Dear Christian friends:

Very often someone will say to you. "I have some good news for you." And quickly you are interested and eager to listen to that person. We all like to hear good news, even bad news any news, but especially good news.

Today I have good news for you. I see you are all very eager now and want to hear the good news. You can't wait until I tell you what it is. Perhaps you are trying to guess what it is. Maybe you think it is about our new building. Maybe you think I heard good news on the radio about the war in Viet Nam.

I have better news than that, much better. In our text Paul calls it "the Good News." All other news is small compared to this news. Other news may satisfy you for a little while and help you for a short time, but this news satisfies you always and gives you happiness even when you cry and your heart breaks.

What is this good news? Some of you already know what I mean and you are thinking, "That's not news, finished hearing it many times before. Maybe good, but it isn't new. That's old, very old." You are right and you are wrong. True the news was made long ago, when God gave the baby Jesus through Mary the first Christmas and when Jesus died on the cross the First Good Friday and then rose again on Easter morning, as Paul writes here.

That was almost two-thousand years ago. So this news is very old. But here and many times in the Bible it is call "The Gospel" good news. Why? Because it satisfies our longing and makes us happy like good news always does.

When your sins bother you and your conscience blames you; When you have troubles and problems; When a dear one in your family dies or becomes sick and you read or hear again of God's love for you in Jesus that is good news. You know that old hymn: "I Love To Tell The Story."

I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and His glory,
of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story
because I know it's true.
It satisfies my longings
as nothing else can do.

Refrain:
I love to tell the story!
'Twill be my theme in glory
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and His love.

That hymn shows how a true believer in Jesus never tires of hearing the good news. We become tired of it and bored with it when we are proud and self-righteous. If we think we are very good and so perfect and have little or no faults and sins.

If we are ignorant of God's holy Word and ways and our duty. Then we don't understand our sins and confess them. We are not sorry and are not afraid of God. We feel okay. Then the good news is old and makes you tired. You don't care to hear it and you think it's not worth telling to anyone else.

But if you with a honest heart listen to God's Word and learn your sins and confess. If you believe in Jesus Christ that will be very sweet news to you.

The good news is that Christ died for our sins, as Paul says here in our text, and He rose again on Easter morning and many witnesses saw him alive.

We are saved if we believe this good news. (verse 2) Saved from God's anger against sin and saved from eternal punishment in hell. True, we must die, but will rise again with our body, as Jesus Himself did, and then have life forever with God in heaven.

Even while we wait here on earth we enjoy our salvation and life with God. Like Paul we are changed by the Good News. Before we served sin and Satan, proud, self-righteous, quarreling, fighting, angry, hating others, selfish, and always seeking revenge! Seeking money, comfort and praise for ourselves.

Now we serve God and love Him. We seek to honor Him by following Jesus' ways. Love others, even our enemies. Forgive those who hurt us and sin against us. Win them to Jesus by our kind deeds and words.

Amen.