It is easy to talk about the birth of Christ at Christmas. This song offers that easy intro to conversation and takes that chat to other parts of our Savior’s story which continue to make such a beautiful difference in our lives. The song’s title spills the beans right up front on one of the best things we can do all year round to help ourselves, our families, our friends and neighbors, our country and our world. Give “Tell The Good News” a sing-along listen, then come back and let’s talk about it.

I’ve got some bad news

Bad news sells. They say in the [bad] news business, “If it bleeds, it leads”. To sell newspapers, they’ll put the worst disaster on the front page.

Back in the garden the modern news headline might have been “GOD IS STILL ETERNAL — BUT MAN CAN NO LONGER GO THE DISTANCE” (women and children hardest hit). Being the greatest disaster story in all history, sales would have been brisk.

Man was built to live forever just like God. Forever is part of God’s loving design for man. God knows it will take forever for a man to experience His boundless love, goodness and wisdom.

Man’s fall introduced death. Death is a problem no science of man’s invention could ever solve.

It is interesting to note news articles are floating around that some of the wealthiest people in the world are investing their billions into figuring out how to stop aging and live forever. Ideas include copying consciousness into something like a computer hard drive and then building a robot with replaceable parts. Just change the oil every three months, keep a fresh battery in there, and they can go on and on living in a machine forever.

Any of you want to sign up for that program? I wonder if hearing God’s plan for everlasting life would influence their approach to this effort.

Can you explain what’s going on here?

Imagine for a moment being in this world and trying to figure out how it works, using ONLY your own senses to gather information. You get NO revelation from God. You have no instruction about God. You are limited to what you can observe. You CAN swap ideas with others and read what people in the past learned, but NO one in this learning circle has any revelation from God.

As I understand it, the greatest minds — maybe the greatest minds EVER — set about to play this out in ancient Greece. Among the superstars of human thought, analysis and teaching were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Part of their greatness was they realized man is simply not able to see and explain what caused everything they COULD see. There had to be something — or someone — higher than what they could know only by their senses.

The Greeks made up stories — “myths” — about “gods” to entertain, but also to illustrate things they observed in life and in the world. These gods were not built primarily to be worshiped like the “dumb idols” we read about in the Bible. The philosophers and most others understood these were just artful inventions to express their concepts of human nature and how the world works. Actually — the art and literature used to express these myths is some of the most skilled work human artists have ever done, and much is still learned from it by students of those arts today.

One of the stars of Greek mythology is Prometheus, god of fire. Prometheus defied the other gods by stealing fire from them. He gave the fire to humans packaged as civilization and the knowledge and technology to support it. In modern Western society, art and culture, Prometheus represents human striving — especially in the quest for solving human problems through science and technology — AND represents the risk of misguided efforts and unintended consequences. (The novel about Frankenstein is a great example of the idea of Prometheus in western literature. Science plus unintended consequences.)

What the Greeks observed and described about human nature, we can still see playing out in modern times. We’ve made the most amazing communication tools and devices anyone has every imagined. People use them to solve problems. People also use them in ways that create bigger problems.

People needed help in ancient Greece, and people still need the same help today.

Well, there is good news.

TELL THE GOOD NEWS!

Imagine getting to sit with the Greek philosophers and reading Ephesians to them. Imagine letting God’ word explain where we came from, where we are and where we are going. Imagine seeing them read John 3:16 and believing it — and seeing the looks on their faces when the light comes on.

Imagine bringing someone to understand they are awesomely and wonderfully made, and are of great worth to God. Imagine helping someone turn from modern culture — being entertained by what God calls evil — lying, stealing, witchcraft and sorcery — you name it (God named it…) and turn instead to His wholeness and goodness. Imagine turning someone from death to everlasting life.

Imagine that!

We do NOT live without revelation from God. We DO have the ability to know Him and His Son Jesus Christ. We CAN know how to defeat death.

How did we find out? Someone told us.

How will others find out? Someone needs to tell them.

Look at this line of thinking from Romans 10: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Counterculture — defined as a culture with values and mores that run counter to those of established society.

Let’s be part of the counterculture!

What can we do? Tell the good news!

God bless you lots,
Dale R.

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LYRICS: Tell The Good News
Text & tune: J. T. Reese (1893)

1. Tell the good news of the Savior’s birth.
Tell the good news, tell the good news.
Shout the glad tidings o’er all the earth.
Tell the good news today.
Tell the sweet story afar and near.
Tell of a Savior, so loving and dear.
Sing the glad message where others may hear.
Tell the good news today.

Chorus:
Good news, good news,
Let’s shout the glad tidings o’er all the earth.
Good news, good news,
Good news of the Savior’s birth.

2. Sing of the Savior, Oh sing His praise.
Tell the good news, tell the good news.
Songs of rejoicing triumphantly raise.
Tell the good news today.
Sing of His mercy and grace outpoured
Singing with joy in one accord.
Pray the whole earth make Jesus their Lord.
Tell the good news today.

3. Tell the good news of the Savior and King.
Tell the good news, tell the good news.
Peace and goodwill to all men we sing.
Tell the good news today.
Tell how he suffered on Calvary.
Tell of the pardon He offers so free.
Tell of His great love for you and for me.
Tell the good news today.

Say hello … leave a note … add your thoughts

Please feel free to add your thoughts to this conversation. Scroll to the bottom of the page and jot your note in the “comments” box just below the “Leave a reply” title. Easy! Thanks!
— Dale R.

First posted December 25, 2021.
Reposted with new song video and minor updates to the notes June 12, 2026.