Havasu Christian Church
December 7, 2025
Jesus came to give us Good News.
INTRO: During the next few weeks we’ll be talking about some of the gifts that Jesus gives us… Gifts that are so big that we can share with others!
This week, we will be looking at “The Good News.” We often call this the Gospel.
We all like to get good news. The thing you wanted to buy is on sale…. You are looking for a parking space, and your passenger says “There’s one, just ahead…. You didn’t want to go to school and you had a snow day…. You were running short of cash, but you find a $20 bill in your pocket….
But as good as some of those things might be, Jesus came to give us REALLY GOOD NEWS! We often call this the Gospel! It is news that is REALLY GOOD!
The words “Good news” and “Gospel” are interchangeable. But when we use the term “Gospel,” we know we are talking about the “Good news” of God!
Romans 1:14–17 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
The Good News is the truth, revealed in Scripture about God’s love for us, and His willingness to forgive us for our wrongdoing.
- Jesus’ Resurrection is Good News!
- Without it, we cannot be forgiven!
- Without the Resurrection of Jesus, nothing else really matters!
1 Corinthians 15:13–22 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
- Without the Resurrection, the Christian life is a waste of time!
- But with Christ’s Resurrection, Life is worth living!
- With Christ’s resurrection, I have a future!
- With Christ’s Resurrection, what I do in this life matters!
This leads directly to this idea….
- A life of true purpose is Good News!
- Because of Jesus, we have a life worth living.
- This is not true for many.
- They live without a real purpose for their lives.
From: psychiatry.org December 07, 2023
Purpose in Life Can Lead to Less Stress, Better Mental Well-being
What is purpose in life? It means having a central, organizing life aim, an overall sense of direction in one's life, and a belief that one’s life activities are valuable and important — making a positive mark on the world. Research indicates that having a purpose in life is good for mental health. For example, having greater purpose in life was significantly associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety.
What is my life purpose?
Some research indicates that purpose in life may build greater resilience after exposure to negative events. A recent meta-analysis found that people with greater purpose in life experienced less stress. This association between purpose and stress was similar across age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education. Other research suggests that purpose in life is associated with greater integration of working and personal lives.
A lack of purpose or direction in life may be an important contributing factor to high levels of mental health concerns among young adults, according to a recent survey. The report, On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, found young adults (18 – 25 years) in the U.S. reported twice the rates of anxiety and depression as teens (36% versus 18%).
While the study notes that “the emotional challenges of young adults have many sources that vary by culture, race, class, and many other factors,” a lack of meaning, purpose, and direction was strongly associated with poorer mental health. More than half of young adults (58%) reported that they lacked “meaning or purpose” in their lives in the previous month and half of young adults reported that their mental health was negatively influenced by “not knowing what to do with my life.”
Importantly, the research does not explain how that connection is made.
- The world, when they have one, is usually to have MORE of something.
- I want what I want, and I want it NOW!
- More money, more property, more things, more experiences!
- MORE will make us happy.. Right? NO!
- This “purpose” will never satisfy.
- So, what then is our purpose as Christians?
- Serve God!
- This must be our #1 priority!
Matthew 22:35–40 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
- To love God with everything means that I serve Him!
- The eternal God of the universe knows more about how I should live than I do.
- He loves me and knows what’s best for me!
This verse also gives us our second purpose for our lives.
- Serve others.
- If we are living faithfully, serving others will be a part of that!
- Our first priority is our own family.
- Paul, writing to Timothy about care by the Church for widows, says the following.
1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
- Our second priority is our Church family.
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
- But the rest of our “neighbors” matter too!
- How do we help them?
- In ways that don’t harm them.
- Do we an addict a new crack pipe?
- Do we drive a young woman to the abortion clinic?
- Do we help someone live a sinful lifestyle?
- Do we support people who make no effort to do for themselves?
- We help them by assisting them to live a better life.
- First and foremost, that means sharing with the world about Jesus.
- Share what we have with those who are in need.
- But we also do our best to “show them a better way.”
- When they are ready to change, we are there to help them, every step of the way.
- Helping people requires discernment.
- Will we always get it right? NO!
- Making mistakes is better than not trying at all!
- A promise of Eternity is Good News!
- Our world is obsessed with the “here and now.”
- But “Here and now” are not the whole picture.
- After death, an entire new life opens up.
- For those who have Jesus,
- Eternity in God’s presence!
- Eternity in God’s service!
- Eternity in our new glorified bodies!
- Living in bodies that are fit for eternity.
- For those that do not have Jesus,
- Eternity shut away from God’s presence.
- Shut away from everything that is good, that is holy, that is noble.
- Eternity that has no purpose.
- Nothing to do, only time to endure.
- Eternity in a glorified body… but living in HELL.
- Living with the choice you made during your earthly life.
- When someone dies without Jesus, they immediately will know they have made the wrong choice.
Conclusion: Jesus came to earth to give us some amazing gifts.
He came to give us “Good News.”
- Jesus came, lived, died and rose again!
- THAT’S “GOOD NEWS!”
- Jesus came to give us a Purpose.
- A purpose above all others.
- A life of Service to God.
- A life of Service to others.
- Jesus came to give us the Promise of Eternity.
- Not an empty, wishy-washy promise.
- Not a “wishful thinking” promise.
- A REAL, Guaranteed promise!
- When I die, I KNOW where I’m going!
- When I die, I GO to be with Him!
- When I die, I begin to truly live!
