Joy takes center stage at Christmas. We sing Joy to the World, we call it a season of joy and we celebrate the night when an angel of the Lord brought shepherds “good news of great joy.” What is joy? John Piper rightly says, “According to the Bible joy is a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ through his word and his world.” On this 4th Sunday of Advent we consider 3 reasons, revealed in Psalm 98 and verse 4 of Joy to the World, why beholding Christ awakens joy in us. If there is room for more joy in your soul today, these Jesus-exalting realities may be just what you need.
Sermons by Dean Wertz (Page 27)
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s arrive with many reminders that things are not as they should be. Relational tension, loss of a loved one, loneliness, inner struggles and conflict in the world around us are all causes for grief. The title and focus of this message comes from the truth declared in verse 1 of Joy to the World by Isaac Watts, who knew his share of pain. 300 years ago, Watts discovered the truths in Psalm 98 and wrote Joy to the World intending to direct his generation to the glorious and triumphant coming of our Lord. This message will encourage you to prepare Him room and avail yourself to His joy this Advent season and beyond.
When we listen to a child we love a child, when we listen to our neighbor we love our neighbor. Similarly, Jesus said when we listen to Him we love Him. Is there an area of life that is He asking you to listen to Him so that with His Spirit’s help you can walk accordingly in a way that will reveal that you love Him?
When does God speak? Where does God speak? Beyond His artwork and His writing, how does God speak? In I Kings 18 & 19, we discover that God speaks loudly through fire and softly through silence. A careful reading of the whole Bible reveals that His voice reverberates throughout the universe. So, in this message we are encouraged by stories from those who are learning to listen to God and we discover how we can receive renewed ears to hear His voice everyday everywhere.
How can we hear God’s voice? We now come to the point in our series where we begin to explore some of the ways God speaks, beginning today with His creation. In this message, we are encouraged and equipped to tune our ears and eyes to God’s artwork in creation which speaks every day, everywhere to everyone.
As we learned last week, God’s voice is the most powerful, transforming force in the universe. Yet, with so many distractions in our world today, His voice can appear muffled or non existent. In this message we are encouraged and equipped to take time to acknowledge and address the distractions in order to become still as we prepare to hear His voice.
Does God speak to us today? How you answer this question will set your life on one of two paths. In this message we explore some of the ways God’s voice has been heard in the past and we consider the possibility that everyone (young and old, spiritually disconnected and spiritually mature) has the ability to hear God’s voice because Jesus is a King who speaks yesterday, today and forever.
Unlike most rulers, Jesus did not have security guards to shield him from the people. Rather, He came low to bend His ear and share His words with ordinary people. A man with diseased skin, a woman with fever, violent homeless men and a grieving father all received visit, experienced a conversation and were changed by Jesus. In this message we discover that the One who is exalted at the Father’s right hand still comes near, converses with and can change our lives forever.
Today we begin a new series entitled, Listening to God: The Way of Jesus in a Distracting World. In our noisy world it can be difficult to sustain attentiveness to anyone or anything. Yet, the way of Jesus is the way of listening to God and others. Throughout His life, Jesus remained in tune with the voice of His Father. So, all of us who have signed on to be His apprentices can learn from Him how to hear God’s voice in the midst of a busy and distracting world.
Why does Jesus call us to follow Him and abide in Him? Some people assume we should follow Jesus so we can be with God when we die. While this is a significant part of a disciple’s hope, Jesus has a vision for our days between when we become His disciples and when we breath our last breath. He summons us to follow Him in order to give us a purpose. The reason He calls us to follow and abide is so He can work in and through us as we join Him on His mission to love and serve our hurting world (i.e. become “fishers of men”). He empowers all of His disciples to pray, to serve and to testify wherever we go so that His kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Now that’s discipleship. That’s living!