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If you could capture in an image what the Christian’s life like is with God, what image might you choose? This sermon will suggest in closing that it is the image of a light-hearted person. Why? It is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus that we receive the gifts of rejoicing, prayer, and gratitude. These three gifts combined give the Christian the ability to entrust their entire life to God.
Joy is a powerful feeling. Too many times though we fail to understand just how powerful it can be. Too many times this causes our joy to function as a bubble coming off a bubble wound that pops at the least disturbance. What if joy could be larger and stronger and tougher? What if we could experience joy all the time everywhere? This is a sermon that empowers that to happen.
Christians tend to be drawn based on their giftedness to one of two places: feelings of self-loathing or feelings of superiority. Both of these responses to our giftedness make us self-conscious and - for different reasons - cause the rest of the Body of Christ to suffer. This sermon seeks to remove both sets of feelings from the listener and, finally, to lead the listener to their identity in Christ and the joy of self-forgetting.
Humans are created to love. That is our God-given design. That is what we were always meant to do. To love. Even social science has finally noticed that about us calling humanity existential sharks. Why? Even science has to come to see that humans are always trolling in their lives for the next thing to love. We follow our hearts and seek to fill them. It’s what we do. Our hearts will be filled. The only question is by what. John here makes sure our hearts are filled the only saving way. Listen in!
Easter didn't quite do it for John. It didn't quite top him off emotionally. That's an interesting and amazing concept for Christians because Christians know that the main point of Christianity is inner joy - joy that we can have even now - and John, Jesus' own apostle, is saying here that he didn't yet have in full measure what Jesus rose to give him. What was missing for John? People. This is a sermon that attempts to show how a Christian can have complete joy through having "real" people in their lives even now. Listen in.
