“Scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10). We cannot continue long in anything without it. Women endure childbirth because the joy of motherhood lies on the other side. Young married couples struggle through the first difficult years of adjustment because they value the insurance of a life long together. Parents hold steady through the teen years, knowing that their children will emerge at the other end human once again… Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Often I am inclined to think that joy is the motor, the thing that keeps everything else going.” —Richard Foster
Title: Joy is the
Joy is an
of
and well-being.
Luke 1:39-45; 2:8-11; 10:21; 24:50-53
Joy never comes from
.
Isaiah 8:19-22
We try to have joy without Jesus by looking to
We try to have joy without Jesus by turning to
Isaiah 9:2-6
Joy is only possible through the
“When our brain looks for joy and does not find it, we become vulnerable to ‘pseudo-joys.’ These are substances and experiences that trick our brain to temporarily shut off the unpleasant emotions, but they are nonrelational and ultimately unsatisfying. Joy substitutes can appear on the surface to be normal things, like food, social media, and shopping. The more obvious pseudo-joys are alcohol, drugs, sugar, and porn. Low-joy cultures will see an increase in these pseudo-joy addictions. Increasing our joy will naturally calm our cravings for psuedo-joys, and building joy should be an integrated part of any addiction group.” —Michel Hendricks, The Other Half of Church, p. 65
Your capacity for joy is found in the trifecta of:
,
, and
.
John 15:9-11; Psalm 112:5-8
3 STAGES OF JOY
Stage 1: We reap joy when we sow
.
Stage 2: We experience joy when we
for God’s kingdom.
Stage 3: We are full of joy when we
in God’s love.
At Passion Creek, our deepest desire is for you to experience the deepest joy.