Good Tidings of Great Joy

Luke 2:10

                “Joy to the world!  the Lord is come…” is a familiar hymn that is sung around Christmas time. The Bible speaks of good tidings of great joy. Is Christmas time a great joy to you? The world has sure turned it into a commercial event and giving is based on commerce and greed. How can we as Christians have that “great joy” at Christmas and every other day of the year? Let’s look a few basic steps to Joy.

Step 1              Jesus                 Luke 2:1-20

• Verse 11 – We have a Saviour, [Matt. 1:21]
• Verse 19 – She kept and pondered them in her heart, do you?
• Is Jesus something that you rejoice in daily? [1Thes.5:16] [Phil. 4:4]

Step 2              Others               1 John 1:1-4

• Illustration of soldiers during WW1 on Christmas day laying down arms and joining in hymns together.
• Christmas time opens doors to tell others, some have never heard!
• There is joy in giving to others, [Acts 20:35] it blesses you and them
• What is your motive in giving? Most of our giving is because it is expected.
• Have you ever given anomalously, or sacrificially?
• If you don’t receive great joy with step 2, revisit step 1

Step 3              Yourself             John 16:20-24

• A joy that no man can take away from you!
• Beware that you don’t give your joy away
• Symbolism over substance
• Expectations
• Helping others always makes your problems seem less [Prov.16:3]
• If you don’t receive great joy with step 3, back up to steps 1&2