Good News/Bad News

There are a lot of good news/ bad news jokes. For instance, a lawyer spoke to his client who was a suspect in a crime that had been committed. The lawyer said, “The results of the blood work are in, and I have some good news and some bad news for you. The bad news is that there is a 100% match with your DNA. The good news is that your cholesterol is down to 140.”

Or, take the man who called his creditor about a long-overdue payment on some money that he owed. He said to his creditor, “I have some good news and some bad news for you. The bad news is that I can’t pay you anything. The good news is that I intend to keep doing business with you.”

Then, there’s the one about a man who was very sick and went into the hospital for some tests. After several days of exhaustive tests, the doctor came into the room to give the man a report. The doctor said, “Well, I have good news and bad for you. The bad news is that you have a disease that no one has ever heard of before. The good news is that we intend to name the disease after you.”

Well, you get the idea. The world is filled with both good news and bad news. Sometimes we major on the bad news. When I was pastor of Burkeville Baptist Church in Southeast Texas almost 40 years ago, Mr. R. S. Ponder attended our church. He was a saw filer at the local sawmill. Most of his family was also in the timber business in one way or another. One day his son-in-law was cutting a tree down in the woods when the tree fell on him and killed him instantly. He left a wife and two small children behind. I went by to see Mr. Ponder and his wife following the accident, and I will always remember what Mr. Ponder said to me. He said, “I sat down this morning to write some of my folks back in Alabama about my son-in-law’s death. I began the letter by saying, “Well, I don’t guess there is any good news anymore.”

It certainly seems that way sometimes, doesn’t it? One of the challenges of the modern-day pastor is offering encouragement to our senior adults who sit around all day listening to MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN News on television. In order to pump up their ratings, these networks hype the bad news and say it so many times that it seems that there must be no good news anymore.

I would disagree with that assessment of the world. While there are problems aplenty, there is still some good news. The good news often is not as spectacular, or as interesting as the bad news, but it is there nonetheless. In fact, so long as we have the gospel there will be good news because the word “gospel” literally means “good news.” Don’t be oblivious to the bad news, but for goodness sakes don’t overlook the astounding good news of the gospel!

--On October 19, we will have our annual homecoming service. Jeff and Jean Ingram will be with us to speak to us. Jeff is Minister to Senior Adults at First Baptist Church in Fairhope, Alabama. Jeff and Jean are former members of our church. Please invite family and friends now to come share this special day with us.

--Sunday’s Sermons:
AM: “Our Models for Life”
2 Thessalonians 3:6-9
PM: “The Need for a Second"
Mark 8:22-26