St James' Church of Scotland, Lossiemouth

For Christ, For You

Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

Prospect Terrace, Lossiemouth, Moray IV31 6JS.

The Union of the former Parishes of St. Gerardine's High Church and St. James' Church

Minister: Rev. Geoff McKee.

  • Home
  • About
  • How Can We Help?
    • Notices – and Dates for your Diary
    • Baptism or Christening
    • Warm Space for community at St. James’ Church Lossiemouth
    • Good News Club (Sunday School)
    • Summer Holiday Club
    • St James’ Guild
    • Indoor Bowling at St James’ Church
    • Praise Group
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Find Us
  • Login
You are here: Home / Sermons / Good news or bad news first?

Good news or bad news first?

February 4, 2019 by 2

“No prophet is accepted in his hometown”, said Jesus. Rev. Geoff McKee’s scripture for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany is Luke 4:21-30, in which Jesus’ return to Nazareth is reported and it seems he is lucky to escape with his life. There are difficult issues raised by what Jesus has to say, including how self-centred our faith is, how tolerant we are of other faiths and how willing we are to accept change. Geoff also considers whether, in any situation where you have to receive both good and bad news, is it better for you to receive good news or bad news first?

You can download a PDF version of this sermon by clicking here, if you wish.

Luke 4:21-30 (New International Version)

21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Many situations we encounter in life bring both good news and bad news with them.

  • A promotion at work may come with an increase in salary but also more responsibilities and longer hours.
  • A workplace evaluation may involve both praise for jobs well done, as well as suggestions for improvement.

When you are about to get a shot of good and bad news, what is your preference—good news first, or bad?

And what should your preference be?

This issue was explored in an interesting paper in the March, 2014 issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin by Angela Legg and Kate Sweeny.

The study focused on participants delivering news. Participants who were instructed to think about how the other person would feel when getting the news were more prone to give the bad news first and then the good, compared to those in a control condition who were not given any specific instructions.

But which is actually better for us, getting good news first or bad?

It was suggested that the answer to this important question depends on whether you are focused on your mood or on changing your behaviour.

Participants filled out a personality inventory and then were given bogus feedback about their results. The feedback consisted both of good news (some positive personality traits like being a good leader) as well as bad news (some traits that are not so positive, like being low in creativity).

The study varied the order in which participants got this feedback—and before and after getting the feedback, participants rated their degree of worry, as well as their mood. After getting the feedback, participants rated how committed they were to learning to change the negative aspects of their personality.

At the end of the study, participants had the option of watching some videos to help them make personality changes or helping the experimenter by stapling some packets together.

Participants who got the bad news first were in a better mood and were less worried overall than those who got the good news first. However, participants who got the bad news first were less interested in changing their behaviour, and were less likely to elect to watch videos to improve their behaviour, than those who got the good news first.

Overall, we like to get improving sequences of news (bad news first) because the last thing you hear affects your mood.

However, it turns out that being a little unsettled can be motivating. So, if you are motivated to act on the bad feedback by making changes in your behaviour, it is better to focus on what is wrong, and to hear it last.

Last week, we read about Jesus delivering his inspirational sermon in the synagogue in Nazareth where he proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favour. There would be:

  • good news for the poor;
  • release for the prisoners;
  • sight for the blind.

Wonderful news and this news we read about this morning is fulfilled today. It was fulfilled in Jesus’ day and it is fulfilled every time the passage is read and the teaching is realised. Good news for today! But that good news soon – in fact, almost immediately – was received as bad news in Nazareth. If Jesus knew about the modern study that I have mentioned then he would, I’m sure, appreciate that this was good medicine for the synagogue attenders to hear. This offered the potential for a change of behaviour that would be life-saving in its impact. But none of this was without its dangers as Jesus enforced march to the top of a cliff edge demonstrated.

So what caused the congregation to change their minds? What was it that led them to interpret the good news as bad news?

It is recorded that the congregation said: “Is this not Joseph’s son?”, as if that was the problem.

However, it wasn’t until Jesus referred to two well-known Old Testament stories that the atmosphere changed.

  1. He spoke about the widow in Zarephath in Sidon who received a visit from Elijah and so found God’s grace and love provided for her.
  2. He spoke about Naaman, the Syrian, who was healed by God through the ministry of Elisha.

It was these two stories – presented as a challenge to a narrow religious mindset – that provoked the furious response.

I would suggest to you that that kind of reaction is still encountered today when people with narrow, religious views become unsettled. As it is a core element of the gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ – to unsettle, this is all particularly concerning.

For me, there are three questions that are raised by this story that should be before us.

Firstly, is our faith centred on our own peace of mind, an inner peace, or is it centred in finding justice for the oppressed?

The people of Nazareth sought satisfaction and comfort in their tradition. They were who they were because God had provided them with a rich salvation and so they looked for comfort through the re-telling of the familiar stories. News that God was primarily concerned with the welfare of foreigners, with issues of justice, did not fit and so were rejected.

We must always be reminded that our good news is not about personal reward but about changing the world. If we internalise and privatise it, we will miss the point of God’s kingdom and we will become resistant to the voice that challenges us.

Secondly, is our faith about protecting ourselves from other beliefs?

I remember well the controversy at a General Assembly of the Church of Scotland when a Commissioner protested about a minister who had permitted the use of church halls for Hindu worship.

The protester insisted that, as church buildings were consecrated for the worship of the trinitarian God, under no circumstances should people of other faiths be permitted to hold worship services in the buildings.

More recently, the Provost of St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow got into trouble because – at an ecumenical service held in the Cathedral – he permitted a Muslim cleric to lead in prayer in Arabic.

I am personally very uneasy with the permissive attitude of these clergymen but I have to challenge myself. Why am I uneasy? Is it because I am insecure in my faith? Does Jesus and his message need my protection? Is it because, deep down, I am a builder of walls rather than a promoter of justice and peace? These are the same root questions Jesus posed in Nazareth all those years ago.

Thirdly, is our faith about resisting change?

This question is a most telling one because I think it hits the sore spot for most churches. We are creatures of habit and we like the familiar. We like things the way they always have been and that’s especially the case when it comes to our religion. It provides stability because it has remained constant through the generations. But times are a-changing and if we value constancy above relevancy then we are in danger of disappearing from view. How can the good news be proclaimed without a voice calling out?

I want to end with a positive note today.

Observe what happened to Jesus when he was taken to the brow of the hill – where there was apparently no room for manoeuvre. There was no hope. He was going over the edge of the cliff and nobody cared. What does the text say? “He passed through the midst of them and went on his way”.

What does that mean?

It doesn’t give us the details.

He simply passed through the trouble.

‘Today’ this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Today is the day of salvation.

We are continually challenged by God not to rest in our comfort zones. Take heart that God’s prodding is good for us.

Let’s seek together to keep the difficult questions before us that we might continue to live in the kingdom of God.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Tweet
Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Filed Under: Sermons

WELCOME

Front-of-Church-Close-Up

Jesus Ascends to Glory

May 28, 2025 By 2

Sunday 25 May 2025 is Ascension Sunday.

Christians celebrate the time when Jesus ascended to heaven. Ascension Day itself is generally observed on a Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter.

Today’s Main Scripture

Jesus speaks to his disciples, following his resurrection at Easter and shortly before his ascension:

John 14 (from The Message Bible Translation)
The Road
14 1-4 “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”

6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”

9-10 “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.

11-14 “Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.

The Spirit of Truth
15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”

23-24 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.

25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.

“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”

Sermon by Rev. Anne-Marie Simpson

To get straight to beginning of the sermon, click here.

Sermon Text

For 40 days after Easter morning, Jesus remained on earth.

We know of several occasions when he met with some of his disciples.

Mary Magdalene in the dawn Garden, the two walking the road to Emmaus. appearing more than once to those in the upper room. On the shore at sunrise, and now in this final time of parting.

We can only surmise how Jesus spent the rest of this time before his departure. How many others did he meet with, perhaps, who did not record the fact? How many lives did he touch in those final 40 days on Earth?

Just as it was vital for Jesus to prove his resurrection to his followers, so it was very important that he took his leave properly.

His appearances to them could not just stop suddenly. That would leave too much uncertainty in the minds of his friends. Nor could the story that we’ve heard today of this awesome ascension be omitted from the narrative.

People at the time needed to know this part most fully. Indeed, we need to understand exactly where Jesus has gone.

There have to be witnesses. There is much mystery to this story, ascending into a cloud seems, well, rather vague. We desperately want more detail.

Luke gives us a brief description in his gospel and another in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.

Yet, however brief this story is, it is so important for both the disciples and for us today.

The disciples needed closure for them. This is an ending, the end of their time spent with Jesus – i.e. the end of Jesus amongst them present here in this world.

Yet it is also a beginning. The beginning of a brand new chapter for the disciples.

Now they have been given final instructions. Wait here in Jerusalem and show you are empowered by the Holy Spirit, then go out and preach the good news of repentance and salvation to all the world.

They must continue Jesus’ work of justice and compassion, healing and acceptance, but now they must also preach their testament, make new believers and baptise them in the Holy Spirit, not just the people of Israel, but everyone, right around the world.

They are witnesses. They have a testament to share.

And if this work seems impossibly huge to undertake, so very difficult to achieve, then Jesus has promised them a helper. That will be given power through baptism in the Holy Spirit. And so the disciples are not overwhelmed by the task in hand, or cowed under the weight of their commission. Instead, they go back into Jerusalem filled with joy at what Jesus has promised. Filled with joy at what they have seen.

They know exactly where Jesus has gone. They’ve witnessed him rising to heaven with their very own eyes, and there is no room for doubt. Now they have a friend in heaven, a friend whom we believe presents our prayers at the throne of God and intercedes on our behalf. A friend who has sent them a helper, a friend who has always present with us, always available when we need help.

The human Jesus could only be in one place at any given time, but now as a heavenly being, Jesus transcends the spatial and the temporal qualities of this world.

He can be constantly with his disciples. He is constantly with us.

Furthermore, Jesus has promised them that they will follow where he has gone.

Before the crucifixion he has told them that he goes to prepare a place for them. Those words that we say at every funeral, I go to prepare a place for you. Now they understand what that means. One day they too will be in heaven, where they will see Jesus again and live in the presence of their Heavenly Father. They also know that Jesus is listening to their pleas and prayers. He might be out of sight, but he isn’t out of their hearing.

And Jesus has promised to return, to come back one day when everything will be put right, and the whole of creation will be restored to its original state of balance.

The early church watched patiently and diligently for the coming, believing it to be imminent.

But God’s time is not our time, as we are reminded in the second letter of Peter: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.

But we must keep watch and be prepared for this coming, for this event, so that we are ready to meet with Jesus on his return. Ready for whatever that will mean for us.

Jesus speaks of how his ascension has been written into Hebrew scripture in the laws of Moses, in the writing of the prophets, and in the Psalms, as we’ve heard in Psalm 93, and in Psalm 47.

The signs have always been there, but it would have been impossible for human minds to comprehend what was meant.

The story of death and resurrection and ascension is too full of wonder, too full of awe for us to fully understand. Jesus has ascended to sit enthroned at the right hand of the Father, where, as Paul tells us, he reigns supreme.

In the meantime, the disciples returned to Jerusalem in great joy to spend their time giving thanks in the temple, praying to God, knowing that they are heard, and knowing that whatever happens to them, Jesus awaits them with a place prepared.

And so what does this day of Ascension mean for us?

We’ve been promised everything that the disciples were promised.

We know that God, Jesus has gone before us, and we live in the hope that this and every other promise He has made will be fulfilled. that, through repentance, our sins will be forgiven, and we will go to take up that place, which He has prepared for us in his Father’s house, where we will live forever in the presence of God, reconciled and beloved for eternity.

And the second coming, what will that be like?

The angels in Acts have told us that Jesus will return in the same way as he left, descending from a cloud, perhaps, to the awestruck gaze of the people below.

Will you be there, as generations’-worth of prayers are answered, watching and waiting in joyful expectation, as your Lord and Saviour descends to bring the Kingdom that we pray for to come?

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Recent Posts

  • Jesus Ascends to Glory
  • Holy Week Services in Lossiemouth Area Churches of Scotland 2025
  • What we can learn from Jesus being tested by the devil in the wilderness
  • Recent Church Services and Sermons
  • Why your current role in life is where you should be serving God
  • A Service for Everyone in Lossiemouth – World Day of Prayer 2025
  • Lossiemouth area Church of Scotland Services for Christmas 2024
  • Nine Lessons and Carols – Fourth Sunday of Advent
  • Why no one has hope until we all have hope
  • The numerous prophecies of the coming of Jesus
  • Watch for this – The time is coming
  • Christmas Carol Praise – Lossiemouth – 15 December 2024
  • Lossie Singers Autumn Concert – 06 October 2024
  • When you cannot even formulate the words to pray
  • A call to use our time wisely and fruitfully

Contact Us

We would be glad to hear from you. Feel free to contact our Minister, Rev. Geoff McKee, or attend one of the events or groups detailed on this website.

Our Minister

Our Minister is Rev. Geoff McKee.

Lossiemouth Church of Scotland is a registered Charity No. SC000880.

The Church of Scotland Logo

Our Mission

Our mission is to be a Christian community sharing the love of Christ, reaching out to the people in this area and encouraging them to worship God and grow in the knowledge of the care and love of Christ.

Search this website

Join Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 St James' Church of Scotland, Lossiemouth · Rainmaker Platform