Sermon On Joy Market Street ( A memory care facility in Tarpon Springs, FL)
December 1 2019
Welcome the church that meets at Market Street.
Review gift of the Holy Spirit and who the church is.
Talk about the woman at the well.
Discuss again and we have the gift of the Holy Spirit and we truly are the church we get the fruit of the Spirit who lives in us.
PRAYER:
Read : Gal. 5: 16-18 & 22-26
Searched online for things that bring us joy. Almost everything I found was written by women so I think things that bring them joy WOULD NOT bring us men any joy! But I did find one list written by a man
Here is what I found:
The men’s list:
1. Sitting at home with my family gathered around, eating good food and talking or playing a game or just goofing off.
2. Hearing my wife laugh and giggle.
3. Finding a well-made movie with an actual moral point, something that contains a message of decency or courage, honesty or perserverance.
4. Swimming. Hiking. Escaping to nature.
5. Gratitude: I find the trait of gratitude in others to be an extremely attractive quality..
6. Sitting down with a well-written, thoughtful or inspiring book:
7. Coming home to excited shouts of, “Yay! Daddy’s home.
8. Simple Human Decency: People doing good to strangers inspires me and fills me with hope and joy.
9. Writing …
10. Inspiration and Epiphanies. From others. From Above. Insight. The “a-ha” moments in life. I just deeply enjoy those light bulb, sudden realization moments.
11. Hearing my daughter play piano or sing,
12. Reading wonderful comments.
13. Playing piano … sometimes.
14. Playing guitar … always.
15. Going to church. Just love it. The community of like-minded people. The mutual encouragement. The religious and moral instruction. The contemplation. The weekly reminder that life has meaning and purpose in an ultimate sense, that there is reason behind it all and a reason we all are, that there’s a clockmaker behind the clock.
16. Hearing a good sermon
17. Children.
18. Buying a new book.
19. Discovering a new blog I really like.
20. Learning something new
21. Get-togethers at my brother’s place with the larger extended family
22. Rain. Perhaps oddly, I love the rain. It’s cool. It’s refreshing. It smells good
23. My garden.
24. Simple and (usually) healthy food
25. Friends..
27. Listening to great music.
28. Snuggling up on the couch with my wife.
29. Hugs.
30. Seeing progress toward my goals
31. Teaching.
The woman’s List:
101 Things That Bring Me Joy ::
1. hearty laughter.
2. cheering my team to victory.
3. Beethoven’s Pathetique.
4. waking up to snow.
5. seeing a full moon in a clear sky.
6. still being able to smile at the end of a long, difficult day.
7. playing piano without having to think about what I’m playing.
8. potlucks.
9. being reminded that not all of the wonderful men in the world are married.
10. creating something.
11. listening to an amazing pianist play my piano.
12. vanilla ice cream with strawberries.
13. comfortable new shoes.
14. the honk of Canadian geese.
15. Tevas.
16. feeling well again after being sick.
17. Sunday lunch invitations.
18. delicious fresh fruit.
19. line-dried sheets.
20. sunshine after many cloudy days.
21. seeing a meteor.
22. stimulating conversation.
23. making a brand new recipe that turns out to be amazing.
24. the change of seasons.
25. eggs.
26. coming up with a surprisingly creative idea.
27. a huge, cushy bed.
28. adorable, talkative, excited children.
29. ceremonies that involve gowns (weddings, graduations).
30. hilarious people whose emails make me laugh out loud.
31. donating blood.
32. freshly painted walls.
33. being right.
34. a good backrub.
35. four-part harmony (or five or six…).
36. clear blue sky on a crisp fall day.
37. reconnecting with old friends.
38. things that make sense.
39. certain single men.
40. discounts, coupons, sales, and free things!
41. comments on my blog.
42. finishing a complicated report!
43. hearing that two wonderful people are engaged.
44. whistling.
45. learning to play the hammered dulcimer.
46. walking on crunchy leaves.
47. hitting all green lights when I’m in a hurry.
48. getting lost in a good book.
49. seeing a Cuban immigrant at the grocery store… and knowing her name.
50. realizing I didn’t make a huge blunder after all.
51. a good compliment.
52. getting into a sun-warmed car on a chilly day.
53. feeling beautiful.
54. accents.
55. getting the answers I need.
56. going to bed early.
57. remembering that I am loved with an Everlasting Love.
58. writer’s UN-block
59. aha moments.
60. knowing that I made a wise decision.
61. being caught up after getting behind.
62. successfully doing a new thing.
63. hope.
64. waking up and realizing that there’s still another hour ’til my alarm will go off.
65. finally doing something that has been hanging over my head.
66. walking in a winter wonderland.
67. finishing another semester of classes.
68. seeing the world encased in ice.
69. long-overdue reconciliation.
70. the miracle of conception and birth.
71. adorable aprons for adorable little boys.
72. my storybook address.
73. hearing Bible Quizzers answer questions correctly.
74. a Thursday afternoon epiphany.
75. the perfect color of lipstick.
76. discovering that my evening class has been canceled.
77. royal blue.
78. second dates.
79. finding the courage to do a difficult thing.
80. yellow crocuses.
81. leaving my coat at home.
82. a good soaking rain.
83. smooth, shaven legs.
84. good posture.
85. losing weight on purpose.
86. a super-soft shirt.
87. wonderfully busy weekends.
88. colorful birds against a dreary gray sky.
89. daylight savings time.
90. being myself.
91. learning from my mistakes.
92. a warm welcome.
93. the smell of freshly mown grass.
94. shrimp with Old Bay seasoning.
95. curtains blowing in the breeze.
96. a rainbow in a dark sky.
97. working up a good sweat.
98. naps.
99. class (the kind you have, not the kind you attend).
100. lightening bugs.
101. reminiscing.
It was interesting that the men’s list had only 31 items and the woman’s list well it had 101 items.
All the things on these lists sound real nice and they are Not bad things, they are good things, and they might be in and of themselves GREAT when life is good. They are all a source of fleeting and temporary joy.
But how do we find a constant joy?
If Jesus words are true when he says “in this world you will have trouble” and Jesus does not lie than how do we find joy when your Mama falls and breaks her pelvis? How do we find joy when we lose someone we love? How do we find joy when we get the papers that our spouse is divorcing us? How do we find joy, when we don’t have the money to pay the bills? Or we are homeless and hungry, wet and cold? How do we find joy when the Dr. says its cancers and time is short?
How do we do it?
We get the answer from Paul, Silas and the Phillipian jailer.
In Acts chapter 16 (paraphrase the story)
On the way to a place of prayer
Slave girl possessed by a demon could predict the future. Followed them many days shouting these men are servants of the most high God and are telling you the way to be saved.
Paul was troubled the Scripture tells us and commanded the demon to depart using the most powerful name under heaven and earth.
Long story short the slave girl can no longer predict the future-because astrology and fortune telling come from the devil.
Her owners are going to lose a ton of money so they seize Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the magistrates
They were stripped and beaten, this was not an ordinary spanking-this was a flogging that rips flesh from the body
They were thrown into prison with their legs in the stocks in severe excruciating pain I am sure.
Now listen to this: Acts 16: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
Can we find joy in a sunset, or playing the piano or eating a BBQ sandwich sure, sure we can, but that won’t bring us joy when your mama falls and breaks a hip, or the doctor says its cancer, or you lose the love of your life.
How could Paul and Silas sing and pray after receiving a beating that could have killed them?
They lived by the Sprit and had that fruit of the Spirit Joy.
Because of that same Spirit they did not try to escape to save their own lives they preached the gospel to the jailer and he and his entire family were saved that night.
Now we see in v 34 the jailer is filled with joy too, because he and his family have the holy Spirit indwelling them too.
Faith and trust in Jesus Christ is the only way to have joy as we suffer in the world.
I close with these words from James Jesus’ half brother1: 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything
Church the most important choice we can ever make is to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and when we do, and we join His Spirit in maturing us we will focus on eternity and not on this world. Someday church, we will all live without any tears, without any pain or suffering. The 2nd most important thing we can do is lead others to Christ and tell them why we can take a beating and still pray and sing!
True joy is found living in those who know Jesus NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE FACING!
Choose Christ!
Let’s pray
