Year 2 Day 14

Year 2 Day 14 

Pray (ACts)

Read - Mark 1:1

Message - Alan Burke

Did you hear the news today? Wasn’t it great to have a good news piece after everything we’ve gone through in the past year. You may be wondering what I’m on about, there may have been a good news story today or yesterday but in truth it’s debatable how many of these 'good news’ stories are really good news. Much of it is mere political spin that pronounces ‘good news’ in how we are moving forward, when actually life remains pretty much the same. News stories that move on so fast, filled with information that we soon forget that often is inconsequential to us, why then do we spend so much time watching and listening to it?

I’ll leave that question with you, for today I want to take you to something that is actually good news, something that has significance for you. It’s not good news of the vaccine delivery or of restrictions being lifted, rather this is good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ. These twelve words at the start of Mark’s gospel act as a prologue, that summaries the entire message of this book, for Mark begins with the gospel itself that is the person and work of Jesus. He is the good news for He is the ‘Christ’, He is anointed one, the Messiah, the promised deliverer, the saviour and the ‘Son of God’. The title “Son of God” reveals Jesus’ unique and unparalleled relationship with God the Father, He as the ‘Son’ asserts nothing less than his Divinity. Jesus as the Son of God was able to serve and suffer for our redemption. 

The good news is Jesus, and for all who hear and believe in His name, He gives the right to become the children of the Living God. We receive the benefits of sonship of the living God thought Christ, who for our sake, God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). It is in Christ alone that we receive the benefits sonship, not through what we pay, nor through what we do, not through how moral we are, how gifted etc etc etc, for none of us can atone for our sin, none of us can break its power. We can never come to God and say, surely what I have done is enough to compensate for my sins, instead God sent His own Son, who stood in for place, who lived a perfect life, and since He had no sin of His own to atone for He was uniquely qualified to atone for our sins. This Jesus is the Good News, the Gospel that Mark wants us to know and this is good news for sinners like you and I that Jesus has done it all.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC
Q 28
Wherein consisteth Christ’ s exaltation?
Christ’ s exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, (1 Cor. 15:4) in ascending up into heaven, (Mark 16:19) in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, (Eph. 1:20) and in coming to judge the world at the last day. (Acts 1:11, Acts 17:31)
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