Something Good To Talk About Part 1 Series

Something Good to Talk About Part 1

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, (and also some women)” Luke 8:1-2a

Intro: We’re starting a new series titled “Something Good to Talk About.”

It is a real honor for me to talk to you about Jesus Christ.

Having a relationship with Jesus is a real life changing connection.

Serving Jesus Christ journey filled with exciting and joyful benefits to serving God.

Christian faith is the most important thing you will ever have and know.

Being involved in church matters.

Actively participating in the life of the church matters.

I am talking about going above and beyond just attending worship service or attending a meeting.

I am talking about when your faith is a real active part of your everyday life.

This is what allows us to see the world through not only God’s eyes

but through the eyes of love, compassion and hope and understanding.

Here in Luke chapter 8 Jesus is on the road.

Jesus is traveling from place to place talking about the Holy message of God.

Along with him are his twelve disciples and some women

Jesus specifically mentions the work the women were doing in service and fellowship.

By allowing women to travel with him

he was asserting to the Jewish culture that everyone was equal under God.

These followers supported Jesus’ ministry with their service, their money and their time.

They followed Jesus because they had a great debt they owed to him.

Jesus had delivered them from the bondage of sin.

Jesus had healed them from sickness.

Jesus had set them free from the slavery and chains of world.

They were following Jesus because they had “Something Good to Talk About.”

They had “Good News”

Let’s say the words, turn to the person sitting beside you and say “Good News” again “Good News.”

“Good News” is powerful a thing.

We talk about so much bad news.

We are bombarded with news about terrorism, shootings, death

We hear a hundred times more bad news that we do good news.

So we begin to think that there is nothing else to talk about but the bad stuff.

When the truth is there is so much good going on all around us.

I am going to follow Jesus.

I am going to share the Good News.

I am going talk about the benefits of serving God.

Today my job is to be a cheerleader.

To get you fired up about what Christ can do in your life.

To quicken you by the Holy Spirit,

To get you to dream bigger, live better, love louder, serve long.

John Wesley had three simple rules to live by.

1. Do no harm

2. Do all the good you can do

3. Stay in love with God

Do no harm, Do good, stay in love with God. Sounds pretty simple right?

These should be easy to live by

but unless you have tried to live by these 3 rules don’t judge the person who has tried and had fallen short.

Do no harm, is anybody ever truly successful in doing no harm?

If you have done no harm to anybody this week.

Then you should be the first one on the altar today thanking God because most of us can not say that.

Second Rule, Do good.

We believe because we aren’t bad people so that must mean that we are good people right?

The disciples came to Jesus and called him, Good Teacher,

and Jesus immediately asked them why do you call me Good, no one except for the Father is Good.

Jesus himself said that only God is worthy of being called good.

This means that all of us have truly missed the mark.

Third Rule, Stay in Love with God.

Do we really need to be reminded of this?

Don’t we read the Word of God like we should,

Don’t we pray like we should,

Don’t we live our lives in the most holiest way like we should.

John Wesley was a mighty man of God.

He felt in his own heart and life like he needed these rules to remind him every day to be faithful.

Because he understood what it was like to fall short.

Maybe we need to follow in the footsteps of John Wesley and know our own human weakness.

You see life is often such a struggle.

We take vacations to get away from our regular life.

Not that our life is all bad.

But that there is so much negative and hurtful and depressing stuff that happens at work and home

and in our lives we have to take a vacation to get away from it all.