The Power of the Good News!

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Colossians 1:3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

The one thing we can all agree on is that we don't get enough Good News anymore. The news we usually hear on our tv sets, computer screens, or iphones is usually depressing. It doesn't matter if the network is politically on the "left" or "right", it usually focuses on the bad things happening around us rather than the good things. Of course, some bad news needs to be reported like the recent hurricane, but negativity breeds negativity, and we can see this spreading in the world around us. 

Today's lesson from Colossians tells us about the power of Good News! The Good News about what God has done for us in Christ. The Good News about the hope we have in Christ. The Good News about the new life we have in Christ. When the believers in Colossae heard and believed the Good News about Christ, they were transformed. The Good News changed their hearts which caused them to show love for all of God's people. The expectation and hope for what God had reserved for them in heaven, gave them a whole new reason for living. 

And this powerful Good News not only touched them, but it went out all over the world. Why? Because Good News spreads fast. How did Paul know this was happening? The fruit of lives that were changed because of it. You see Good News has the power to change someone's life. 

Friends, the power we have in our church is power the Gospel. The power of the Good News. It's what makes the church different from every other organization and religion in the world. But the church can get weighed down by bad news too. In some churches you might get everything but the Good News. The church is made up of fragile human beings like me and you. Our sinful human nature can spoil the Good News. 

How about you? Are you a "Good News" person? Has your live been changed by it resulting in a love for all of God's people? If not maybe you need to get re-acquainted with the Good News of what God has done for you. When we truly understand the Good News of what gone has done for us through His Son, Jesus, we can't keep silent about it!  

Let's never forget the power of the Good News! And let's make sure it is the centerpiece of what we preach, teach, and confess in our churches! The gospel is the only power God has given us to change lives. May it bear fruit everywhere by changing lives. 

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