What if joy isn’t something you manage… but something you abide in?

In Week 3 of our Advent series, we turn to Luke 2:8–20 and the story of the shepherds—men who were no strangers to sacrifice, loss, and longing. These were not ordinary shepherds. By the work of their hands, they had spent their lives tending lambs meant to temporarily cover sin. But on that night outside Bethlehem, they beheld the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world forever.

This message confronts a common misconception: that joy is found in comfort, ease, or fleeting moments of happiness. The joy the world offers leaks away—but God-given joy is eternal. True joy flows from the revelation of how broken we once were and the overwhelming grace that made us whole again.

Through Jesus’ parables in Luke 15, we see the heart of God—a Shepherd who refuses to leave one sheep behind, a Woman who searches relentlessly for one lost coin, a Father who runs toward his lost son. Their celebration wasn’t performance; it was the physical expression of hearts made whole again.

For the joy of restored fellowship with humanity, Jesus endured the cross—canceling every accusation, erasing every record of sin, and securing everlasting wholeness for us.

Joy is not: • Constant happiness • Emotional excitement • The absence of pain

Joy is: • Abiding union with God • Wholeness of the inner life • Rested delight in God Himself

As Psalm 16:11 declares, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.”

This sermon reminds us: true joy reaches fullness not when life feels right, but when our lives are rightly aligned in the presence of God.