Finding Joy in the Simple Gospel Again

As we re-emerge from COVID-19’s initial impact, how will we find joy in sharing the simple gospel again?

If there’s anything COVID-19 has achieved, it is the amplification of our feelings of isolation, fear, anxiety, and rampant uncertainty. Why would we not feel this way when the foundations of our lives have been shaken and the roots of our idolatrous worship have been left exposed?

In Matthew 12:34, Jesus reminds us that out of the overflow of our hearts, our mouth speaks. What have you heard or spoken during this uncertain time? If you’re anything like me, your words have most likely been laced with fear, full of anxiety, and not as life-giving as you’d expect.

As we re-emerge from COVID-19’s initial impact, how will we find joy in sharing the simple gospel again?

The simple joy of sharing good news

Challenging times can sometimes rob you of your joy, yet our joy should be fueling our mission now more than ever. In Romans 15:11, Paul reminds us that there’s something infinitely and magnificently great about God that evokes worship for people from diverse settings all around the world.

There’s nothing greater that evokes joy and stokes the embers of joy in our heart than sharing the gospel with those in great need around us. Jeremiah 15:16 remind us to take courage in the gospel: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”

Why is it that we’re feeling anxious and somewhat discombobulated? Could it be that God’s exposing something else in our hearts—counterfeit gods that have rallied for our attention and worship?

In Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller reminds us that these idols or counterfeit gods are anything so central and essential to your life that, should ...