Advent--Joy & Jesus

Advent--Joy

Joy is not determined by location

Joy is not determined by the size of your bank account.

Joy is not defined by circumstances, nor is it manufactured by a sheer act of will.

Joy comes from God—if God were not here, active and present in this world—all joy would cease.

Joy to the World occurs because God gives it in the fact that “The Lord Is Come”

Isaiah 12:6--Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

Joy is a gift from God and does not come naturally to us. It is a product of restored relationship and is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit—

Galatians 5:22—“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.”

The Joy of Restored Relationship to God is at the heart of Christmas.

Luke 2:10-11—“But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Jesus came bringing Joy and desires to give it generously to His people. Jesus Himself takes joy at seeing a vibrant and growing faith in us.

John 15:11—“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Joy to the World, The Lord Is Come

Rejoice in the Lord Always, I say again Rejoice.

JUDE 1:24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Advent--Jesus

Dear Jesus,

Tomorrow we celebrate Your birthday. Your birthday isn’t about receiving, it is about giving. You gave up your claim to omnipotence, Your omnipresence, and accepted the role of a servant, of a lowly human being. You are not ashamed to call us your brothers and sisters.

This wasn’t the end of your giving, it was just the beginning—You willingly gave Your life to purchase our freedom—freedom from sin, freedom from death, freedom from the dominion of evil and darkness and brought us into the kingdom of light.

You have left your throne in heaven and celebrated your birthday with us. Thank you Jesus for accomplishing the task the Father sent you for—saving Your people from their sins.

· Thank You for being my Wonderful Counselor

· Thank You for being my Mighty God,

· Thank You for being my Everlasting Father

· Thank You for being my Prince of Peace.

Advent--Love

· The capacity to love and be loved is one of the greatest aspects of humanity being created in the image of God. God is love—it is His nature. Love by its nature desires to be shared and not hoarded. The more capacity for love, the greater desire to share it with more.

· God’s love is infinite and so He desires to share His love with everyone. John 3:16--"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

· Love must be freely given or it is not true love—that’s why the Baby born in Bethlehem is an expression of God’s love—it was a demonstration of Giving.

· Love is also Sacrificial and expresses value—giving love costs something for the giver—what and how love is given demonstrates the importance of what is loved to the giver. Not only did God give His “One & Only Son”, but God gave His life for those He loved. John 15:13--Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

· Love does not keep its distance but comes running for an embrace. Love is the foundation of true and lasting relationship—“Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

· A relationship founded on freely given, sacrificial love is not in it for the short term—but the long term—and God’s love desires to be eternal. Love is not just spoken words and empty promises. Love is and requires action—that’s why God SENT His Son. God didn’t just talk about love—He proved His love one late night in Bethlehem.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8--Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.

Advent--Week 1--Hope

Hope for the Advent Season is about Expectation and Anticipation—Biblical Hope is knowing that God is about to do something special and wanting to have a front row seat for when it does. Just as the world Mocked Noah for building the Ark before the flood waters came, so others mocked faithful & hopeful Jews like Simeon and Anna—who waited in expectation in the Temple for the arrival of the Messiah—so too do some scoff at our Hope in the Return of Christ—but our hope is based on Who God is and His Promise—not on what we see.

Hebrews 11:1-- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

John 8:56-58—“ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." JN 8:57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" JN 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

Romans 15:4-- For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Romans 15:13-- 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.