Eve Eve Joy
Notes
Transcript
Devo
Devo
Good evening and Merry Christmas eveyone it is such a joy to be with you this evening. It’s been a really great night and we are so excited to get to celeberate the birth of Christ with you tonight
Tonights been great already. We’ve sung about Joy and I want to spend the next fedw moments talking with you about joy at Christmas time
joy is different from happiness. It’s a feeling and expression of the inner celebration and satisfaction of the soul that transcends circumstances
Cs Lewis the writer of great childrens books called joy an “unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction”
and it’s joy that the christmas story and really the story of the bible invites you and I into
it’s the overlow of life and stability inside despite the choas outside
and it’s at times we sense this to be true. There is a reality that Christmas invites us into that says no matter what is happening in the world right now. No matter how choatic everything feels Christmas reminds me on a particalur time, on a prticiular night, in a specific place God came in the form of a little baby he took on flesh he truly became God with us and that brings the most joy
Luke tells us when Jesus was born their where shepherds watching sheep and all of a sudden an agnel appeared. The shephards were filled with great fear at this
but the angel said “fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people”
and here was the news that day in the city of King david a soviour was born who is Christ the Lord
The angel was saying no matter the choas in this moment I bring you this transfomrational news that will change you from the inside out. Christ is born and his birth will change everything
and then all of a sudden almost in a moment of joy we are told thousands of angels praise God and say glory to God in the highest and peace maong those with whom he is pleased!
joy at christmas
IN matthews gospel we are told wise men were searching for the saviour and then out of no where a star rose and went befre them to show them were the saviour was born
and when the saw the star they rejocied exeedingly with great joy
they realized their was a stability that the birth of a baby was going to bring the world and they were let in on htis good news!
once they got to the house they feel down and worship the baby and laid down thier treasures in front of him
joy at christmas
and then throuhgout the new testemenat we see this them of joy found in Jesus.
when he was encouraging those who would follow him near the end of his life and telling them in the same way the father had loved him he has loved them
he told them the reason I even tell you this is so my joy may be in you and your joy might be full
that’s how we have joy at christmas
Paul prayers the god of hope would fill us will all joy
we are told the fruit of the spirit is joy
we are told to rejoices always
and when we face trails on the outside on the inside we can count it all joy.
even the kingdom of God is described in romans not as eating or drinking but one of rightousenss, peace and joy in the Holy spirit
so the question is how do we actaully repeat the sounding the joy christmas
I think its by joining what believers have done for generations and I think hebrews 12 helps us with that
Read
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
how do we have joy at Christmas. We fix our eyes on Jesus he is the founder he is the perfector of our faith
and it was joy that was before him that he went to the cross
and the way we have deep joy at christmas is we don’t take our eyes of the joy of the cradle or the cross
the cradle reminds us that God is with us
and the cross reminds us that God loves us
and it’s when those 2 realities meet with have joy at christmas. No matter what’s happening on the outside we have an inner joy that is good mediceince for our souls
let’s pray
