What does First B Jackson teach about good news?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First Baptist Jackson, the teaching on good news starts with who received it first. Pastor Matt and Pastor Florian have both returned to the same detail: God delivered the birth announcement not to priests, not to royalty, not to anyone with influence, but to ordinary shepherds working a night shift on a dark hillside. That choice was not accidental. It confirms exactly what the angel said, that this is good news of great joy for all people, not some people.
The response the shepherds made is held up as a natural picture of how the good news moves. They heard the announcement, they went to see it for themselves, and then they told everyone they could find. Pastor Florian pointed to Psalm 34's invitation to taste and see as the same idea, that God is not hiding and wants to be found. Ray traced the same arc from Mary's willing yes to the shepherds' sprint to Bethlehem and pressed it toward everyone in the room, because the news that landed on real people in the first century still lands on real people now.
One detail that keeps surfacing in these messages is Luke 2:20, the shepherds going back to their flocks. The teaching at First Baptist Jackson holds that God usually does not ask people to leave what they have been called to do. He refuels them and sends them back to it, this time glorifying and praising Him as they go. Florian from Romania put it simply: that joy, the kind that comes from knowing the good news is true, should show in everyday life no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Taught from Luke 2:8-20 · Psalm 34:8 · Romans 10:17 · Psalm 107 · Matthew 7:7
The passage taught · Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- December 20, 2022 Good News of Great Joy for All People Luke 2 traces the shepherds from fear to faith to praise. Pastor Blake walks through what their response to the birth announcement means for us today.
- December 21, 2021 Good News of Great Joy for All People Luke 2 reminds us that God sent angels to ordinary shepherds first. Hear how that good news of great joy still reaches ordinary people today.
- December 17, 2017 Good News of Great Joy Ray walks through the Christmas story, the shepherds' response, Mary's response, and what it means for anyone who receives the good news of a Savior born in Bethlehem.
Mentioned along the way
- December 13, 2015 The Greatest Love Christmas Play (4) A Christmas and Easter drama retelling the story of Jesus, from the manger to the empty tomb, performed by the congregation of First Baptist Jackson.