The Joy Of Christmas

The Joy of Christmas

Thesis: The joy of Christmas is found in the baby Jesus. He is the only source that can produce lasting joy in our lives. Joy is therefore a choice and it centers on our willingness to choose to surrender ourselves to Jesus or not. This is the great gift exchange program of John 3:16.

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.”

Introduction:

Dr. Wilt from The Joyful Noise Letter Dec. 2003 edition stated: “What is joy? It is one of the most important things in the whole universe. C.S. Lewis called it “The serious business of Heaven.” Joy marks the difference between existence and life. Its presence upgrades survival to being. Joy is our enjoyment of God and the good things that come from God…”

"Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."--Mother Teresa

Joy is found by looking at it’s letters J.O.Y. -- Jesus Offers You the gift of eternal life which therefore brings joy to your hearts and lives. Your part is to accept His gift and then give Him a gift back which is your life. This is the great gift exchange program of John 3:16. Jesus freely gives to us and we in exchange freely give back to Him.

Proverbs 10:28: “The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.”

CHRISTMAS SURVEY

What do people believe about the birth of Christ? A few days ago Newsweek Magazine conducted a poll asking some questions about Christ and His birth.* Here are some of the results:

67% - believe that the entire story of Christmas is historically accurate

24% - believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention

If Jesus had never born, people believed there would be:

63% - less charity

61% - less kindness

59% - less personal happiness

58% - less tolerance

47% - more war (16% say less, 26% say the same)…

SOURCE: Brian Mavis, SermonCentral.com. Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6653824/site/newsweek/

* For this NEWSWEEK Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed by telephone 1,009 adults, aged 18 and older on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Contributed to Sermon Central by: SermonCentral PRO

We are to receive joy at this time of the year. We as Christians are to dispense joy at this time of the year. Yet for many today this time of the year brings no joy only more stress. It brings more busyness-more debt-more depression. So where is the joy

The Paradox of Our Time in History

The paradox of our time in history is that....

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less.

We buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We’ve added years to life, not life to years.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.

We conquered outer space, but not inner space.

We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.

We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window, and nothing in the stockroom.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you (as an e-mail), and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just shrug it off.