Joy

As the Advent journey continued, Pastor Dave invited the church into Joy Sunday by naming the tension many of us feel this time of year. The candle is pink for a reason—this Sunday marks a turning point. The waiting of Advent begins to give way to anticipation. Christmas is closer. The songs get louder. The tone starts to lift. The Church begins to say, Something is coming.

And yet, for many people, this season doesn’t feel joyful at all.

Pastor Dave spoke honestly about how Christmas can be the loneliest time of the year. Loneliness can show up because a relationship is broken, because a home is quieter than it used to be, because there’s one less name on the gift list and the absence still aches. Sometimes it’s loneliness felt even in crowds—at parties, in busy rooms, surrounded by people, yet still unseen and misunderstood.

That reality raises a hard and honest question: When life is heavy during the Christmas season, how do we hold onto joy? Not fake joy. Not forced smiles. Not “I’ll get through it” energy. But real joy—the kind that lasts.

Turning to Luke 2, Pastor Dave invited us to imagine the story we know so well through different eyes. Mary and Joseph were not glowing with holiday cheer. They were overwhelmed, uncertain, and isolated. Their lives had already been turned upside down by an unexpected pregnancy and growing rumors. Then came yet another disruption—a census ordered by Caesar Augustus, forcing them to travel nearly ninety miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Not once, but repeatedly over the years. And this time, Mary was heavily pregnant.

As they arrived in Bethlehem, hope must have flickered. Surely someone would make room. Surely there would be a place for this child—especially knowing who He was. But there was no room in the inn. No warm welcome. Just a stable. Animals. Hay. A birth far removed from expectation.

Pastor Dave named what many of us recognize in that moment: the pain of unmet expectations. The disappointment of believing God is at work, yet finding ourselves in places we never imagined. But Advent reminds us of something crucial—things can change suddenly.

Scripture is filled with moments where God interrupts despair without warning. Suddenly a rushing wind fills the house at Pentecost. Suddenly a blinding light stops Saul on the road to Damascus. And in Luke 2, suddenly the night sky is filled with angels declaring good news. God has a habit of stepping into darkness without announcement.

Joy, Pastor Dave reminded us, is not found in circumstances changing—it is found in the presence of God. The angel didn’t say, “I bring you good news of better conditions.” He said, “I bring you good news of great joy.” Joy had arrived because Jesus had arrived. Joy wasn’t a feeling—it was a person.

This is where the message took a surprising turn. Pastor Dave made a clear distinction between happiness and joy. Happiness is emotional. Temporary. Circumstantial. Joy is something deeper. Biblical joy is not an emotion—it is a choice.

Scripture makes this unmistakably clear. Paul writes about overflowing with joy in affliction. He speaks of rejoicing in suffering. James tells believers to consider trials pure joy. These aren’t naive people who don’t understand pain. They understand something better—that joy is not about avoiding hardship, but choosing Christ in the middle of it.

Paul defines joy most clearly when he says he considers everything else loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Joy is the decision to look honestly at life—at suffering, disappointment, and grief—and still choose Jesus. Still choose trust. Still choose faithfulness. Still choose focus.

And that’s where Pastor Dave named the true threat to joy—not pain, not loneliness, not unmet expectations, but distraction. We lose joy when we lose focus. Especially during a season crowded with noise, schedules, shopping, and endless demands, it’s easy to drift away from the good news of great joy and become consumed by everything else.

Joy grows when our focus returns. When our eyes stay on Jesus. When we remember His goodness, His faithfulness, and His mission. Every day can hold joy—not because every day is easy, but because joy is a choice we make again and again.

Pastor Dave closed with a gentle but challenging invitation. What will you choose this season? Will you let tomorrow’s “one day” steal joy from today? Will yesterday’s regrets rob you of what God is doing now? Or will you choose to see Jesus—born in a manger, destined for the cross, alive forevermore? Because that child changes everything. Because of Him, we can have hope. We can have peace. And even in the middle of life as it is, we can choose joy.