated that God is
calling them to ministry.
3. The
offering we’ll be taking goes to help with scholarships and to support our
schools, so these young people can prepare themselves for ministry.
G. Story:
Last June at the GA I was tremendously moved as we were doing the Memorial
Service, calling the names of all the pastors who have passed away the year
before, … as each of their names were being called one of these (600 hundred) young
high school and jr. high students would step out and give a rose to a member of
the family whose loved one had passed away.
1. There
were embraces… --there were promises of prayer for one another… --promises to
keep in touch.
2. One of
those students preparing for ministry has roots right here in the Tillman Road
Church of God; Tim Kumfer’s son, --Bud & Carolyn’s grand-son, Tim is going
to AU, preparing for ministry…
3. Tim
Junior's younger sister, Jennifer?, was one of the students who gave a rose…, a
High School student feeling God’s call to ministry.
IV.
Conclusion:
A.
When we have truly experience the Goodnews of Jesus Christ, we
all have a ministry… --we all have some good news to share…
1. And
I’m convinced if we have truly experience the Goodnews of Jesus Christ, we will
not be able to keep the good news to our selves.
2. The
bad news this morning is: “Some of you need some good news to happen in your
life… --you need some good news to happen in your family… --you needs some good
news to happen at your work… --I’m convinced we could use more good news here
in this congregation…
3. The
good news this morning is: God, in the person of Jesus and his Holy Spirit, is
here to touch our bad news lives and to give us some good news.
Good News and Bad News for Pastors
Good News:
You baptized four people today.
Bad
News: You lost two others in the swift river current.
Good
News: The Women's Association voted to send you a get-well card.
Bad
News: It passed 31 to 30.
Good
News: The church board accepted your job description the way you wrote it.
Bad
News: They also formed a search committee to find someone capable of filling
the position.
Good
News: Your stand on nuclear disarmament has won the respect and admiration of
many people.
Bad
News: None of them are remotely connected to your church.
Good
News: You finally found a choir director who approaches things your way.
Bad
News: The choir mutinied.
Good
News: Mrs. Jones is wild about your sermons.
Bad
News: Mrs. Jones is also wild about "The Gong Show" and "Texas
Chain Saw Massacre."
Good
News: Seventy junior high students showed up last Thursday.
Bad
News: The meeting was on Wednesday.
Good
News: Your women's softball team won their first game.
Bad
News: They beat your men's softball team.
Good
News: The trustees finally voted to add more church parking.
Bad
News: They want to blacktop the front lawn of the manse.
Good
News: Church attendance rose dramatically the last three weeks.
Bad
News: You were on vacation.
Good
News: Your biggest critic just left the church.
Bad
News: He's been appointed bishop.
Good
News: You finally got a key to the church kitchen.
Bad
News: Somebody re-keyed the lock.
Good
News: Your deacons want to send you to the Holy Land.
Bad
News: They are stalling until the next war.
Good News:
It's Sunday!
Bad
News: It's Sunday ...
Citation: James D. Berkley, Leadership,
Vol. 3, no. 3.
Good News Can't Be Hidden
Every
Christian--as he explores the historical record of Scripture and tradition and
comes to a deep, abiding faith--experiences that Christ is the risen one and
that he is therefore the eternally living one. It is a deep, life-changing
experience. No true Christian can keep it hidden as a personal matter. For such
an encounter with the living God cries out to be shared--like the light that
shines, like the yeast that leavens the whole mass of dough.
Citation: Pope John Paul II in Breakfast
with the Pope. Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 13.