Prayer on Joy

Dear God, 

Sometimes I feel sad. 

Sometimes I experience regret and remorse. 

Sometimes my life is filled with disappointment, doubt, and despair.

Take away whatever is preventing me from embracing the joy You freely give.
Purify me from my sins. 

Remove the stain of my guilt. 

Make me pure and holy. 

Give me back my joy again. 

          I have been settling for less. Sometimes a lot less. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God. 

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. 

Make me willing to obey You. (Psalm 51:7-12) 

Help me to find joy in all things: (Philippians 4:4) 

          The trials of life where I can grow and depend fully on You. (James 1:2) 

          The victories and successes because of my growth and Your grace. 

          Times of busyness and boredom. 

          And typical, normal, and ordinary days.

Transform dysfunctional and unhealthy relationships into flourishing friendships. 

Don’t let others steal or diminish my joy! 

Place people in my life who will bring me joy. 

Place people in my life I can share my joy with. 

Teach me to rejoice in hope, 

     be patient in tribulation, 

          and consistent in prayer. (Romans 12:12) 

Empower me to keep on asking for more of You 

     and more joy in my life. (John 16:24) 

Help me to trust in Your unfailing love 

     and not things of the world that will let me down 

          so that my joy depends only on You. (Romans 14:17) 

Lead me from any sorrows I currently am experiencing 

     to an abundant and eternal relationship with You— 

          a relationship filled with joy. (John 16:22) 

I give You my disappointment, doubt, and despair. 

I give You my regret and remorse. 

I give you my sorrows. 

Give me joy and help me receive and embrace it. 

Amen.

O Holy Night - Hope

This morning we start a new sermon series as we use five Christmas Carols as launching pads to explore the biblical truth about Christmas: what Christmas means for the world and what it means for us. 

The first carol is “O Holy Night.” It’s a song we would rather hear being sung than trying to sing it ourselves. It takes a good singer to sing the song well. But when it’s sung well, no other carol is quite like it. The song is originally a French poem (Minuit, Chrétiens – Midnight, Christians) put to music by another Frenchman. A decade later, the song is about 150 years old, it was translated into English.




Part of the English version goes like this: 

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, 

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. 

In this short verse, we discover a truth about humanity and a truth about God.

The truth about humanity is that we live in a weary world. Watch the news or observe the world. You’ll understand what I am talking about. People are tired, worn-out, and discouraged. Emotionally, financially, physically, relationally, and spiritually – it is difficult to be healthy and whole in all areas of life. Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes life is really tough. 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28

The truth about God is that God’s hope is as real as the sun that becomes visible when the new day starts and the night vanishes. 

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. –Psalm 39:7 

Hope means something like this: In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, we stand on holy and sacred ground because Jesus once walked among us and still does. Hope means God knows us and out of our weariness God rescues us so that we can become the person God created us to become. Hope means that our pain and mourning and confusion will be overcome by God’s grace, healing, and salvation. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. –Romans 15:13 

Culture teaches us that the holidays are about parties and presents and lights. All these are good. But at the core of Christmas, better things exist. And the first of these is hope. 

I look forward to discovering, embracing, and living out the rest of God’s gifts with you during this season of Advent and Christmas. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig