What is the actual biblical good news?
- What is the actual biblical good news?
- Is the Sermon on the Mount the good news, or is it something else?
A host opens the show with the question of what counts as the good news: conversations where people call things like jelly beans or general niceness the good news prompted him to sort out the biblical definition. Dan supplies the core reference — the angels in Luke 2 announcing the Savior's birth. The hosts work through Matthew 4's 'proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,' the Sermon on the Mount as a description of what the kingdom is like rather than the good news itself, Matthew 11:5 and Luke 4:18 as the Messiah's works validating that the good news is for the poor and afflicted, and the Mark Driscoll/Mars Hill example of a repentance-only gospel being too narrow on one side and a mercy-only definition too narrow on the other. They reject the 'preach the gospel and use words if necessary' slogan: handing out water bottles or raking yards is good, but it is not sharing the good news unless a Savior is named.
More on Evangelism
-
Church, emotions, and the self-focus of affluence
- How do you help people in an affluent, self-focused culture see that they need Jesus?
Ben revives a question from two or three shows back: are church services and worship tunes postured toward certain personality types — predominantly emotions and dealing with emotions?
From No. 603 · Found Out
-
Confetti and lasers: what should God's people be known for?
- Do we want to be known as the confetti and lasers people?
- What should God's people be known for?
Ben redirects to the docket's denomination question: when someone hears Silas's church described as 'the confetti and lasers people,' should that sting?
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
-
Dear LFTP: the $600 lawnmower and buying them a mower
- My nephew's wife took my $600, lied about it, and is avoiding me. Should I say something or let it go?
Mike reads a letter from someone who gave a nephew's wife $600 for a self-propelled lawnmower; she spent it, never bought the mower, and now avoids them.
From No. 587 · Coffee After Sunday
-
Maintaining hope for people who won't choose Jesus
- How do you maintain hope for someone who keeps rejecting Jesus when God won't override their free will?
The episode's centerpiece: Mike's pre-show question about how to maintain hope for people who reject Christ when God won't override their free will.
From No. 579 · Wanted: Paul and Hope | Paul’s Persecution of Christians and Radical Redemption