How do you communicate joy?
It's easier to do dark than light. Angst seems stronger than joy. Evil is more exciting than good. And so the preacher has a problem: how do you convey the riches of heaven and the glory and goodness of God?
I've noticed over the years that my preaching always garners the most favourable comments when I've preached a ‘hard’ sermon. People seem to feel like they've been well served when they've been smacked over the head with a lump of four-by-two. What's with humanity? (Or is it just Christians?)
I don't for a microsecond want to suggest that we need to preach judgement less. I think that the Bible is full of judgement, and we need to keep saying what God says. But I wonder whether I can improve at conveying the depths of the joy and promise of God's words.
This conviction has grown steadily as I've read through Proverbs with my kids. There is something profoundly good about being like God. There is something wonderful and life-affirming about righteousness and wisdom. Relationships are deeper and life is fuller when it's lived with a grasp of the profound wonder of holiness.
We stopped at the lolly shop in Leura on the way home from Katoomba last Monday. My two boys ran from one display to the next with open-mouthed wonder, gawking at the collection of weird and wonderful confectionery. They were excited by everything, but couldn't work out whether to remain staring at the Ben-Ten lolly dispensing watch, or move on because there might something more worthy of their gaze around the corner.
How often do we experience the same dilemma as we read God's word? Not often enough, I think. But wisdom is more gobstopping than a white chocolate KitKat, and godly generosity is more exciting than a 10-metre roll of bubblegum tape.
So I've decided I need to learn to be a better communicator of the joy of the gospel. I need to work at finding ways to convey the riches of the goodness of righteousness that my heart feels, but that I so often lack the words to express. If anyone's got any suggestions about how to go about it, I'd love to hear them.
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.
Hi Paul. Love it! You could listen to more Piper!
Jean: seconded.
Considering that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is Joy…which means Joy is a character and an integeral part of God’s nature…Joy should be a natural part of the Christians internal / external experience and expression of God working through them.
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 Paul, I have just re-read your article and think that as preachers we need to preach less on Judgement and more on Grace..which produces Joy.
I am thinking of the stories where Jesus says I don’t judge you…its been my observation that there are many Christians who know the scripture that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus…deep down don’t practice and believe it and walk in peace.
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.
Joy of the Spirit is very much related to people understanding the depth of their sins towards God and knowing the love and forgiveness of God our Father through the death of His Son for those sins.
Knowing this, we are to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God and are to rejoice in sufferings as this results in hope. (Romans 5)
Suffering and joy are very linked in scripture. eg 1 Peter 1
We see joy in others by their actions and attitudes of life, eg the willingness of Jesus to suffer.
Di
“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.
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