Think again about McFerrin’s song. Through teamwork, and by seeing the progress that was being made, the joy of the Lord became more and more evident, and in only 52 days, the walls of Jerusalem were standing strong again. Until they tasted the drinks, they had no concept of how delightful that could be. (Sources: Morning Edition, National Public Radio (5-24-07) and Martin Mbugua (with assistance from Sharon Dorr), "Tearful gratitude by graduate who triumphed over disability," www.udel.edu, 5-26-07). by R.C. Paul gives us the key: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (emphasis added). Biblical Joy (James 1:2-4; NKJV) “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ", Then Peggy would ask the other person, "And what do you do? Towards the end of each year we often hear people use the word joy. The same way sadness is demonstrated by depression and tears. Joy is therefore a choice and it centers on our willingness to choose to surrender ourselves to Jesus or not. Explains that we can have joy even in bad situations because of trust in God, our hope in His future, and by the Holy Spirit. Want to become proficient at anything? Likewise, in the New Testament, we read that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. Then the coaches calculate not how fast the runners go, but how many competitors they pass at the end of the race, from mile two to the finish. They had a rough past, because of the exile, and their worst days were only a few weeks behind them. Be prepared that the pathway to joy will sometimes require a journey through sorrow (v. 17-22). If any one of the folks had tried to do his or her work on the wall alone, they'd have never made it. 3–5, emphasis added), and so on. Joy in the Spirit is a similar virtue to any kind of human joy, but it is elevated; it is greater than run-of-the-mill joy. They appeared to be enjoying a stroll through the woods, and though they were obviously in their retirement years, they reached us in a matter of moments. A mom's strength, like a dad's strength, is limited. They had some community distinctives. The Lord's strength, however, is perfect and complete. Please see below for details. The joy of Christmas is found in the baby Jesus. When you get to a point of total exhaustion, it's hard to keep going. 11 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Jesus Himself was called “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief ” (Isa. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13). Find support from God's people. It was a cross-stitch Janet had made that simply said, "Yes.". 5:22), which means that it is a Christian virtue. Every Valentine's Day, Tedd proposed to her. This creative Christmas sermon shows us the birth of Jesus through the eyes of an innkeeper, who was almost too busy and bothered to recieve the message of joy the tiny baby brought. Why does it work?". If Christ is in me and I am in Him, that relationship is not a sometimes experience. Illustration: Philip Yancey tells of a letter he received from a friend whose daughter, Peggie, was terminally ill. Enduring the valleys of life is nearly impossible without the life-giving fuel of joy in Christ. As the angels announced on the night of Christ’s birth, Christianity is “ news of great joy: a joy to be shared by the whole people ” (Luke 2:10). There is something about the joy in God—spiritual joy, godly joy—that is impossible to achieve without God’s Spirit working in us. We tend to think of happiness as something passive, something that happens to us and over which we have no control. For example, say you are going campin… When a minister witnesses repentance in his congregation, he rejoices that the preaching of God’s Word was not in vain. Don't you know women and men like this? Suddenly, a pair of women appeared on the horizon, coming down the trail. Every Valentine's Day, Janet would say, "No, not yet.". You wrote your book to refute that discrepancy. Christian joy cannot be confined to one’s private life. There were between 100,000 and 150,000 people who were offered the chance to return to Jerusalem, to return home - and only a fraction of the people took advantage of the offer. It was, I think, something of a mid-life denial effort. Watch this Christmas Children’s Sermon on YouTube; Browse Matthew 1:18-25 for Kids Sunday School and our Devotional on the Birth of Jesus; Don’t miss all our Christmas Bible Lesson for Kids and Christmas coloring pages The lyrics are very odd from a contemporary perspective. We're sorry, an error occurred. They had food. They realized that the Levites weren't kidding, that the day really, really was meant for celebration. Those who returned were part of a great work of God. Knowing that Janet had a gift for him, however, he decided to wait. 30:5b) and “Shout for joy to God, all the earth” (Ps. In this series, Dr. R.C. The Heavenly Joy. The two are equal. 3) Great sermons illustrate the point - The moral of any story usually leaves the most significant impression on the listener. Three hours later, we reached our goal and set up camp for the night. In particular, we often confuse joy with happiness. If Israel is a living object lesson for the entire world - and I think it is - then this is one of the most important lessons of all. But until the people actually went away and practiced joy, they didn't know it. However, we never think of happiness in this way. Series Review: One of the premises of the Bible (the theme of the series) is that there is a difference between a morally restrained heart by the power of will power and the supernatural change that the Holy Spirit gives. One of the marks of the difference between an idea and an emotion or feeling is that you don’t have immediate control over your feelings or your emotions. Would you like to learn to play the piano? The Scriptures tell us, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (Eccl. Sumner's mom had just spoken with the professor, tearfully telling her how before that meal Sumner had never eaten in public with anyone other than a family member. The root word for joy in the Greek is chara, which is closely related with the Greek charis for “grace.” Joy is both a gift of God as well as a response to the gifts of God. Even Nehemiah takes his hat off to you! One particular class assignment called for Sumner's mother to go the extra mile. The program had been transformed in the previous five years from good (top 20 in the state) to great (consistent contenders for the state championship on both the boys' and girls' teams). In a tough race? Of course, there are different types of joy and happiness. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is … But that wasn't good enough for Sumner. Fourth, it comes through faith, that is, from believing God. Explains that we can have joy even in bad situations because of trust in God, our hope in His future, and by the Holy Spirit. B But, let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” This joy is associated with faith ( Philippians 1:25 ), hope ( Romans 5:2 ; Romans 12:12 ), brotherly fellowship and sympathy ( Romans 12:15 2 Corinthians 7:13 Philippians 2:1 f ). We got the message, picked up our backpacks, and parted ways. It is involuntary. The difference between joy and happiness is substantial. How is it possible to remain joyful all the time? Practically, that means you'll put God first, in all things. Here you will find over 1800 sermon outlines, Bible studies, PowerPoint files, and gospel tracts freely available by Mark A. Copeland ().They are called "executable" because they were first distributed in an executable DOS program. The joy that the world offers is a pale imitation of the true joy … But the real emphasis? They had known a lot of discouragement, a lot of disappointment - no doubt they were really numb to the entire experience. Illustration: Tedd Kidd was five years older than Janet, finished college before her, and started to work in a city hundreds of miles from her. Ordering Christmas Gifts? Teach them to your grandchildren. Worldly Joy Is Fickle And Temporary. Christmas carolers sing songs that have phrases like joy to the world. Here's the deal. Donate Now. If that's a new idea for you, it's a great day to start the process. But joy supernaturally sustains our souls in seasons of heartache, injustice, and sorrow. This is one option, browse the sermons linked below for more ideas. Search for passages of the Bible that relate to the point of your sermon to help back it up with a biblical point of view. He opened the package and slowly peeled away the tissue paper. But war and a terrible plague had nearly decimated the entire population. It doesn't really come naturally to anyone. This is one of those biblical imperatives, and it leaves no room for not rejoicing, for Paul says Christians are to rejoice always—not sometimes, periodically, or occasionally. Over the course of two and a half years, Susan Spence scanned more than 5,000 pages of textbook material and edited the scanned text for accuracy so Sumner could effectively study. 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