From the Desk of the Senior Pastor
September 2026
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” – Mark 1:14-15 (NRSV)
Just as I sat down to start writing this, I received a text from my wife that her plane had landed and that she would be home soon after spending the last 3 weeks in Tanzania. Good news! In an unrelated matter, I found that the pain in my foot due to plantar fasciitis has gone away due to some new inserts that I have been wearing in my shoes. Also, good news! My daughter in New Zealand recently texted that they had light snow the other day (it’s wintertime there) and she was excited because they rarely get snow in that part of the country. That’s good news for her! My other daughter reported that she and her friends loved the new Spiderman movie that just came out in theaters. Good news again!
There are lots of examples of “good news” coming our way all the time. But none of the items of good news that I listed above are truly life changing, yet I am completely comfortable and even pleased to share them.
But Jesus brings us good news of a different sort. The Good News (the Gospel) of God that comes to us through Jesus Christ is life changing. And it is not just a once and done life change, it is the kind of news that changes us each day. At least, it should!
In Mark, Jesus’ summary of that good news is the statement that the kingdom of God has come near. And Jesus will go out of his way to show us that this kingdom of God, or the reign of God, is characterized by God’s love and compassion for the world and all of us in it. The good news calls all of us to respond to that love in ways that are consistent with the values that God reveals to us. That is what the call to repentance is all about. It is the change that the Gospel brings about in us, in our thinking, in our behavior, in the way we treat one another. And we are changed as we daily believe in (put our trust in) this ultimate good news.
If we are not as excited for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we are for a new set of shoe inserts, I think that we may need to reacquaint ourselves with all that God has revealed to us and done for us through Jesus Christ. What does it mean to each of you to hear Christ’s proclamation? “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and
believe in the good news.”