Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Sorrows Into Joy
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Sorrows Into Joy
Shaun Rossi // The Gospel of John
The risen Lord Jesus will turn our sorrows into lasting joy as we look to Him in faith and prayer.
“16 A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
— John 16:16-33
Sermon OutlineI. Joy in the Last Days
“For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations. “A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They take away her wealth, And her foundations are torn down.”
— Ezekiel 30:3-4
II. Joy in Trials
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.”
— Proverbs 8:22-31
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
— Zephaniah 3:17
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
— John 1:1-3
III. Joy in Relationship with the Father
“45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
— Matthew 27:45-46
Far too easily pleased
In perhaps his most famous sermon ´, “The Weight of Glory”, C.S. Lewis Lewis, author of Chronicles of Narnia and may other wonderful books, makes a remarkable statement:
“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
— C:S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory"
“We are far too easily Pleased.” Lewis would continue on to say that not only are we “far too easily pleased” when we settle for fixing our soul’s inconsolable longing on anything other than God, but also that we’re too easily pleased if we would only see God from a distance and not soon be drawn into him. "(This, says Lewis, is the weight of glory.) What a challenge. We far too easily pleased if we find our “joy” in anything less than God and a personal relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Are you too easily pleased?
Jesus has overcome the world (v 33) & the hope for SMALL GROUP STUDYRead John 16:16-33
(Optional) IntroductionAs we begin this study on the great theme of Christian joy from our text, discuss the following the following quote from C.S. Lewis:
“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
— C.S. Lewis
What does Lewis mean when he says “we are half hearted creatures” who are “far too easily pleased”?
1. Read verses 16-22.
1. What do you think the difference is between the love, peace, and joy that Christ offers his disciples in this passage and what the world offers? What has your experience been between these?
How or why does Jesus transform the world's joy into sorrow and the believer's grief to Joy?
Does the joy that Jesus promises mean the absence of sorrow? Can joy and sorrow co-exist? What illustration does Jesus use to explain the relationship between the two?
2. What happens to you that causes a loss of focus upon Christ? How does it make you feel that your sorrow is temporary?
3. If Jesus is here in our midst, then why do we tend to place our eyes on our circumstances and problems? How does this scatter us from His love, precepts and peace?
4. Read verses 23-28.
What does it mean to you that God will hear your prayers and listen to you so you can commune with Him? How is this truth a rare and sacred privilege?
5. In C. S. Lewis’ autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he tells that before he became a Christian, when he was a seeker he experienced what he called an other worldly joy, a specific Joy that defies our modern understanding. These would come to him like pings but they would quickly leave. He would later recognize these sudden aches of longing were a deep spiritual hunger for God and not just for an intellectual knowledge of God, but for a real relationship with Him…
How is your relationship with the Father your greatest triumph and joy? How can it be more so? Or, what do you do to cultivate intimacy with the Father?
Is there correlation between periods of joylessness and neglecting our relationship with the Father?
6. What happens to you that causes a loss of focus upon Christ? How does it make you feel that your sorrow is temporary?
7. Read verse 33.
How does the fact that Christ has overcome the world so we can have peace strengthen your faith and perseverance? How can you make this more so?
Close in Prayer.
Back to Bulletin
View all episodes
By United Community ChurchShaun Rossi // The Gospel of John
The risen Lord Jesus will turn our sorrows into lasting joy as we look to Him in faith and prayer.
“16 A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
— John 16:16-33
Sermon OutlineI. Joy in the Last Days
“For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations. “A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They take away her wealth, And her foundations are torn down.”
— Ezekiel 30:3-4
II. Joy in Trials
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.”
— Proverbs 8:22-31
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
— Zephaniah 3:17
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
— John 1:1-3
III. Joy in Relationship with the Father
“45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
— Matthew 27:45-46
Far too easily pleased
In perhaps his most famous sermon ´, “The Weight of Glory”, C.S. Lewis Lewis, author of Chronicles of Narnia and may other wonderful books, makes a remarkable statement:
“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
— C:S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory"
“We are far too easily Pleased.” Lewis would continue on to say that not only are we “far too easily pleased” when we settle for fixing our soul’s inconsolable longing on anything other than God, but also that we’re too easily pleased if we would only see God from a distance and not soon be drawn into him. "(This, says Lewis, is the weight of glory.) What a challenge. We far too easily pleased if we find our “joy” in anything less than God and a personal relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Are you too easily pleased?
Jesus has overcome the world (v 33) & the hope for SMALL GROUP STUDYRead John 16:16-33
(Optional) IntroductionAs we begin this study on the great theme of Christian joy from our text, discuss the following the following quote from C.S. Lewis:
“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
— C.S. Lewis
What does Lewis mean when he says “we are half hearted creatures” who are “far too easily pleased”?
1. Read verses 16-22.
1. What do you think the difference is between the love, peace, and joy that Christ offers his disciples in this passage and what the world offers? What has your experience been between these?
How or why does Jesus transform the world's joy into sorrow and the believer's grief to Joy?
Does the joy that Jesus promises mean the absence of sorrow? Can joy and sorrow co-exist? What illustration does Jesus use to explain the relationship between the two?
2. What happens to you that causes a loss of focus upon Christ? How does it make you feel that your sorrow is temporary?
3. If Jesus is here in our midst, then why do we tend to place our eyes on our circumstances and problems? How does this scatter us from His love, precepts and peace?
4. Read verses 23-28.
What does it mean to you that God will hear your prayers and listen to you so you can commune with Him? How is this truth a rare and sacred privilege?
5. In C. S. Lewis’ autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he tells that before he became a Christian, when he was a seeker he experienced what he called an other worldly joy, a specific Joy that defies our modern understanding. These would come to him like pings but they would quickly leave. He would later recognize these sudden aches of longing were a deep spiritual hunger for God and not just for an intellectual knowledge of God, but for a real relationship with Him…
How is your relationship with the Father your greatest triumph and joy? How can it be more so? Or, what do you do to cultivate intimacy with the Father?
Is there correlation between periods of joylessness and neglecting our relationship with the Father?
6. What happens to you that causes a loss of focus upon Christ? How does it make you feel that your sorrow is temporary?
7. Read verse 33.
How does the fact that Christ has overcome the world so we can have peace strengthen your faith and perseverance? How can you make this more so?
Close in Prayer.
Back to Bulletin