stpaulslogo
  • Home
  • About Us
    • New Here?
    • History
    • Staff
    • Worship & Location
    • Stewardship
  • What’s Happening
    • Come and See (Media)
    • Music
    • Library
  • Sermons, Bulletins & Newsletters
    • Sermons & Weekly Bulletins
    • Newsletters
  • Contact
  • Online Giving
  • Event List

Nothing, but Good News

October 2, 2022 By Jessica Swick Leave a Comment

In 1522, Luther published “A Brief Instruction on What to Look for and Expect in the Gospels.” Luther wrote:

The chief article and foundation of the gospel

is that before you take Christ as an example,

you accept and recognize him as a gift, as a

present that God has given you and that is

your own. This means that when you see or

hear of Christ doing or suffering something,

you do not doubt that Christ himself, with his

deeds and suffering, belongs to you. On this

you may depend as surely as if you had done

it yourself; indeed as if you were Christ

himself. See, this is what it means to have a

proper grasp of the gospel, that is, of the

overwhelming goodness of God, which

neither prophet, nor apostle, nor angel was

ever able fully to express, and which no heart

could adequately fathom or marvel at. This is

the great fire of the love of God for us,

whereby the heart and conscience become

happy, secure, and content. This is what

preaching the Christian faith means. This is

why such preaching is called gospel, which

in German means a joyful, good, and

comforting “message”; and this is why the

apostles are called the “twelve messengers.”

 

As we recognize God’s goodness for ourselves and in ourselves, the sharing of the “good news” of the Gospel becomes a thing of joy for

it brings hope, peace, love, justice, and forgiveness to us and to the world!

 

Let us not carry the heavy burden of our sins and the continual weight of hopelessness by daily striving to “foolishly” save ourselves, for we know the One who has said:

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are

carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you

rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from

me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and

you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke

is easy, and my burden is light.” Mathew 11:28-30

Let us believe and trust that God is good and that in Jesus Christ, God’s goodness extends personally to ourselves. Then let us daily strive to follow in Christ’s path, recognizing that our sins have been forgiven by his blood upon the cross. No further sacrifices are required.

During the month of October, and especially on Reformation Sunday, October 30, let us give thanks to God for Martin Luther, for all the men and women who led the Reformation, and for all saints who have lived a faithful life and been a blessing to us and to all who will come to believe in Jesus Christ long after we are gone.

God is good and the message of the Gospel is good news, indeed!

Much Joy to you and yours!

Pastor Mike

SHARE ON
Twitter Facebook Buffer LinkedIn Pin It

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Service Times

Saturday Evening 5:30PM
Sunday Morning 8:00AM & 10:30AM
 

Contact Us

info@stpauls-orwigsburg.org

570-366-2316

215 N. Warren Street Orwigsburg, PA 17961

Facebook Page

Recent Sermons

May 10-11, 2025

May 3-4, 2025

April 26-27, 2025

Upcoming Events

May
Saturday
17

Saturday Evening Worship

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
May
Sunday
18

Sunday 8AM Worship Service

8:00 am
May
Sunday
18

Sunday 10:30AM Worship Service

10:30 am

St. Paul's Blog

Hope By Pastor Mike

Growing Tree Learning Center & Daycare to close by 8/23

Why should we give thanks to God?

Copyright © 2025 · Log in