"The Gospel for Living," with John Musgrave, M.Div.

That Jesus is a king is the good news because as king, Jesus fulfills the kingly roles of enabling His people to worship acceptably (and to have joy from that) and of defeating our enemy of death to forge for us a secure place to live (now, upon death, and upon His return).

God's people get the good benefits of God through His King, Jesus (today:  forgiveness and the building of the Church).

First-century, Jewish Christians believed that having a king was good news.  So should we. Here’s why.

Christ is the Greek word for “anointed one,” and meant to the first-century, Jewish and Christian world:  king.  This greatly affects our view of Jesus and defines the what the “good news” is.

John seeks to assure his readers that the Christ is Jesus; but what does “Christ” mean?

The Christ is Jesus, who is the divine Son of God.  Few believe this, so this belief will cost me, but this belief is well-worth it.

God's law is disaster for salvation (we cannot be accepted by God based on our obedience to His law), but is blessing as a guide for life.

What determines who is your god?

Your eternal safety and blessing depend on Jesus' being your king.

The wicked often prosper today, but it is temporary.

Love God's Word.  Come to it.  Be taught by it.  Accept its rebuke and correction. 

God loves His people, so He disciplines them for their good.  Whether by discipline or by avoiding it, we can experience God's blessings.

The influence that is wise to have on our lives is that of Jesus and of those who know and love Him. 

Jesus came to protect your life by enabling you to be faithful.

Jesus, as king of His people, protects His people for eternity from the king who would do them harm.

The gifts offered to Jesus foreshadowed His coming work as temple and priest for His people.

The significance of Bethlehem at Jesus' birth is that now God's people have a king who is their shepherd. This is good news!

Every person has the enemies of Satan, death, final judgment, and the sin nature within. The victory over each of these is only obtained by God being with a person. Immanuel, which means "God with us," is Jesus.

Jesus is the son (descendant) of David. This means that Jesus is king (and His kingdom is the good news!).

Jesus is the son (descendant) of Abraham, and therefore an inheritor of the promise of a kingdom. Through faith in Jesus, a person becomes a co-heir of the kingdom with Jesus. This brings great benefits to the believer in life and in the life hereafter.

God promises, in the gospel, protection in life and an eternal inheritance upon death. The more we believe these promises, the more we act in faithfulness.

Human beings are born into loss, and more loss is in their futures. Jesus recovers for His people the loss, which they could not recover for themselves.

Why listening to faithful, ordained church elders makes sense (and what a church elder & pastor is to be about).

God ordains human authorities for His people, for their good.

In this life, things are not as they should be. God shows us through Elijah what we need to “get through.”