G’day Paul,

The first thing that comes to mind is the old Sunday School answer, go to the Bible and see how that joy is expressed there.  Such as David in the Psalms expressing heart felt joy over God’s word, Paul’s joy over the faithfulness of Christians and the joy of the Prodigal son’s Father when the son returns home, to name a few. 

Then there is a wealth of expressing joy in Christian literature from Augustine through to John Piper, who bangs on a lot about the the joy in serving God with his “Christian hedonism” approach.

But above the literature review is to pray. Pray that as you faithfully expound God’s word, the Spirit will illuminate the inherent joy to be found in knowing the one true God.

Jean: seconded.

This is a bit late, but..
Our ministers often communicate it best when they feel and recognise joy in a real way themselves. Also, when they use more than just token personal pronouns, but step back and take the time to really say what the passages means to them personally, when they explain their reaction to the text, it feels like they are leading us to a right and real response, and that often is joy. And someone already said prayer

Hi All,

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and commend. I do need to keep working at praying what I’m preaching, and Melinda your point about personally appropriating the depths of the bible’s pictures of joy are well taken.

Craig, I can see what you’re saying and am still wrestling with it. I think my problem is that, let’s just take Jesus for a moment, Jesus spends lots of time talking about judgement. It’s everywhere in the gospels (and the rest of the New Testament I might ad). So I am wondering if preaching about judgement is the key reason that people don’t get grace?

Maybe the problem is that we haven’t thought and taught enough about how Christ deals fully and completely with judgement or about how the whole picture of new life in Christ is conveyed in the Bible? I will keep thinking. Thanks for your contributions.

“Now which of them will love him more?” Jesus asked.

Simon replied,  “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” Luke 7:42-43

I agree, Paul. We understand grace by understanding how big the debt is that has been forgiven, and the consequences we’ve been released from. So sin and judgement must be preached to preach grace and produce joy.