Luke 2:8-20

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Philippians 4:4-5

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Rejoicing is an outward expression of the joy you have inside of you. True rejoicing comes from knowing your salvation and where you will spend eternity.

We cannot allow our joy to be contingent upon circumstances and situations that are occurring in our lives.

Create joy – artificial joy – made-up joy. Materialistic things they can have. (But it is just happiness for the moment.

Manufacture joy – Merry Christmas (Merry Christmas). Create joy within themselves. Fake it until you make it.

Momentary joy – happiness in the moment they are in. When good things are happening.

As Christians, we are to have that joy in our hearts—a contagious, courageous joy. A miraculous joy.

Happiness – an emotion based on the circumstance or situation you are in. You can be happy one moment and sad the next.

Joy – is a state of being. Joy is given to Christians by the Almighty God. It is rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ. As a Christian, we have been given the Holy Spirit and “joy” is a fruit of the Spirit along with, “love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Rejoicing is an outward expression of the joy we have within us.

Scripture Breakdown

¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 6:22-24 Jesus said,

Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.

²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

Luke 24:52,
as Jesus was being taken up into heaven…,

⁵²Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

James 1:2-3 says this about joy…

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

1 Peter 7:8 says…