Good News & Bad News | Missions Sunday | Pastor Kip Potter | Daystar Church

I welcomed our whole family—Coleman, Hartzell Madison, those joining online, and friends in Uganda—then asked a simple question: do you want the good news or the bad news? Most of us want the bad news first because we want to see it, name it, and get through it. Scripture doesn’t hide that reality. Jeremiah had to look his people in the eye and say, “Build. Plant. Marry. Pray for the city. You’re going to be here a while.” That wasn’t cruelty; it was clarity. And only then does the famous promise shine in full color: God knows the plans he has for us—good, not disaster; a future and a hope.

Jesus does the same with his friends. He tells the truth: in this world you will have trouble. But he gives a deeper truth to hold onto: take heart, I have overcome the world. That’s not a promise of a quick exit; it’s a promise of a faithful Presence. Sometimes the miracle is that God brings us out. Sometimes the miracle is that God gets in—Emmanuel—God with us in the middle of the long valley.

I see it on the mission field. Our kids in Itara, Uganda pray for today’s food and for a teacher’s wages. Meanwhile, God is already moving resources and people they don’t even know—quiet “assassins” of generosity—because he is thinking and talking about them. If God is planning at that level for children sleeping on a dirt floor, he has not forgotten you. He is already out ahead of you, working in conversations and rooms you’ll never see, preparing mercies you don’t yet know to ask for.

And we remember our brothers and sisters who suffer. Hebrews tells us to remember the imprisoned as if we were there with them. When I think of our friends in Myanmar—young believers losing freedom rather than deny Christ—I’m reminded that faithfulness isn’t measured by speed of rescue but by the nearness of Jesus. He wept at a graveside. He stands with the wounded. He is not theoretical help; he is present help.

The world can overwhelm you. Christ has overwhelmed the world. Whether the road is seventy years or seven minutes, you are not walking it alone.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Bad news is unescapable; peace is offered. We don’t grow by denying reality but by facing it with Jesus’ words in our bones. He tells us up front that trouble is part of a faithful life, so we won’t confuse pain with abandonment. Peace isn’t the absence of storms; it’s the settled assurance of his presence in them. That is how courage is born. [10:29]
• 2. God is planning while you pray. Our prayers often name today’s need; God is already arranging tomorrow’s provision. He stirs unseen allies, opens quiet doors, and funds work we hadn’t imagined because he is thinking and talking about us. Hope deepens when we realize his planning doesn’t wait on our perfect asking—it flows from his perfect care. Trust that invisible kindness. [16:07]
• 3. Presence beats quick fixes and timelines. Jesus didn’t rush to prevent every loss, but he never failed to enter the pain. At Lazarus’s tomb, the first miracle was not resuscitation but tears—God with us in grief. When deliverance delays, the companionship of Christ is not a consolation prize; it is the greater gift that keeps us whole. Love stays when outcomes wobble. [29:24]
• 4. Seek the city’s good amid exile. Jeremiah called God’s people to build, plant, marry, and pray for the place that hurt them. Faithfulness doesn’t wait for ideal conditions; it blesses the ground beneath its feet. When we pursue a community’s shalom, God braids our welfare to theirs and teaches us to hope with our hands. Settle in; sow peace. [05:55]
• 5. Remember the persecuted as your own. Scripture asks us to feel chained as if we were chained, to suffer as if our own bodies bore it. Solidarity is more than sentiment—it is prayer that contends, advocacy that risks, and generosity that costs. Their valleys test our comfort; their courage trains our hearts. Love refuses to look away. [19:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:21] - Global family shout-outs
• [01:35] - Good news or bad news?
• [04:48] - The promise and the context
• [06:52] - Seventy years: settle and seek peace
• [09:42] - Jesus prepares us for trouble
• [11:54] - Good news is unstoppable
• [16:07] - Provision beyond what we ask
• [18:15] - Emmanuel: with you in the fire
• [21:38] - Myanmar story: courage under pressure
• [24:58] - Praying like the early church
• [29:24] - Jesus wept: presence over performance
• [31:40] - Overwhelmed world, overwhelming Christ
• [33:21] - Prayer for the overwhelmed
• [35:33] - Invitation to trust Jesus

Small Group Discussion Guide
Sermon themes: bad news first, God’s plans while we pray, presence over quick fixes, settle and seek the city’s good, remember the persecuted, Jesus with us in suffering.

Bible reading (ESV)
- Jeremiah 29:4–11
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

- John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

- Hebrews 13:3–5
Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Observation questions (look carefully at the text and the sermon)

1. What concrete commands does Jeremiah give the exiles in 29:4–7? Which of those commands are ordinary daily actions (not spectacular miracles)?
2. In Jeremiah 29:10–11, what comes first: the difficult timeline (seventy years) or the promise of plans for welfare and hope? What does that ordering communicate?
3. In John 16:33 what two realities does Jesus put side-by-side about life in the world? What phrase is offered as the Christian response to trouble?
4. The preacher told a story about believers in Myanmar who refused to renounce Christ and suffered as a result. What did he ask his church to do in response to that suffering? [20:44]

Interpretation questions (third-person, specific, leading toward application)

1. How should Jeremiah’s instruction to “seek the welfare of the city” reframe a believer’s priorities while living in a place that feels like exile (whether literal or relational)?
2. John says, “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world.” How does this shape the difference between expecting instant deliverance and trusting Christ’s presence amid delay? [11:54]
3. Hebrews commands believers to “remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them.” What kinds of concrete burdens or responsibilities does that language imply for a local church?
4. The preacher contrasted quick, prosperity-first promises with the Bible’s rhythm of honest bad news followed by God’s greater promise. What should a church look for to distinguish faithful pastoral hope from false, simplistic “everything‑will‑be‑fixed-now” messages? [07:19]

Application questions (specific, personal, tangible)

1. Jeremiah told the exiles to build, plant and seek the city’s welfare. Identify one concrete thing you can do in the next month to “build” or “plant” in your neighborhood or workplace (examples: help a neighbor repair, join a local school board, start a small service project). How will you begin?
2. The preacher said God is planning while people pray and that “silent” people or gifts often arrive without the sufferers even asking. Who might God be arranging around someone you know? Name one person, group, or resource you can invite or help connect to that need this week. [16:07]
3. The sermon invited anyone who feels overwhelmed to pray, “I trust you,” and to be honest before God. Is there a current area where you feel overwhelmed? State that area plainly and name one small next step (call a friend, schedule a counseling visit, arrange one hour of Sabbath) you will take this week to invite Jesus into that space. [34:28]
4. Hebrews 13 calls for remembering prisoners. Which persecuted person or group will you commit to pray for regularly? What practical action will you take this month to support them (specific donation, write an encouraging letter, contact an advocacy group, keep them on your weekly prayer list)? [24:58]
5. Jesus wept at Lazarus’s tomb—presence before performance. Think of one person in your life who is grieving or stuck. How will you “be with” them in the next seven days (visit, bring a meal, sit quietly for 30 minutes), deliberately choosing presence over offering immediate fixes? [29:24]
6. The preacher warned against faith taught as instant wealth or guaranteed quick fixes. Have you ever been tempted to believe or repeat a “quick-fix” spiritual promise? How will you evaluate future teaching: name two questions you will ask before accepting a bold claim (example questions: “Is this promise scriptural and contextually supported?” “Does this encourage dependence on Christ’s presence if the outcome is delayed?”). [07:19]

Use these questions in your group time to move from understanding the texts to honest sharing and concrete next steps. Spend time in prayer for those you name and for the persecuted, the exiled, and the overwhelmed among us.