April 1, 2020
Sermon Series 2020: Discipleship
Hope Lutheran Church
Rev. Mary Erickson
Acts 8:26-40; Matthew 28:18-20
Discipleship: Share the Good News
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our news these days is dominated by the Corona Virus. It’s serious business! Every day, we receive another ominous update. First the virus was far away in China. Then it began to spread. A positive case was identified in Washington state. Bit by bit the virus began to spread across our nation and the world. We saw makeshift hospitals in China spring up like mushrooms overnight. Then Italy was overwhelmed. And now hospitals in New York City are overwhelmed. Day by day the numbers here in Wisconsin creep upwards.
In the midst of this worrisome situation, we need a daily dose of good news. I don’t have Alexa on my phone, but I guess you can ask her, “Alexa, tell me some good news.” We need that! We need good news to uplift our hearts.
I’m dating myself: many years ago, Anne Murray sang a song “A Little Good News.” The words went like this:
I rolled out this morning
Kids had the mornin’ news show on
Bryant Gumbel was talkin’ 'bout the fighting in Lebanon
Some senator was squawkin’ ’bout the bad economy
It’s gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy
There’s a local paper rolled up in a rubber band
One more sad story’s one more than I can stand
Just once how I’d like to see the headline say
“Not much to print today, can’t find nothin’ bad to say,” because
Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD’ed, nobody burned a single buildin’ down
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today
Our theme during Lent this year is Discipleship. Tonight, we look at our final mark of discipleship. As disciples, we share the good news.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he left his church with a final bidding. We call it The Great Commission. Jesus charged us to go and make disciples of all nations.
Is there anything better to hear than good news? Sometimes news is so good we call it “music to our ears.” Our ears just drink it in! We say, “Tell me again!”
By the same token, when we have good news, we’re just bursting to share it with someone. Good news is made better when we can share it with someone else.
The Holy Spirit had filled and led Philip to share the good news of Jesus. He encounters a man who served in a high office in the government of Ethiopia. Philip joins him along his journey and they have a conversation about the Hebrew scriptures.
The Ethiopian servant was reading a passage from the prophet Isaiah. The passage describes the Suffering Servant of God. The court official wants to know who this man is. He tells Philip, “How can I know unless someone guides me?”
What a profound statement! We all need someone to guide us in the light of God! And here’s the really good news: where God’s message is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit is vitally present. That loving presence of God becomes truly present in the moment. The Holy Spirit is at work, transforming people and the world around us.
What happens when we share the good news? I’d like to propose that three things happen:
Number one: We relate that something good has already happened. Philip shared his first-hand experience of knowing Jesus. He tells the court official about all he saw as Jesus went about his ministry of preaching and healing. He tells him how Jesus’ mission culminated in his death on a cross. And in that act, Jesus was God’s suffering servant. He was the sheep led to the slaughter, as Isaiah said. But it didn’t end there. For three days later, Jesus arose from the dead. Philip had seen his empty tomb. He’d seen Jesus in the flesh in the days following.
You get the feeling that Philip was riding in that chariot for quite a while! Philip had a good amount of time to share his good news. The two come along to some water, and the court official is baptized.
So we share the good news of what has happened. Philip shared his experience of knowing Jesus. We can definitely tell that story, too. But we can also witness to our own experience. We can share how God has touched our lives, how we’ve personally seen God actively at work in our reality. People love hearing good news. When we tell others about our “God moments,” they are touched, too.
The second thing we can share is our hope. Not only has God worked in the past, but God continues to be active in the world and will be in our futures. Whereas the first way of witnessing is sharing the Bible story or our story, this second way is all about encouragement. To those who are discouraged, we share hope. To those who are overwhelmed by cares, we say, “I’m praying for you.” We share the promises of God: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
Finally, when we share our faith and hope with others, we trust that God is at work in that witness. God’s Holy Spirit stirs us, heart and soul. God’s word is released in the world. And just as God’s word brought all things into being, the power of that same word is at work even now. It’s shaping new things. It creates a way where there is no way. It forms new beginnings out of every ending.
Jesus ends his Great Commission with an even greater promise, and I leave you with his words: “And remember, I am with you ALWAYS, to the end of the age!” That’s good news!
