Gungahlin Uniting Church

108 The Valley Avenue, Gungahlin, ACT 2912

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What Is The Good News?

September 3, 2021 by Darren Wright

What would you say is the Gospel of Christ?
The good news of Jesus?

Personally, I find it quite easy to name what it isn’t…

It’s not about being saved
It’s not about the pits of hell and the gates of heaven
It’s not about a cosmic ransom paid
And it’s definitely not about abandoning the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures…

In fact, the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) lean heavily into the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures, all the way to the very beginning…

It is Jesus who takes us back to the beginning,
And reminds us of the God who created us…

What if THE story starts with creation being all good
And not “the fall”
A time where all of humanity became people of shame trying to recover something lost?
And for that matter, what if the story of the fruit from the tree was not about how we are all sinful, evil or broken

But instead a story that tells us that we are all able to make bad decisions and be forgiven, not that we’re inherently evil…

What if the Hebrew Scriptures are a story of a God who abides with creation, and not of a God who continues to punish humanity for their bad decisions, or a God who acts out of jealousy?

Perhaps the cross isn’t about retribution or ransom and Jesus is a reminder of the God who abides with creation

Maybe I could define the gospel of Christ as…

You are created by the God who created all things good, 
You were breathed to life by the breath of that same God, 
Filled by their Spirit.
Not to be slaves, not soldiers, not servants, but to be lovers, shepherds, neighbours.

And you are loved by that very same God who hopes and dreams that you will be people who love.

Love yourself
Love your neighbour
Love the creation
Love God
Love life
Love each other

That you, like the people of old have been set free to become people who free others.

From slavery
From abuse
From torture
From forced removal from land
From war
From armed strikes
From being taken from their people and family
From homophobia
From racism
From refugee camps

This has always been the good news of Jesus, every second of the day it’s been the same, unchanged, and that’s what Jesus preached, what he lived out. 

It’s all there in the book of Genesis, right from the very beginning.

Why wouldn’t you want everyone to know that?
Why wouldn’t you want to shout it from the hilltops?
Why wouldn’t you want to write it in the sky?
Even the rocks cry it out, so why don’t you?

I get that evangelism is hard,
particularly if your message is you must turn or burn, that message is abusive, it doesn’t set free, it captures, imprisons, binds. 

But for once let us dream of a place where everyone gets reminded over & over & over again. 

You are good

You are loved

You are magnificent

Shalom,

Darren

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Worship with us

Every Sunday we join in worship on site at the church building and online, you can find out how to join worship online here.

Worship seeks to be meaningful in different ways for us all. In Jesus Christ we see how he drew near to everyone, and so we hope our worship expresses this nearness too. For more information on what worship looks like during this time of social distancing, keep on reading.

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Where Are We?

About GUC

We are a community on a journey, we’ve grown from a small faith community planted in Ngunnawal in the early years of Gungahlin’s development to a thriving inclusive, intergenerational & multicultural community. As Gungahlin has grown we have seen a lot of change.

We are an open and inclusive community, everyone is welcome to use their gifts in worship, prayer, leadership, hospitality and teaching.

Find out more…

Worship With Us

Every Sunday, 9:30am
Gungahlin Uniting Church and Community Centre
108 The Valley Avenue
Gungahlin, ACT, 2913

Worship is for all ages, (0 to 93!) and seeks to be meaningful in different ways for us all.

In Jesus Christ we see how he drew near to each and all and so we hope our worship expresses this nearness too.

Find out more…

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