The Gifts of Christmas: The Gift of Joy, 12/14/14

Sermon 12-14-14 the gifts of Christmas - The gift of joy  Romans 5:1-8 NIV

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

introduction

The gifts of Christmas

Week three: the gift of joy

Why this scripture.  Not really a Christmas one? It is joyful – to me.

Because real joy is a spiritual thing

One of my favorites.

1.   While we were still sinners Christ died……

2.   We have a hope- the love of god is spread out in our hearts

Last week we talked about love

Today lets talk about joy

List of joys of Christmas

Joy to the world

Mary pondered a new baby

When the wise men saw the star they rejoiced with great joy

While sheperds watched their flocks by nite glad tidings told an angel bright

How great their joy

Christmas is full of joy

Christianity is full of joy Gal 5²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.

Spirituality is not measured by whether or not we get our way.

Love, joy, peace, patience

Happiness vs. joy

The difference between happiness and joy

Happiness is dependent on circumstances

Mary and the baby……….

Mary is 9 months pregnant.  She has been riding a donkey for days, she is engaged to a poor man, she is about to give birth in a stable.  Nothing joyful about this.

The baby is the son of God

Joy is found by those who find something deeper to trust.  Something that transcends how its going

The shepherds saw the baby and went back to their old life……
 glorifying and praising God
the wise men saw the baby and started their long journey back - rejoicing with exceeding great joy

Mary pondered all of these things

Joy is a very deeply spiritual thing

1.   While we were still sinners Christ died……

2.   We have a hope- the love of god is spread out in our hearts

Happy = short term

Joy = deeply significant

I got kissed- short term

What it means- I am loved, deeply significant

Joy runs much deeper.

It can be accompanied by good circumstances, but it is something you can have regardless of circumstances.

The twins at ChristmasA family had two sons. One was an optimist, the other an incurable pessimist. To see whether this was due to heredity or environment, the parents decided to perform an experiment. They placed the pessimist in a room full of brand new toys and left him there for half an hour. Then they left the optimist in the garage, where they had just unloaded a dump truck of horse manure.

Thirty minutes later they opened the door to the first room and saw their son crying his eyes out in the corner. “What’s the matter,” cried the mother, “can’t you see all those wonderful toys?” “Yes,” the boy replied, “but if I play with the Yo-Yo over there it might cut off the circulation in my finger, and if I play with that skateboard I might fall off and scrape my knee, and if I play with that football it might hit me in the eye!”

Then the parents went out to the garage to check on their other son. When they opened the door they saw him digging through the horse manure in an ecstasy of joy and delight. “What in the world are you doing?” exclaimed the surprised father. The boy looked up at his parents and, with a big smile, said, “I just know there’s a pony in here somewhere!”

Lavonne

Wow, if people had any idea what you have had to live through

No, I would love to tell people about the things that I have had the joy of experiencing in life

Joy is much talked about…..
Few people actually have it

Turn up the heat and you will see who is grounded in faith and who is depending on the circumstances of life

It is not measured immediately

You might not leave church today ecstatic w joy

We all have our moments

Sanctification is a process

My trip to lowes yesterday………

Lets talk about some pictures of  joy.

I was invited to an open house.  Someone wanted me

At the open house they acted excited to see me

That feels good, way down deep.

Pets can bring you joy.

We have two cats, cats are about themselves

But a good dog………..

My daughter has a new dog.  G-dog.  George.

We end up watching him a lot.

When I call his name he runs to me like I am the greatest thing in the world.

When you know you are loved, it feels very joyful

catching up with an old friend…….

restoring a broken relationship

When you are lost and found

Alli comes home from Chicago

Becky and pam Dittmer meet us at the airport

Royals in the wildcard game

Something is going my way

Something of deep significance

How to find joy

We find joy when we stop wanting stuff……..

Shoes and tvs, but also to stop wanting things to go our way

some things we manage, some things are out of our control

we would like to be the boss of the world

this allows us to see the good and rest in the good that is here around us

and when we see the good that is, we can be grateful…….

Thankfulness is such a joyful thing

Conclusion

Bill belcher is dying.

A good man.  A Christian man.  He knew where he was going.

Many talk s about faith

Even in the pain of losing a loved one, there is a joy for a life well lived.

The joy is a release.  A release from worldy affairs.

Remember the treasure in the field mt 13

Joy is like a treasure in the field………waiting for you to find it

Joy is A launch! We are in! accepted among the brethren.  Shepherds were in.  joy to the world.  Eyes leak at the thought of being accepted.  Gold frankinsense and mud.  God accepts our mud.  Joy propels us to live as new people.

Finally let me speak of joy in Christ.

Life is up, life is down, life is whatever……………

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Joy

Possibly the  greatest source of joy in live is to be accepted and loved by that person that is most significant to you

if you are a child and you are in trouble, to be welcomed by mom or dad

if you have had a hard day at work and you go home and your wife loves you.

Nothing better than that.

At Christmas, God our father, the most significant one, tells us that we are loved, for he has sent his son into the world to love us, forgive us and die for us….

We are all looking for that thing.  The fountain of youth.  The buried treasure.  When the Christmas story sinks in, we find that we have a smile, not only on our face but also deep within our hearts.  The brokenness is resolved.  We know why we are here.  we rise from the Christmas experience with lives that are full.