How Godly Joy Overcomes

 Fear has a way of shrinking our faith and silencing our witness, especially when life feels uncertain. In this message from Luke 2, Pastor Chris shows how godly joy is rooted in God’s grace, anchored in His promises, and strong enough to overcome fear. Through the Christmas story of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, listeners are invited to rediscover a joy that steadies the heart and fuels faithful living. 

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/18351796

Key Points:

1. God works through difficult circumstances
    God used inconvenience, hardship, and humble settings to accomplish His redemptive plan. Luke 2:1-7 reminds us that God is often working even when timing feels wrong and life feels unsettled.
2. Fear reveals where trust is being tested
    The shepherds’ reaction shows how fear can surface when God moves unexpectedly. Fear focuses on what could go wrong, while joy rests in what God has already done. Luke 2:8-9; Psalm 34:4.
3. Godly joy is grounded in good news
    The angel’s message points to the gospel that brings lasting joy for all people. True joy flows from knowing the Savior has come and that God is for us. Luke 2:10-11; John 3:16.

(overall message ends here)
 Godly joy does not remove difficulty, but it gives confidence, peace, and courage in the middle of it.

Personal Stories from Pastor Chris:
 Pastor Chris shares practical reflections on fear in everyday life, including the fear of sharing faith and the fear of uncertainty, showing how perspective changes when we trust God’s presence and purposes.

Notable Quotes:
 Fear focuses on what could go wrong, but joy anchors us in what God has already done.
 God is often glorified through humble people and difficult circumstances.
 Joy grows when we retell what God has done.

Actionable Takeaways:

Reflect honestly on where fear is showing up in your life
 Anchor your joy in God’s grace rather than your circumstances
 Take a small step of obedience even when fear is present
 Share what God has done in your life and allow joy to grow

Scripture References:
 Luke 2:1-20 – The birth of Jesus and the shepherds’ response
 Psalm 34:4 – God delivers from fear
 Romans 8:28 – God works all things for good
 John 3:16 – The gift of salvation through Christ
 James 1:2 – Joy in the midst of trials

Keywords:
 godly joy, overcoming fear, Luke 2 sermon, Christmas message, faith over fear, Christian encouragement, sharing the gospel, joy in Christ 

Challenge:
 This week, name your fear before God, receive His peace, and intentionally live and speak with joy that points others to Christ.

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The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

Chris T 0:16

When we come to Christmas time, it is easy for us to just say, I know it all. And it's, I don't know, it almost seems less important because it's so familiar. It's like when they're playing the Christmas music on all of those stations, and it's the same songs over and over again. You don't really even think about the meaning of the Christmas songs because you've heard them so many times. And with the Christmas story, sometimes it's easy to say, oh, I've heard it so many times, and not think there's anything new to be thinking about. But to some people, the most meaningful thing in the Christmas story that they need to respond to is that they need to receive the gift of Jesus. They need salvation from their sins. They need the forgiveness to be made new, to be uh become a new creation, to be adopted as children of God, so that they can be assured heaven, so that they can receive the Holy Spirit, which we all receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And if you don't know what that means and uh want to talk about that, please ask me afterwards and grab one of those How to Find God New Testaments. And uh in the front of it, there's all sorts of notes to help you understand what it what it means that Jesus came to live among us, that Jesus lived the perfect life, that Jesus died as the sacrificial lamb on the cross and then rose again and is returning, and all of that is in that New Testament, all of that is in the notes. Uh, that's easy to read and understand, and please let us know. So some people need to receive the gift of Jesus. Some people need to stop, pause, slow down, and internalize the gift of Jesus and everything in the Christmas story and what was going on, and what does that mean to you besides just being saved, besides just receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior? What are you supposed to do with this? How can you be a world changer? How can you make an eternal difference if you would internalize it and think about it and spend time praying it through and praising the Lord for how he worked and the people in the Christmas story's life and how he works in our life to internalize it? And then as we do that, you know, the gift of Jesus is the gift that we can give to others for re-gifting. So we need to give the gift of Jesus to people. We need to share the gift of Jesus. So we can do that in so many ways at Christmas time. We can include gospel messages and Christmas cards, we can give Christmas ornaments with a Christmas theme. We can share our testimony based on the things that we've experienced and the things that we know. We often go to family gatherings or Christmas parties where we have an opportunity to talk with people, and we can be spiritually fishing, looking for opportunities to share the message of Christ. That is a good thing. But I think the thing that holds us back the most, even more than familiarity with the story in the Christmas time, is fear. Fear that tries to take away the joy that we have in Christ, the fear that nobody cares. Everybody's heard the story, no one wants to listen to you, and no one cares about your testimony. Especially if they've known you for a long time and you do have quite a testimony, and they remember you in the days when you truly weren't living for Jesus. You were you were living, you were putting points on the board for the other side, the other team. Uh, you're living in wickedness, racking up your sins, building your testimony, and they remember that. So when we think about joy, joy is it's based on God's grace. So joy comes from God's grace, God's unmerited favor towards us. We like to say it's God's riches at Christ's expense, but because of God's grace and what he bestows upon us, we can experience joy. Joy doesn't always mean happiness, but it is a contentment, a confidence that God has things in control and that we are safe and secure in him. And through the Holy Spirit, joy can result in gratitude and gladness. So sometimes you can be joyful and not be elated, ecstatic, happy. You just, in the beginning of James, it says, consider pure joy when you face trials and difficulties of every kind. So sometimes you're in the midst of trouble, but you can have joy and a confidence in the Lord. And so I wanted to just kind of skim through the Christmas story and talk about that, and talk about maybe what some of the fears that Joseph and Mary had and the shepherds had, and maybe think about how that applies to our life. But fear focuses on what could go wrong, and joy anchors us in what God has already done and promised to do. Fear shrinks our world, joy lifts our eyes to something bigger than our circumstances. There are a lot of things to be fearful about. Uh I hear from people and see people are fearful about jobs, fearful about finances, fearful about politics, fearful about wars and rumors of wars, fearful about health issues, fearful about so many things. And many times the things that we fear don't happen. And other times, the things that we fear, we should take steps to do something so that if it does happen, we have a plan B. So that fear leads to taking some proactive steps. And so, from a practical standpoint, if you fear sharing your faith, then maybe you need to read some books or listen to some audiobooks or watch some videos on how to share your faith and memorize some scripture and uh maybe carry around a gospel Bible tract with you. There's some on the table out there, and that you have a plan so that if you have the opportunity, if someone literally comes up to you and says, What must I do to be saved, besides just saying, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved, you can walk them through the reasons why you need what are you being saved from? You're being saved from the penalty of your sins because we're all sinners, but Jesus came to die for sinners because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten Son because God demonstrates his love for us in this while we're still sinners. Christ died for us, and if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be saved. And, you know, walk them through that in a slow, meaningful way. And, you know, with the gospel tracks, the gospel of books, one of the best things you can do is even just read it page by page with them. And if they ask you some kind of question, uh, you know, sometimes they ask distracting questions, like, Well, I don't know, where did Cain get his wife? And you're like, Well, that's a good question, but how about we talk about that after we're done here? And or if they have good questions, to say, Well, let's just work our way through this, and then you can ask and answer questions, and that is good. But in Luke 2.10, we're gonna look at Luke chapter 2. But the angel tells the shepherds, do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. So we want to look at that. So, number one, remember that God works through difficult circumstances. God works through difficult circumstances. So, from a practical standpoint, if you didn't have difficulty, if you didn't experience lack or hardship or hunger or cold or extreme heat or thirstiness or hunger or all that stuff, if you never experienced that in your life, what would you be thankful for? But when you have experienced those things, when you have experienced needing to get better housing, or you have experienced working through a sickness with you or a loved one, if you have experienced uh loss or pain and relationship problems, and then things are good, you are much more likely to be thankful. And now, when we think about Joseph and Mary, Mary's carrying Jesus, and so literally God in the flesh, you would think, you would think that if you were to write the story, if you were writing the script, that you would make sure that they had the best accommodations the world could offer, make them so comfortable in every way, make them uh with every provision, just make it easy on them. But that's not what God's plan was. God is often glorified through difficult circumstances. God often works out his plan through humble circumstances and humble people. So in Luke chapter 2, verse 1, it says, In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quernius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to their own town to register. So, on one hand, Joseph and Mary might be saying, Great, this is a big inconvenience. Now we've got to go for a very long walk and uh or ride to do this. This is required, we can't do anything about this, what a difficulty. Why would God allow this in this time, of all times, when Mary's really pregnant, of all times? But we know, because we know the whole story, we have the whole overview that God is working out the plan, the perfect plan to make sure that Jesus is in the right place to be born to fulfill the prophecy from hundreds of years before because God works out his plan and does that. So God is often working out a plan in your life. Sometimes you can't see it, sometimes you don't know how long it will take. It's hard to wait, it's hard to be patient, but you can know that as you wait and pray and maybe look for advice, wisdom from other people, maybe get people praying for you and try to be encouraged in that way, that you can see what God is doing, or you can trust that God is working things out according to his plans. And if your situation, if your need or whatever isn't part of God's perfect plan at that time, because God gives other people free will, that you can still have the joy. Sometimes God knows exactly the route that we need to take, and sometimes he lets us go the other direction for a bit, but if we pray it through, if we look into it, if we have other people share their wisdom, sometimes we'll see a more direct shot, or we'll see that God is working on us, doing something in our lives. So Joseph. Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house in line of David, and he went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him, and was expecting a child. Like I said, this is a very inconvenient time to make a pregnant woman go a long distance, so possibly 70 to 90 miles through rough terrain to go register for this census. So I have heard from pregnant women that it's not good to be bounced around, it's not good to go on long trips like that, but it was part of God's will that they do it. And I can only imagine that God comforted and helped Mary and Joseph to endure that, to have the energy and strength to empower them to do this, because that's what God does. Sometimes He takes us in the midst of hard times and difficulties and he gives us strength. He gives us encouragement, he gives us the power to do it. And sometimes, if we're really faithful and we look back, we we we even admit, I have no idea how I was able to do that. I have no idea how I was able to endure that. I have no idea how we got through that hard thing, but God provided, praise God. So when they verse six, while they were there, the time for came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn a son, and she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. So all these people were up traveling to go register for the census. Every motel and hotel and inn and Airbnb and bed and breakfast and camping site was full, and there wasn't a place for them. So Jesus, who was the sacrificial lamb, the Bible says he's the sacrificial lamb that was sacrificed for our sins, and also Jesus, who is also known as the Good Shepherd, ended up basically in a barn, in a feeding trough, in a manger, in a feeding trough. And so it was probably cold and dark and not the cleanest place to be. But God chose to have Jesus born in humble circumstances. You know, in Hebrews it talks about we have a high priest who's able to sympathize with us in all of our difficulties and all of our weaknesses, because he was tempted in every way and never gave into temptation. He's experienced the difficulties, he's experienced the hardship. And Mary and Joseph were faithful. I don't think the text uh would report this, but I don't think that Mary and Joseph were complaining about the mission that they were fulfilling. I don't think that they were complaining about the difficulty that they went through. Sometimes it's really easy for us to complain and get mad at God because we don't get our way. You know, it's like, well, God, if you're not going to do it my way, then I'm just not going to participate. But then we miss out. We miss out on what God really could be doing through us. So we want to make sure that we're faithful to show up and remember that God works through difficult circumstances. I love the verse, and I'm sure you do too, Romans 8.28, that says, We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. So that means that God allows us to go through difficult things. God interrupts our timeline. God sometimes gets in the way of our goals. Sometimes God allows us to go through painful seasons and difficult times because that helps us to have more compassion for others. It helps us to be more grateful, it helps us to be more useful in God's hands, to work out his plans as we try to be his ministers of reconciliation, as we try to be his ambassadors. It's so helpful when someone is going through a struggle or difficulty, and somebody like you can come up alongside of them and say, I don't exactly 100% know what you're going through, but I've had a similar experience. And this is how it was difficult, and this is how God got me through. This is how God is getting me through, or this is how I'm trusting that God is going to work this out for good, even though I haven't received a resolution to this problem. So when you keep praising, when you keep following, when you keep serving Jesus, even when everything isn't perfect, when everything isn't comfortable, when it's really cold outside and you still come to church, if you're watching online and you thought it was too cold to come here, it's really warm in the building, you might miss out. But when your life feels unsettled, when the timing feels all wrong, when you are dealing with things you never asked for, remember that God might be preparing something better for you, or you might be working behind the scenes to work out something that is going to make it better, going to make it good. And the other thing that I want to say too is that you're not responsible for everybody's choices and decisions. You're just responsible for how you respond and trust God in them. So Joseph and Mary weren't responsible. That they called a census gathering at that time, so that they couldn't do anything about that. So they just have to have to go with it. And turned out it was a God thing. And we all know that now. But my guess is back then, they're like, what is happening? All right, number two, recognize where fear shows up in your life. Recognize where fear shows up in your life. So Luke is changing the scene now. Now we're going to the shepherds, and it is easy to see how fear shows up in some people's lives. But if you really think about it, you're fearful of certain things. And when you get victory over those fears, when you find victory, then God can use you to do so much more. When you get victory over your fear of public speaking, and you stand up here and you share your personal testimony, and we even have a little guide that you could follow to make sure you don't overshare and that you share the good things. It can bless so many people, it can connect with other people. Often people are just excited to see somebody up here besides me, too. But when you share your testimony to get over your fear of public speaking, that would be good. But so we have the shepherds. Let's look at that. Luke chapter 2, verse 8. There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. You know, the shepherds were pretty much outcasts, the the stinky shepherds who needed to stay out in the fields, because we don't want them in town because they smell. So I had a pastor friend that had some sheep, and I don't remember a particular smell about them. It was in the same part of Iowa where people had a lot of hogs, and there was a guy that was a well-to-do uh hog farmer, had a lot of hogs, and he walked into church someday in his work boots, and I'm like, oh man, you you get the your your shoes, man, you you stink. He's like, son, that's the smell of money. And uh I'm like, all right, but nonetheless, uh, I guess you get used to stuff. But the shepherds were not highly valued, the shepherds were kind of outcasts. Some say that these shepherds might have been keeping the sheep, the lambs that were raised for temple sacrifice. That's what they were doing. But they did their job, they weren't expecting any interruption, they weren't expecting uh angels to show up and all of the light and the glory of the Lord, and they were terrified. So, kind of like when a lightning strike comes out of nowhere and it's near to you, they were terrified. Now, sometimes I get terrified for little things, and it depends on who I am in the situation, and it depends on what I'm doing at the time. So maybe you feel fear strike your heart when you're going down the highway, and a police cruiser with his lights on comes flying up behind you at full speed, and you're like, oh no, what did I do? And then they zip around you, and then they get the guy in front of you. But there is a period of time where you're questioning, you know, was I speeding? What did I do? Why are they after me? And so there's that fear and terror in your heart. So on the other hand, when you're saying in a funeral procession, I think they have more of the motorcycle cop escorts down in the Twin Cities than maybe they have here. But when the police are giving you the ex the escort and the cop on the Harley Davidson is zipping around you and pulling in front of you, you know your place in the procession. You know he's working for you to protect you, to get you through, to guide your funeral procession, and so you feel confident that you're in the right place, doing the right thing in the right way, so there's nothing to fear. He is totally on your side working for you. So, but if you're speeding and you go through a speed trap and then you're questioning, you know, oh no, how fast was I going kind of stuff. You know, you see what I'm saying here is that it depends who you are in the situation, it depends on what you think about this situation, and it depends on your place in the situation. And so when the angels showed up to the shepherds unexpected, and they were terrified, they were probably thinking about all of their life choices and things that they had done that were probably wrong, and afraid that judgment had come, that the angel had shown up because they were upset, because they were mad, because something bad was about to happen. And the angel had a great message, as you know, a message that we'll see in a second. But to know that when God shows up, that even if you've been doing bad stuff, that there is still grace and an opportunity to be forgiven, yes, you reap what you sow, and yes, God can discipline believers for the sins in their life. But on the other hand, God is for you. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you become a child of God. You will not be disowned as you go through this life. You may be disciplined, but as you choose to do right, as you choose to serve right, as you choose to go on the narrow road, living on the right path, you will be blessed and experience God's joy. And that is a good thing. Number three, receive God's peace and good news. Receive God's peace and good news. So, verse 10, but the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. I don't know how long of a period it took for the angel to calm the shepherds down, to get them to stand back up, to get their knees to stop shaking. To get them so that they were actually able to listen and comprehend what was going on. My guess is this wasn't an instantaneous thing, that it took a little more time. And Psalm 34, 4 says, I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all of my fears. To receive the good news, we receive the good news through the Bible. As we read through the pages of Scripture, we can receive promises to help us get through the hard times. We receive confidence and help when other people speak encouraging things into our life. Often the Holy Spirit helps us to have the courage that we need, helps us to have the discernment and the insight that we need. But here we have the angels telling the shepherds, okay, it's good, it's fine, it's okay. You don't need to be afraid of us. We want to give you some good news. And it's going to be great joy for all the people, not just for you. And so do not be afraid. God is not saying that their fear is irrational or that you know it's it's wrong for them to be fruitful. The angel is just saying, hey, you don't need to be afraid of us. We're not we're not here in a fearful moment. So you know when you need to be afraid of God is when you've lived your whole life without receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Because John 3 16 talks about how Jesus came and died for us and how Jesus is the great gift for God so loved the world. He gave his one and only son, so whoever believes in him won't perish but have eternal life. And if you drop down, uh the verse, skip a verse to 18, it says that if you don't receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then God's wrath remains on you, and you will be judged and set apart from God for all eternity for the rest of your eternal life. But this news, this is good news, this is good gospel news that will cause great joy for all the people. And you know, so it wasn't just for the Israelites, it wasn't just for the people in Bethlehem or Nazareth or Judea or Jerusalem, it was for all people at all times, including us. And it is good news. And when we come to Christmas time, it is our opportunity to share the good news. Easter is a good time too to share the good news, but there's no other time than Christmas that you get a whole month of people being open to hearing about Jesus. Now, what you have to do is you have to help the people move their concept of lowly, innocent, helpless baby Jesus out of the manger to the King of Kings and the Lord of all Lord of Lords and Lord of all. So to know that this is great news, this is good news. So again, the angel said, Don't be afraid. And the shepherds knew that when angels showed up, it was a serious thing. And they might not have been theologians, but they probably, like I said, you know, questioned their their path, their point in the story. Did we do anything wrong with the sheep? What's happening here? And so sometimes we're afraid. We're afraid because we don't know where we stand with God. We're afraid because we know who we are and what we've done. We're afraid because we don't think that we would be worthy of being used by God. We're afraid of what other people think of us. Sometimes we're afraid that if people really knew who we were and the way that we we lived our lives, that they would know that they would be disappointed in us. And if you are fearful, you got to name your fear. Be honest about it. God already knows and pray it through. Say, Lord, I am fearful of this. I am fearful that I am not gonna have enough money to pay the bills. Lord, would you please help me? Lord, I'm fearful of what my health is gonna do. Lord, help me get through this sickness or this diagnosis or whatever. Lord, I'm fearful of what's going on with my family or my kids, or I'm fearful of what's gonna happen to my job. And pray it through. Maybe even write it down. Write down your prayers in a book, in a journal, on a piece of paper, stick it in a file or in a drawer as you keep praying for it through it and about it. Maybe someday you'll look back on that and say, Oh, I remember two years ago, I thought this was gonna destroy my life, and God provided in this way, and then write that down, and then keep a collection of all the God sightings you've seen and refocus your hope on the Savior who has come. Refocus your hope on the Savior who has come. Verse 11 Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in claws and lying in a manger. So they knew they needed a savior. They knew that they were looking forward to the Messiah. They knew that all of this happened, but no one expected the Messiah to come as a baby. They kind of expected a mighty warrior to like drop in, show up, take over everything, you know, overthrow the Romans, and things would be great. No one was expecting a baby, but yet the shepherds were the first, they were they were available. There were a lot of other people, probably too far away, a lot of other people probably too busy, not going to be able to respond. But God knew these angels weren't really doing anything. They're just watching some sheep. And so it was an important job at all, but they were available. And the angels said, Hey, shepherds, why don't you go meet the chief of shepherds? Hey, shepherds, why don't you go meet the Messiah, the Lord? And just so you know, you found the right person, you're gonna find this baby wrapped in claws and lying in a manger. So, like, okay, where are we gonna find that? And so they knew, and number five, rejoice in God's promise of peace and favor. So they hear this message, and then suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angels. So we're talking about an army of angels showed up, and they're all singing the angelic choir, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. What an amazing thing to witness, what an amazing thing to see, what an amazing thing to encourage those shepherds and say, This is this is like so real. This did you see that? I saw that. I can't believe this is happening. And so they saw these angels, and number six, respond to God's leading with obedient steps to respond to God's leading. I think there's times in our life when we experience Jesus in a special way. For me, uh, numerous times that it was a Christian camp that I experienced Jesus in a particular way. But there's other times where I just feel overwhelmed with, you know, the things of God. And sometimes it comes unit comes expectedly as I'm spending time in God's word and stuff, and other times it comes unexpectedly. Sometimes even a song, Christian, a good Christian song, comes on the radio and gets me thinking and motivated. But I see how God is working, I see how God is leading, I see how God is guiding, and I am overwhelmed with joy. Verse 15. So when the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who is lying in the manger. So they responded. They responded, and they so the angels told them to go, and they're like, We got an invitation, we got to do this, let's go, let's make this happen, and they did. They went so many times. We receive an invitation to receive Jesus, or we receive an invitation to do something, and we don't go, we don't do it, and we miss out what God has for us. We miss out on what God could have done through us, we miss out as we go through. Number seven, retell what God has done and let joy grow. So this is this is the most important point of this whole message is that you and I are supposed to retell what God has done and let joy grow. Verse 17, when they had seen and when the shepherds had seen Jesus, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. I can only imagine for their entire lives they told the story of what had happened, and people probably sought them out to hear the story that they were blessed with, that they were given to carry on and to tell others. So they experienced Jesus and they spread the word. Have you experienced Jesus and are you spreading the word? Does it excite you as much as it did when you first received Jesus? Do you see how your life is transformed and changed compared to what it would be without Jesus? Mary. Mary saw all this. She had heard from the angel. She learned a bunch of last week, if you listen to last week's message, she learned a bunch of stuff from Elizabeth, who had the Holy Spirit, but Mary took all this in. So Mary didn't write a book or a gospel, but she treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. I can only imagine that Mary and Dr. Luke sat down together as Luke was trying to compile his gospel, maybe, and trying to get the information, possibly. But um so the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. I know you're familiar with the Christian's Christmas story, but the Christmas story extends into your story, and I hope that when your days are done and it is time for you to die, or Jesus comes back to get you, and you're standing before the Lord for your eternal rewards as your life is judged for the good things that you've done, that you too will say, it was absolutely amazing to follow Jesus in a culture that tried everything they could to make me not follow Jesus, to try to follow a different path, or say that you know I just believed in fairy tales and fables. But it turns out that everything that I believed, that I trusted in, that the Bible said was true, just as I had heard, just as I had experienced, that it's been it's just as I am told, and I am so excited to continue with this joy. Because the Christian life is supposed to be a joyful life. Jesus at Christmas time brings joy. We light the candle of joy, but it's to remind us that Jesus brings joy into our lives, and that brings us joy stronger than fear. So next week, we're almost running out of Christmas messages, but next week we're going to look at the wise men pursuing Jesus and what we can learn from that. But let me pray, and then the worship team is gonna come up and sing joyful, joyful, we adore thee. There's so many things in the Christmas story, Lord, that as we ponder them, as we think about them, as we apply them to our life, show how gracious and kind and loving you are. Lord, you take lowly, insignificant people and use them to do great things. You take faithful people who just do as they're told, as they're guided, as they're instructed, to show up, to serve, to do things in a way that honor you and bless us. Lord, I thank you for all the things that we can look back on and see answers to prayer and see things that bring joy. Lord, I thank you for all of those things that we can share with others that might we might be the encouragement people need to get them through their hard times. Lord, I pray that as we live from day to day, that you would be just glorified in the way that we live our lives, and that we would literally, like that song says, count our blessings, name them one by one, and it may surprise us what the Lord has done. Thank you for Christmas and the Christmas story in Jesus' name. Amen.