Good News Changes Everything
The arrival of Jesus 2,000 years ago was the wonderful in-breaking of good news for the undeserving!
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18a).
The below is the call to worship from Immanuel Nashville on Sunday, September 15, 2024.
Good news can change everything.
On June 19th, 1865 - two months after the Civil War ended - word finally made its way to Galveston Bay, Texas, that the war was over and that the quarter million enslaved people in the state were now free by executive order.
Before the news, they carried a heavy burden. But after the news, burden-lifting hope came alive. Good news can change everything.
And so it is with the good news of Jesus. The arrival of Jesus 2,000 years ago was a burden-lifting, hope-giving event. Jesus himself said, through the prophet Isaiah,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor” (Luke 4:17-19).
The coming of Jesus was the coming of good news! In him, we have a decisive victory! Jesus Himself is treasure to the poor, liberation to the captives, sight to the blind, relief to the oppressed. In Him, our guilt before God is settled once and for all - nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14)! That’s the good news of His grace for the undeserving, and that news changes everything.
Today, Jesus invites us to draw near to him by faith in His accomplishments. And he promises, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
So to all who are weary and need rest;
to all who mourn and long for comfort;
to all who fail and desire strength;
and to all who sin and need a Savior;
this church opens wide her doors and her heart with a welcome from Jesus;
The Lord of mercy, the advocate of the oppressed, the friend of sinners. Welcome!