Advent: Joy-full life
Advent 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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A Joy-FULL Life.
A Joy-FULL Life.
When was the last time laughter filled your dinner table? When was the last time you were brimming with joy, and couldn’t stop smiling? What is one memory you always recall and giggle as you do? Is it time to make merry memories again?
Joy is something that causes us to react physically in some way - smile, laughter, high-fives, hugs, fists bumps, even leaping!
Luke 1:39-45
Luke 1:39-45
Joy arrives with the Holy Spirit given by Jesus.
Joy arrives with the Holy Spirit given by Jesus.
“Cynicism is killing our nation. It’s destroying our hearts. It’s putting us in a place where we cannot appreciate the joy that comes from this good news we have been given. But God has an antidote to cynicism—his presence, his redemption, and his fullness of joy. When we take time to celebrate, whether personally or communally, we are bringing the glory of God into the brokenness of the world around us. We’re accurately representing the God we serve and offering tangible grace to the world. As Paul so perfectly wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). May celebration overflow in your life and resist the cynicism we face today.” - Jon Tyson, Beautiful Resistance
Joy comes from surrendering to God and inviting His Spirit to fill you and the Son to redeem you.
celebrate spiritual birthdays by recounting all God has done in your life for that year.
when were you reborn?
John tells us that Jesus is the WORD made flesh among us, bringing joy to our world.
illus: Joy to World Song.
Joy is found in Jesus’ arrival.
Joy is to be blessed.
Blessed = Happy
happiness happens to you, joy comes from within you because of Holy Spirit.
Psalm 1
Psalm 1
Joy comes from being in the right relationship.
Joy comes from being in the right relationship.
others and God
Joy is found with people of God, not in isolation…(see 1 Thess 3)
- paul continuall writes about joy shared from being together.
Joy only comes when i’m living my best, unrestrained life. Denying no pleasure.
Christians are not fun…
Joy is found in godliness not godlessness.
pseudo happiness or shallow joy….artificial attempts to grab joy and blessing on our own terms (see 1 Thess 4)
Kingdom living (mt 5) brings the King’s joy.
Righteousness, peace, & joy in Holy SPIRIT…time to reclaim celebration.
Joy grows where people know they are safe, loved, and known.
there is joyful, playful, and endearing element that naturally arises in those moments.
illus: my kids..telling stories and laughing. it’s a form of sitting with gratitude.
“OUR BRAIN NEEDS fuel to run properly. The fuel that our brains were intended to run on is joy. Very simply, joy is what you experience when you can see in another person’s face and eyes that they are happy to be with you. It is also the neurological definition of joy as presented by Dr. Allan Schore, a professor at UCLA. He is known as the Einstein of psychiatry, and as far as we know, he is not a Christian. But he discovered what God already knows: joy is the fuel on which the brain was designed to run.
Our brains have a default emotional state—the state it resides in when other emotions are not temporarily overwhelming it. In the first eighteen months of life, the default emotional state in our brains, which should be joy, is set to one of the six unpleasant emotions that the brain recognizes—sadness, fear, anger, shame, disgust, and hopeless despair. This was not a choice you made. It was set according to what was happening in your life during your infancy.
Here is the good news: we can reset our default emotional state to joy. This happens in our brains as a response to repeated exposure to a state of gratitude. Gratitude is the on-ramp for raising joy in our lives.”
The Other Half of Church, Jim Wilder & Michel Hendricks
“Modern science continues to help us understand how the brain regulates moods and emotions. It even reveals a kind of plasticity enabling our brains to change when certain behaviors are repeated. We know this is true for some forms of addiction (such as viewing pornography), but did you know this works in the area of celebration? Neurobiologists have shown that while the majority of the brain’s development stops during childhood, there is one location in the right orbital prefrontal cortex that has the ability to grow throughout your life. This has been called the “joy center.” One book’s authors observed, “When the joy center has been sufficiently developed, it regulates emotions, pain control and immunity centers; it guides us to act like ourselves; it releases neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin; and it is the only part of the brain that overrides the main drive centers—food and sexual impulses, terror and rage.”3 Without sufficient “joy strength,” we spend our lives trying to fill the deficit.”
You cannot be selfish and stingy in any healthy relationship. Make Merry for others.
2 Corinthians 9:7-9;11
2 Corinthians 9:7-9;11
Joy grows when we give to others.
Joy grows when we give to others.
Joy doesn’t come from reluctance, but freely giving
joy given begets more joy.
joy shared allows more joy to be filled in you.
joyful generosity is a required component of our ongoing apprenticeship to Jesus.
Make Merry.
How can you help make someone’s day more merry and bright this week?
God describes this joy in Numbers 6:25: “The LORD make his face shine upon you.” God commands the priests to bless people with this phrase”
Blessing of God is His joyful countenance in your direction.
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Talk it Over (with friends, a spouse, or your Group)
The message was about the Joy of The Lord. What is one idea from Sunday’s message that impacted you?
Read Luke 1:39-45. What does this passage reveal about God? What are some other things you observe in the text?
What are some Christmas songs can you think of that express themes of Joy?
Read Psalm 1. What does God’s word and godly people have to do with us having joy?
Explain the relationship between cynicism and joy? How does cynicism grow? How does one override the other?
What practical steps can we take to overcome cynicism in our lives and cultivate joy?
Have you ever celebrated your spiritual birthday? In what ways can we celebrate our spiritual birthdays to increase our joy?
Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. What are some truths you notice in this passage? What do you see are some reasons for generosity?
