Early Church Adopts Kerygma

What story is dominating the headlines of your life? As we enter the Advent season, we are preparing our hearts to receive the ONLY headline that matters: Jesus is our savior.

And this headline should change EVERYTHING.

In this reflection, I introduce a word most Christians have never heard: kerygma.

In the ancient world, a kerygma was a headline delivered by a herald—news that was so big it rewrote your whole day...and maybe your entire identity.

And the early Church used that exact word to describe the Gospel. Because the good news that God loves you, that He sent His Son for you, that He calls you into eternal life—that’s not just another news brief in your spiritual life. That’s the headline under which everything else gets reorganized.

And if you're living with the Gospel as your headline, then your life is not a story written by your sin, weaknesses, and wounds. It's a much bigger story rewritten by a baby born in Bethlehem...a savior who dies on a cross...and a Resurrection that makes all things new.

I invite you to slow down this Advent and really soak in the power of the Gospel headline and what it means for you: Our savior is coming! Let him be born anew in your heart this Christmas.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Kerygma means a life-changing announcement. What parts of your life are still competing with Jesus for the “headline spot” today?
2. Think of a time when an announcement seemed to restructure everything (pregnancy, job change, illness, etc.) How did God show up in that moment?
3. If Jesus rewrote the headline of your life today, what would it say?
4. What area of your life feels the least “made new," and how might Jesus be inviting you to see it differently? 5. What would "believing the Good News" look like in your habits this Advent? What are you willing to do in your spiritual life to make this season different?

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