Advent Message Series – All I Want For Christmas – Part 3 – JOY

Message Aim: Third Sunday of Advent

 Sermon Series:  All I Want for Christmas – Part 3

 Sermon Title:    “Joy”

 Scripture:   Luke 2:9-11 (NIV)

^{9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.}

Message Synopsis:

 For the 3^rd Sunday of Advent we celebrate Christmas Joy! There’s a difference between happiness and joy: Happiness we can try to achieve. Joy, we can only receive. “Do you have Joy, today?” Joy is an expression of God’s free grace.

From our scripture lesson, we read:  “…the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy’…”  (Luke 2:10). There are so many good reasons for us to be afraid in the world at the moment, and there are so many things that are out there just waiting to steal our happiness. But the world can’t steal or take away our joy.  Let me give you three good reasons for Christmas Joy this year.

First

1. The Good News of Great Joy is that THE MESSIAH HAS COME!

Jesus didn’t have to come to earth, He wanted to.  And this is good news of great joy for us today because behind it is the true message of Christmas? And the message of Christmas is this – – You really matter to God – a lot. He came for you!

Second

2. The Good News of Great Joy is that THE MESSIAH HAS COME TO SAVE.
   
   When Isaac Watts wrote the hymn “Joy to the World” in 1719, he didn’t write it as a Christmas song; he wrote it as a paraphrase of the 98th Psalm. And the 98th Psalm isn’t talking about the first coming of Christ. It’s talking about the second coming of Christ. When Jesus came the first time, the earth didn’t receive her King. But even though Isaac Watts wrote the hymn about Jesus’ second coming, it still speaks about the joy that comes from Jesus’ first coming.

Third

3. The Good News of Great Joy is that THE MESSIAH HAS COME FOR ALL.
   
   In the Bible stories about the birth of Christ, it tells about different kinds of people who were overjoyed when they came to Bethlehem to see the child. There were poor Jewish shepherds who were unclean and uneducated, and there were the rich, intelligent, Persian (non-Jewish), Magi or kings. You couldn’t get two more different levels of society. So the good news is that Christmas is for everyone. Each one of you is special. Regardless of race, income, gender, education, religion – each one of you really, really matters to God.

The Messiah came for all people …that means, Jesus came for you!  Joy is about God coming to you. It’s a gift! You can’t earn Joy. Joy is something you can only receive.

What do you have to do?   All you can do — is receive His free gift of forgiveness and salvation!