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What is good news? News implies something fresh and most people have certainly heard something about Jesus. How can we reveal much of anything about Jesus that could be considered "news?" Part of what is "news" about Jesus is our own experience of him in our everyday living, as a part of who we are and what we are doing. Jesus is not static but dynamic; he is to be freshly experienced everyday. There is much to be gained from studying the life of Jesus and his teachings; we believe this. We also believe that in addition to learning what he taught we can experience him today as alive and part of our lives. So our sense about what makes Jesus news is the newness each of us can experience in him as we experience him in daily life. Not all news being spread in Jesus' name seems like "good" news either. We would be the first to admit that many of us at Saint James have been the receivers of "bad" news in Jesus' name. For us, Jesus is good news for us because we are accepted for who we are, right where we are. Certainly there is room to grow in relationship to Jesus and our personal practices in life. Right here and right now, Jesus loves and accepts us. Jesus loves us, mediates for us in our relationship with God, models what life lived fully in love can look like, gives us meaning and hope, and shows us that life lived to the fullest is life that is given away. We believe that knowing Jesus can be experienced new and fresh everyday in our lives is indeed news worth sharing. And news about Jesus, news worthy of sharing, is "good" news indeed! |
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Saint James United Methodist Church
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