Christmas Lights Part 2 | No Joy? Know God. with Chris Schlotterbeck

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make a change in your life, text CHANGEME to

97000. Now enjoy the message. We have a winter

wonderland now. Is everyone excited for Christmas?

Your anticipation a little higher? Who wants

to go to Florida? Yeah, me too. Thank you for

your honesty. If you're joining us from home,

thank you for welcoming us into your space. So

we are in a series, as many of you know, called

Christmas Lights. We're talking about Advent.

Advent helps us to refocus and put Jesus into

this season of our lives. For our community of

faith, we've actually done Advent celebrations

and the lighting of the candles for probably

10 out of our 20 years of being a church community.

And I've always found that this is a great reflective

moment to be able to bring Jesus to the center

of Christmas, to focus our minds and hearts on

God for these final four weeks of the year before

we jump into 2026. This being the third Sunday

of Advent is the Joy Sunday. And I believe that

joy is something all of us long for, right? Who

doesn't want to be filled with joy? Unfortunately

though, joy can be a little confusing. We can

easily confuse joy with happiness. Now joy and

happiness do overlap, but we must remember that

joy often produces happiness. Unlike joy, happiness

is fleeting and ever -changing, which means the

pursuit of happiness can be seen all throughout

our world. We see it as people are ending marriages,

getting into uncontrollable debt, changing professions,

changing schools, moving to other cities or countries

even. Why? Well, it isn't always the case, but

in many times at the end of the day, it's because

they believe that they can be happier in a different

situation. Now, let me be clear. Happiness isn't

a bad thing. I'm not saying that. But where that

happiness comes from is very important. I was

recently in an article this week about the differences

between joy and happiness. And I found this description

from a psychologist to be very helpful. Joy and

happiness are wonderful feelings to experience,

but they're very different. Joy is more consistent

and is cultivated internally. It comes when you

make peace with who you are, why you are, and

how you are, where areas happiness tends to be

externally triggered and is based on other people,

things, places, thoughts, and even events. So

I felt that was a very helpful differentiation

between the two. However, it presents a challenge.

If joy is cultivated internally, then suddenly

people can feel like they are responsible to

be the source of joy. And that is not the case.

God is the source of all joy. God, who is external

and externally exists in the persons of the Father,

Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, are the

originators and the true sources of all joy.

Today, We're going to go into the Bible to determine

what the joy of Advent is all about. So we must

remember, in week one, I talked about the candle

of hope. I used the movie Red One to explain

to us that hope is a desire that all of us need

to have to move forward. Last Sunday, we lit

the candle of peace, and Rudy shared about experiencing

peace in the midst of chaos. We're going to be

lighting the candle of joy. Now please notice

that the candle of joy is the pink candle. And

the difference is that many scholars believe

that this is the turn of our hearts. Where Christmas

is much closer now. So the anticipation grows.

And the bleakness of purple is now transformed

into the pink of joy. Joy. So let's open in prayer

as we ask the Holy Spirit to come and to change

us. Holy Spirit, come. Jesus, we invite you to

walk into this room. I just pray, God, that you

move up and down the rows, God. You open our

minds, our hearts, our ears to receive your truth

today. God, I silence distractions in Jesus'

name. And I ask, God, that you would have your

way. That joy would be released in this place

today. That hearts would be set ablaze to draw

closer to you. In Jesus' name, amen. So I can't

begin talking about joy. without telling you

about my preschool Sunday mornings at Faith Chapel.

So if you don't know, I gave my life to Jesus

roughly 30 years ago or so this past fall. And

immediately upon giving my life to Jesus, began

to help my friend Jessica teach her preschool

class. Now it was interesting, for about a month

we taught the class together. Now I don't know

if this was her strategy, To help me to grow

into being a pastor. But after about a month

or so, she kind of started to sleep in. And I

found that teaching preschoolers on Sunday morning

became Chris's responsibility. And we were no

longer a partnership. It was all about Chris.

And listen, I could work a felt board like nobody's

business. Okay? And if you know what I'm talking

about, you know what I'm talking about, right?

You know the little felt character that was Joseph

for Christmas and was Daniel in a lion's den

and was David destroying Goliath. I mean, that

felt board guy was incredible. It was like the

IMAX, right? Now, during the context of the Advent

season, I would always have the kids sing a little

jingle. And if you happen to know this jingle,

I'm going to welcome you to join in and sing

it with me. If not, I don't have a problem being

a fool for Christ because I do it every single

Sunday. So as I stand up here and sing, I'm going

to invite you to join me, if you know it, of

course. It kind of goes a little like this. I

got the joy, joy, joy, joy. Where? Where? I got

the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Down

in my heart to stay. And we're so, so very, I've

got the love of Jesus in my H -E -A -R -T. Wow.

And some of you must have attended my preschool

class. Good job. But what we need to know is

when we walk through difficult things or difficult

seasons, especially during Advent, because during

the Christmas season, everything gets busier.

Everything gets bigger. Everything gets more

important. And quite often, we lose our joy.

So how are we able to keep it? Well, the answer

is actually in the lyrics to that little kid's

song we just sung. We got the joy, joy, joy,

joy down in our hearts. It's because we got the

love of Jesus in our hearts that we can experience

his joy. And that is actually, in sum, the total

to the answer of the question we're seeking to

find this morning. And that's where we're going

to end up. But let's take the scenic route and

let's look at, especially during this season,

brings upon us so much pain and heartbreak and

anxiety. You know, maybe you feel alone because

you have a broken relationship. Maybe you feel

alone because your gift list is one gift less.

Maybe you feel stressed out and full of anxiety

because you don't have enough money to buy the

gifts. Or you don't have a party that you've

been invited to. See, there's all these reasons

that there's pain and heartache and stress during

the Christmas season. But I want you to realize,

I believe many of the biblical characters understand

exactly what many of you are going through. I

mean, imagine being married. You're walking around

living in Nazareth, a really small, small community.

And all of a sudden, the angel Gabriel appears

and tells you, you're going to have a baby. And

it's not from Joseph. And she has to go and tell

her fiance that she's pregnant. And we've already

established that that would be very difficult

for Joseph. Imagine him hearing the news and

the heartbreak over the relationship. It has

to end. He decides to end it quietly. And then

an angel visits him. And they start talking and

they figure it all out. And it's as if their

minds now begin to go towards, okay, we're going

to have this baby who is the savior of the world.

And suddenly rumors in that little town begin

to get louder as Mary's belly grows. And the

gossip begins and the finger pointing. But as

a young couple, they have to begin to think,

where are we going to have this baby? What are

we going to do? And they start to plan, well,

maybe we could have it at my mom's house, or

maybe we'll go to your uncle's house. And they

begin to plan, but then everything gets messed

up. How does it get messed up? Well, Caesar Augustus

determines, hey, it's a good time to take a census

of the whole Roman world. And everybody had to

return to their place of original heritage. So

Joseph, being in the line of David, has to go

to Bethlehem. But there's a problem. Bethlehem

is 90 miles away. And there's no woman who has

ever had a baby or is pregnant right now that

we wouldn't sign up to ride on the back of a

donkey for 90 miles. It's just not going to happen.

And I promise you there's no guy who wants to

take the lead rope and take her from Nazareth

to Bethlehem on a donkey stopping at every bush

along the way. Like it's just not gonna happen.

But I could imagine as they're walking, they're

getting a little closer and a little closer to

Bethlehem and then they're off in the horizon.

They see a palace. They see the palace of Herod

and I wonder if they began to think and they

began to talk to one another. Hey, we're having

the creator of the world. We're having God's

son. Maybe somebody will invite us into the palace.

I'm sure they have an extra room that our baby

can be born in a place of royalty. But as they

walk by, no one comes out and invites them in.

They continue on towards Bethlehem, and they

see it off in the horizon, and maybe Joseph was

like, hey, Mary, I'm sure somebody will notice

you're pregnant, that we're in need of a place

to stay, and they'll invite us in to stay in

their extra room. I mean, you are pregnant and

expecting, but nobody did that. And then Joseph's

like, well, okay, it's not a problem. I'll just

pay for a room at the end. We'll be okay. However,

If you know the Christmas story, there's no room

there either. But at least the innkeeper was

kind enough to say, well, you could stay out

here with my animals in the barn. And of course,

that's every girl's dream, right? To deliver

a baby right there with the cows and the sheep

and everything that comes along with cows and

sheep. So no, that's not exactly what Mary thought

the plan was going to be. And I don't even believe

that Joseph thought that as well. When God told

her she would be birthing the Savior of the world,

my son. And today, maybe you find yourself with

a whole lot of unmet expectations. Just like

Mary and Joseph. But I want you to take heart

this Advent season because things can change

suddenly, which leads us to our first thought.

circumstances can change suddenly with God. When

reading through the Bible, we see how God can

suddenly change an entire situation. Maybe you've

been in a place for years where you've been grinding

in a very difficult struggle in a tough relationship.

Maybe your marriage is failing. Maybe you've

had unanswered prayers that have gone on for

years. Maybe you're struggling with an addiction

that you feel cannot be broken. But this Advent

season, take heart because things can change

suddenly. And we see that in today's scripture,

Luke 2, verse 13. Suddenly, everyone say suddenly.

Luke 2:13

The angel was joined by a vast host of others,

the armies of heaven, praising God and saying.

Suddenly, God broke in. Then in Acts 2, 2, talking

about the day of Pentecost, we read, suddenly.

There was a sound from heaven like the roaring

of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house

where they were sitting. Or you can look at Acts

Acts 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9 and the story of Saul. He's traveling

on the Damascus road, and we read this in verse

3. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission

to kill Christians, a light from heaven suddenly

shone around him. And today I want you to hear

that your circumstances can change suddenly.

Advent brings forth a season, a belief, an expectation,

a longing for more. More of God. More of Jesus.

A desperation for God to speak into the context

of our brokenness, our loneliness, and our darkness.

That maybe a joy would burst forth within our

hearts. And that is exactly what happened to

a group of shepherds. The angel burst forth for

the shepherds. We see that God proclaimed the

good news. In fact, we even heard it. The angel

said, I bring you good news of great joy that

was for all people. And what the angel proclaimed,

God demonstrated clearly by delivering this message

to a group of shepherds. All people. In this

culture, shepherds would have been a very common

or low task. In fact, within the Jewish culture,

they would have been considered outcast. They

definitely would have been considered unclean

because of their jobs and dealing with the sheep.

In fact, they wouldn't have been able to even

go into the outer court of the temple without

walking through various ceremonial rituals to

cleanse them from their dirtiness. And I find

it interesting, though, that God chose some lowly

shepherds. who were just finishing up a long

day. They were sitting around a campfire at night.

They had the sheep all put away. And then the

angel suddenly appears and says, I'm bringing

you guys some good news of great joy. It's for

everybody. Everyone. And those people whom the

religious society and the world would have said,

unclean, unclean, God says, no, no, no, no, no,

no. You're chosen. You're just the one I need

to go. I need you, shepherds, to go over to Bethlehem.

And I want you, now think about this. These shepherds,

they're going to go stand in the very presence

of God's son, the Messiah, the Lord, the one

named Jesus, which leads us to our next all.

See, God uses us, nobodies, to share the good

news. And I want to speak to you today, and I

want to challenge you. You can share the good

news. Even if you feel a little bit awkward or

unworthy or that you're not ready. Well, Chris,

I haven't checked all the boxes. I haven't gone

through the flower of power. How can I share

the good news? God can use you. To share the

good news. Because I believe the shepherds would

have felt the exact same way. But you know what

God said? I've checked them all through the context

of my son's birth and the salvation that he's

going to bring to the world because this is good

news of great joy for you. And the shepherds,

they go and they arrive and they proclaim this

good news. But I want you to notice how they

do it. Luke chapter 2 verses 15 through 19. When

Luke 2:15–19

the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds

said to each other, let's go. Notice, the shepherds

didn't look at each other and have a discussion

and make a plan. They didn't discuss, well, are

you worthy? Am I worthy? Should you speak? Should

I speak? You're the leader. No, I'm the leader.

None of that. Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see

this thing that has happened, which the Lord

has told us about. And then notice what they

did. They hurried. They didn't walk. They didn't

skip. Right? They hurried. They were expecting.

They wanted to see this promise that had been

given to them. And see, quite often for us, we

don't hurry. We don't go because we second guess

in our minds. We question. Well, I'm not good

enough, Chris. I haven't read enough of the Bible.

I don't understand Greek. I don't understand

Hebrew. Neither do I. You're okay. But you're

going to learn a little bit in a few minutes.

They hurried to the village, found Mary and Joseph,

and there was the baby lying in the manger. After

seeing him, the shepherds told everyone. And

why did they tell everyone? Because this was

good news for all people. What had happened and

what the angel had said to them about this child.

All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished,

but notice this part. Mary kept all these things

in her heart and thought about them often. I

wonder, as Mary sat and listened to this group

of outcasts, to these shepherds, I wonder, as

she was hearing their story, Her nerves began

to lessen. Her questions began to be answered.

Because as I thought about this story, I thought

about Mary and Joseph. And think about it. Mary,

here's this teenage girl. She gets visited by

an angel. You're going to be pregnant. It's not

from Joseph. It's from God. Suddenly she's pregnant.

Think about her mind. Think about those hormones.

Is this really God? Can this really be God's

son? Can this be the Messiah, the Savior? Why

me? This can't be. I was dreaming. And then Joseph.

Think about Joseph and all the struggles and

the questions in his mind. Is this really happening?

Is this real? How can this happen? All these

potential unmet expectations. That is going through

their mind. See, I don't necessarily believe

that Mary confidently thought this was the Messiah.

I believe she would have questioned and wondered.

But then, as these shepherds show up, what does

Mary hear? Mary hears the shepherds say, an angel.

Will an angel appear to us? And then suddenly

Mary and Joseph are like, oh, an angel. Now we're

all on the same page. Because this is true. Jesus

is the Messiah, the son of the living God. I

know this because an angel came and told us.

And then suddenly Mary can be confidently feeling

that this is true. And we can do the same for

somebody else. See, when we're second -guessing

ourselves, when we're wondering what to say,

I don't have the words to say. I can't pray for

anyone. I'm not good enough. I haven't been in

the church long enough. No, share the good news.

You don't have to second -guess yourself. You

can believe. And you see how Mary then confidently,

she was working everything that these men, these

outcasts shared with her, and she kept them close

to her heart because that's what helped her believe.

Someone else helped her to believe, and the same

goes for us. Why share the good news? Why be

outward focused? Why pray for people? Why invite

people to our community of faith? For life change.

Because people need it. I needed it. You needed

it. And we shouldn't forget that truth. You don't

have to feel unworthy. Just live on mission.

You don't have to know all the Bible. You don't

know how, you know, you don't have to be taught

how to pray. You can just be a vessel that the

Holy Spirit uses to bring about great joy for

others, to proclaim the good news. But remember,

there's a very fundamental difference between

joy and happiness. And we have to talk about

that today because our culture has twisted it

all up. And I need to break it down for you real

quick so that we can secure it in our hearts

and truly live a life of joy, which leads us

to our third thought. See, joy isn't an emotion.

It's a choice. Joy isn't an emotion. It's a choice.

It's not some exuberant, ecstatic feeling you

get because you have that first sip feeling of

your Starbucks. It's not that emotion that you

get when your team scores the touchdown and they're

on the way to the Super Bowl and you high -five

your best friend. It's the first time in a decade.

That's not it. That's not it. That's happiness.

Joy is a choice. Joy is a choice. Let's see what

the Bible says to us, Luke 2 .10. But the angel

reassured them, don't be afraid. I find it interesting.

The shepherds, the outcasts, they're fearful,

full of fear. The angel has to say, calm down,

guys. It's okay, I'm not gonna kill you. You're

good. No, I'm bringing you good news that will

be great joy. See, the shepherds had to overcome

their fear from fear to great joy. 2 Corinthians

7 .4 says, in all our affliction, I am overflowing

with joy. I mean, I don't know about you, but

when I read that, that sounds messed up. Doesn't

it? In my affliction, I'm overflowing with joy.

It makes no sense. Neither does this one that

we find in Colossians 1 .24. Now I rejoice in

what I am suffering for you. I mean, it's crazy.

But then it gets worse. Look at James 1 too.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any

kind come your way, consider it an opportunity

for great joy. Why? Because joy is a choice.

See, we can read those words and think, what

is wrong with James? What is wrong with Paul?

Don't they know what happiness is? Well, see,

they probably do. In fact, they know what happiness

is, but they know joy is better. And they know

joy is different. In that verse that I just read

for you, the word consider is the Greek word

called hegeomai. And it's this idea that you

give careful consideration to what you're about

to do. And that you make a very discerned and

dedicated decision towards something better.

You and I, in other words, we count the cost.

And we see Paul talking about that all the time.

Look at Philippians 3 .8. Yes, everything else

is worthless when compared with the infinite

value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For the

sake, for his sake, I've discarded everything

else. Counting it all as garbage so that I could

gain Christ. See, joy is not an emotion. Because

if it were, then these scriptures that I just

read to you wouldn't be true. Joy is a choice.

And when you fix your eyes on something else,

Jesus, then you can experience that joy. Now,

in our society, we have this idea of weighing

out the pros and the cons. Quite often, if you're

going to take a new job, you write a pros and

a cons list. And you think about them, and you

go over them. And if you're married, you talk

about them with your spouse. And then quite often

what happens is if the pros outweighs the cons,

you take the job and you forget about praying.

But that's a whole other sermon. But as a committed

follower of Jesus, when you look at your pros

and your cons, it doesn't matter how high the

stack is of the cons, because Paul has already

said, I consider that whole list what? Garbage.

A waste of time. Because I consider that me knowing

Jesus outweighs all the cons that stack up against

it. So this Christmas, let's remember, it's not

about the tree and the perfection or the lights

in the yard or the presents or the sandalists.

That all is garbage when it comes to Jesus. And

it's not that we don't celebrate it. It's not

that we don't embrace it. It's not that we don't

have fun with it and make it a part of our family's

traditions. It just means it can't be what it's

about because it's not. It's commercialism. That's

what that is. We are talking about Jesus. As

a pastor now for 28 years, I hear, People say

to me all the time, and maybe you've heard the

same thing said from a friend, and typically

what happens is when I hear these words, time

has passed, which means the wound is now a scar,

meaning maybe months or years have come and gone

in these cases, and they'll look at me and say,

you know, Chris, I never would have asked to

go through that situation. I never would have

invited it. to be a part of my life, but because

of what God has done, I would never choose to

remove it. It's who I am. Because that's somebody

who has their eyes set on something different.

That's somebody who has their eyes set on eternity,

on the kingdom of God, on Jesus. And in Hebrews

12 too, we see a picture that paints this picture

from Jesus perfectly. Hebrews 12, 2, we do this

by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who

initiates and perfects our faith. Now look at

this. Here's the word that we're focusing on

this week. Because of the joy awaiting him, he

endured the cross disregarding his shame. Now

he was seated in the place of honor beside God's

throne. So a couple questions for you to ponder.

What's joyous about the cross? Is being flogged

and beaten joyous? That's not joyous at all.

Is being stripped naked and having a crown of

thorns shoved on top of your head, is that joyous?

How about being crucified with spikes running

through your wrists and through your feet and

dying a suffocating death on that cross? There's

nothing joyous about that. But I just read for

you that the Bible says it... is for the joy

that was set before him. See, Jesus' mind wasn't

on all of that. It was on something different.

It was on you and me. It was the joy that he

could just know that you could experience forgiveness,

that you could experience God's love, that you

could understand grace, that the weight that

you're feeling right now, the burden that you're

carrying can be lifted and removed. And it's

that joy that drove him to the cross. It was

the freedom that you can find from your addiction

that holds you captive. You can be set free.

It was the joy that he knew you could have. And

because of it, what did Jesus do? He went to

the cross. And he died a credulous death. And

it's because of that you can experience great

joy. See, we see Jesus look past his circumstances

and make a dedicated and specific decision to

focus on what? Joy. Joy is separated from our

circumstances. Joy is centered on Jesus and the

goodness he brings to our lives. I want you to

think about this for just a second. Because we

spend so much time and a lot of energy trying

to find happiness and comfort in all the wrong

places. Joy is found in one person and in one

place. And his name is Jesus. But there is an

enemy of joy. And it has nothing to do with pain.

leading us to our final fall. The greatest enemy

of joy is distraction. Especially during this

Christmas season, the reason you can feel burned

out, tired, stressed out, and negative is because

we're focusing on everything else rather than

Jesus. The decorations, the presents, the dinners,

the traditions. And suddenly when you get into

this season, it's like your eyes are focused

on so many things. I got to go to this party

and that tradition and light this tree and go

see those trees and this. And your eyes are everywhere

and it's not focused on the one. And it's slight.

And we tell everyone, but it's all for God. But

slowly but surely we lose our focus. And the

angel proclaimed in Luke 2 .10, don't be afraid.

I bring you good news that will be great joy

for all people. And there's so many Jesus followers

walking around during this season, miserable,

upset, and frustrated when it's the greatest

opportunity to change the world. Because people

that don't go to church are hungry to be invited

to church during this season. They want to know

what it's all about. And so many of us, we make

a simple mistake. I know I do. And it sounds

like this. We let our one days rob us of our

two days. We let our one days rob us of our two

days. And what do I mean by that? Well, one day

we're going to get married. One day when I'm

healed. One day when I have my dream job. Or

one day when my spouse finally changes. One day

when I find balance. One day when my ex would

leave me alone. Whenever I have enough money,

that one day. And see, that one day robs us of

our today. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 6,

34, don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow

will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is

enough for today. Amen. And if it's not our one

days, you know what it is? It's our yesterdays.

Oh, if I wouldn't have said those words, if I

could only take them back, if I only savored

that moment, if I didn't make that choice, if

that wouldn't have happened to me, if only. And

the yesterday starts to mess up our today. And

here's the reality. All of us woke up this morning,

opened our eyes, and allowed our feet to hit

the floor. And that in itself is a miracle. A

miracle that should release joy into our hearts.

Paul writes in Romans 8, 1 through 2, so now

there's no condemnation for those who long to

Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him,

the power of the life -giving spirit has freed

you from the power of sin that leads to death.

See, we've been freed from the pain of our past.

So that we can focus on our today, which leads

us to our simple action step, experiencing great

joy. Friends, we simply need to daily choose

joy. Friends, we need to daily choose joy. Paul

writes to the church in Philippians 4, for always

be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again, rejoice.

And I did some studying of the Greek and the

Hebrew for you on that word, always. And you

know what it means in the Greek and the Hebrew?

It means always. So when Paul says, always be

full of joy in the Lord, he means it. And not

only does he mean always being always, he reinforces

it, and he says, again I say, rejoice. And Paul's

trying to tell us that we constantly need to

be focused on God's unchanging presence, faithfulness,

and power. Even in the midst of hardship. It's

a choice to share your testimony. It's a choice.

It's an inner joy rooted in Jesus. And it's much

different than temporary happiness. When we rejoice

and are full of joy, then Psalm 1611 becomes

a way of life. You will show me the way of life,

granting me the joy of your presence and the

pleasures of living with you forever. The joy

of your presence is available to every single

one of us. But again, it's a what church? It's

a choice. So recently I was at a funeral. And

when I was there, they started showing a video

with a bunch of pictures in it. As I started

watching this video and all the pictures of the

person who had passed away, I began to weep and

thought to myself, I wonder if they knew that

picture was going to end up in their funeral

camera roll. And of course the answer is no,

they didn't know that, neither do you or I. But

then I began to think, I wonder if they knew

that there was joy in that moment. I wonder,

did they see it? Did they experience it? And

I tell you, it was so impactful on my heart,

on my life, that for the last few weeks, every

time I pull out my phone, I pause and I find

myself looking at pictures. And I look at those

pictures and I ask myself an honest question.

I say, do I see it? Do I see joy in that photo?

Now, in fact, every time I take a picture, I,

in my mind, pause for a second. I think I'm in

it. I want to be in this moment. I want to feel

it. I want to experience the joy. The joy that

is beyond my current circumstances or anxiety

or stress or whatever it may be. So Jess and

I have been discussing how our Lily is graduating

this year. So I started looking at a bunch of

pictures of my family. And as I was looking at

these pictures of my family, I began to find

the joy in them. And I want to share a couple

with you if that's okay. Here's our first picture

of Lily. And that's Lily as a baby, and you can

see her smile, and she was always attached to

Daddy's hip. And you see in the next picture,

we're at the zoo, and there she is again at my

hip. Gosh, I was young. And that's my three girls

staring at the hippopotamus spreading poop all

through. And it's funny, as I was looking at

these pictures, Lily smiled. It was special to

us because we lost, had two miscarriages before

Lily came. And that's why her middle name is

Joy. Because she's full of joy. And in our next

picture, you'll see that Lily was actually the

first baby in the church. She was the first baby

that was part of our community of faith, and

that was our family picture from a photography

company that wanted to send and make $1 ,000

off our church because we were so small. But

it was still a good picture. And in our next

photo, you'll see Lily loves softball, just like

her older sister. Do we actually win the championship

there? You see Nolan photobombing in the back.

He looks that way because I had to drive 100

miles an hour to get to the game to win the championship

because I was their coach. So I came and preached

with all of you and then went and won a championship.

Not only does she play softball, though, she

was the good citizen of the year or month or

something at school. That was her fifth grade

picture. And again, you see the smile. And then

our son, oldest son, Isaac, graduated, and that's

our family picture. And you can see our children

growing up. And in our next photo, we love sports.

And we love being together. It's a family. And

the next one you're going to see Lily's 16th

birthday was out in a field for a picnic. Oh

no, she's helping me decorate this building.

So that was before this place even opened. And

then it's her 16th birthday. I think. Yep. We

were having a picnic in the field. And in our

next picture, you're going to see the family

together again. This was just a few weeks ago.

Lily is now signed and committed to play at Florida

Atlantic University on a full ride scholarship

for softball. And you see in the next picture,

she's full of joy. And FAU is full of joy to

have her. Look at the next slide. And in our

next slide, that was a Father's Day. And it's

interesting, as you go through pictures on your

phone, that was a Father's Day picture. And my

oldest daughter, Trinity, was upset that she

wasn't in the picture, so she scanned herself

in. And Zoe too. But what's interesting about

this picture is when I looked at this picture,

I saw the next picture. And that next picture

is actually the last picture that I took with

my dad. so much joy to see it and live it. But

I gotta tell you something. I know life's hard

and I know we're challenged daily, but you can

live with joy if you make the choice. So what

I want you to do, we're gonna sing here in a

second. I want you to take your phone out and

I want you to look at a picture right now. I'm

serious, do it. Take your phone out. And if you

got a flip phone, get with the program, man.

Like, get a phone you can have a picture on.

I want you to look at a picture. And I want you

to find joy in that picture. I want you to see

yourself there in the moment that it was taken.

And I want you to see the joy of that moment.

And I want you to be reminded that every day

is a choice. Every day is a choice to experience

joy. So we're going to sing here in a second.

But listen, none of this happens without Jesus.

The reason I do what I do is because of the burden

that God put on my heart to see people come into

a relationship with Him, to see marriages healed,

to see people restored. And we're going to pray

a simple prayer now as you're looking at that

picture. I'm going to invite you, if you're distant

or far from God and never came into that relationship,

now's your chance. Amen. Let's pray together.

Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of shame, regret,

sin. Change me. I believe you're God's son. I

believe you died for me. Make me new. Set me

free. Fill me with your spirit. Help me, God,

to serve others. In Jesus' name, amen. So if

you prayed that prayer, see me. I want to give

you some next steps, tell you to get baptized.

But more importantly, stand with me now. As we

worship and pray. And listen, no matter your

circumstances and what you brought in here, make

a choice to worship and allow the joy to fill

your heart so that you can go and give it away.

I was deep, I was deep, I was...