The Libcov Blog

What does Joy look like in your life?

How is the story of Jesus’ birth a story about joy?

How can you live into that story of Joy and participate in the process of restoring joy to this world?

Jesus saves us to feel joy and gladness

Read Luke 2:8-20

The Beginner’s Bible—Shepherd’s Visit pg. 277

The Jesus Storybook Bible—The Light of the Whole World pg. 184

What does the word joy mean?

What brings you joy?

How do you think the shepherd’s felt when they heard the wonderful message from the angels?

How does Jesus bring us joy?

What brings God joy?

During the month of December we are learning about the virtue of Joy in K-5^th grade Sunday School.  Our definition for the month is this, “Joy is finding a way to be happy even when things don’t go your way.”  Not getting your way is hard.  It might make you want to cry or whine or maybe if kick the wall or run away.  The joy that Jesus brings us is true joy that shines through even when things are hard.  The joy that Jesus brings is like a flashlight shining in a dark room.  The darker it get the brighter the light shines!

Isaiah 35

Joy of the Redeemed

¹ The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰ and those the LORD has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Jesus Saves us to Know his mercy

by Pastor Chuck and Vonnie Johnson

“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” Mary

This was a memorable day for young Ralphie.  He was playing  in the backyard with neighbor children and was yelling nasty and bad words.  His mother called him into the house and sent him to his room to wait until his dad came home for the evening meal.  She went downstairs and heard Ralphie’s little brother sobbing.

“Dad’s gonna kill Ralphie!” he wailed.

Eventually,  his dad came home, and Ralphie was called down to the table.

“What happened today?” his dad asked.

“Nothing much,” his mother responded.  “Ralphie had a fight.”

“What kind of fight?” his father asked as he glared at Ralphie.

“You know, the fights boy have,” his mother explained.

And Ralphie’s  father began to read the newspaper.

Ralphie, fearing the punishment he deserved, was overcome by his mother’s showing him mercy, what he didn’t deserve.  Ralphie, relaxed in astonishment, as he realized he had been spared the punishment.  He was set free to begin again and live with the better behavior he knew he could show.

This account, not usual in Ralphie’s life, but, nevertheless, provides an insight to the passage from the Gospel of Luke.  The verse is from Mary’s song (also known as “The Magnificat”).  She had been visited by the angel who told her she was to be the mother of God’s Son, Jesus.  She was astonished!  Elizabeth, her aunt, called her “Blessed.”  They were astonished!  All this came out in Mary’s song as she told of the mighty acts of God:  verse 50–God’s mercy extended…from generation to generation, verse 51–God had performed mighty deeds, verse 52–God brought down rulers and lifted up the humble, verse 53–God had filled the hungry, and  verse 54– even-more astounding , God remembering to be merciful to Abraham and His descendents forever, after so many years of Israel’s failure to obey Him.

Yes, it had been more than 400 years since a prophetic voice had been heard in Israel.  Israel faced great hardships: heavy taxes, wars, poverty, and injustice.  Her people were overrun and controlled by the Roman rulers.  In and through Mary, a poor, young woman, God remembered His promise of a Messiah.  The birth of Jesus was the revealing act of God’s eternal mercy.  For in Jesus, His life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension, God’s people have been given a new beginning.  (I Peter 1:3)  Jesus saved and saves us to experience God’s mercy again and again.  Astonishing!

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Think about it:

v Are we living in fear of judgment for what we did or did not do, say or did not say?  Reconnect with God’s love and mercy in Christ and live life anew!  We can be changed!

v God’s mercy in Christ is far greater than any sin we have committed.  We can bring it to God.

v In mercy, God wants us to be in His Kingdom now and forever!  Remind yourself of this fact!

v In mercy, we do not get what we deserve.  In mercy, are we withholding  judgment of those who have failed us in some way and seeking to relate to them in love?  (Matthew 5:7)

v Good news for all seasons:  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.   (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Jesus saves us to experience his mercy

Read Luke 7:36-50

The Beginner’s Bible—A Gift for Jesus pg. 423

The Jesus Storybook Bible—Washed with tears pg. 280

What did the woman do for Jesus?

Why did she do it?

Washing someone’s feet with your tears and your hair sounds a bit strange to us.  But to Jesus this was a sign of thankfulness and love.  Why was the woman so thankful?  Because Jesus had forgiven her.  She had made mistakes and one some bad things and Jesus forgave her and loved her.  She had experienced mercy and wanted to show Jesus love in return.

Jesus saves us to know his peace

by Claudia Nauman

Have you gotten to see the newest of newborn babies, ever?  I remember my friend, who’s especially fond of newborns, remarking that the baby she just cooed over in the restaurant was so young that she still had her fingers scrunched together in an innocent fist . Can you picture that sweet, helpless baby?  Her whole body’s knit closely, tightly, and so are her fists. Her fists shaking toward each other are often the first movement we notice. Over the days her fists  fall open, allowing mom and dad  to count the lines in her hands and thoroughly inspect each finger and fingernail. She’s growing up, just a few days after birth.  Her hands are open, ready to clutch food, mom, dad and life.

Look at your hands.  Look at both sides, what do you see?   I see wrinkles, deep lines, shallow lines, red, blue, a blister, a callous, age spots, sagging skin, an engagement ring, a wedding ring, I see my years.  I know that my hands show my age.  I’ve got them curled as I type over the keyboard just now, fretting that I’m late and wondering what you’ll think.  Yesterday they fearfully gripped a tennis racket,  loathing my failing serve.  A few days ago my white-knuckled hands were glued to the steering wheel driving lots of girls two-hours away.  Last night I held tightly to the credit card, as I purchased more food for more kids.  Can you see my hands?  They show all my worries, all my troubles.  They’re clenched tightly, and  there, too, is my heart.  I’m ashamed.

God’s hands gently and lovingly open:  He gives us Jesus who’s wrapped in swaddling cloths laying in a manger.  Wouldn’t it have been magnificent to be there for the birth of  God’s son, Jesus?  Was he a chubby baby?  Did he cry?  Did he have hair?  What color were his eyes?  I wonder.  And His hands. Oh to see those sweet, tightly clenched fingers.  And a few days later to see them open, and  examine his tiny fingers and fingernails, to draw them close to my face and kiss them.  Oh how I wish.

Our baby Jesus is love.  God’s love.  God could have chosen anything or anyone to show His mighty, eternal love, but He chose a baby.  Jesus.  Look closely as our baby Jesus.  He’s different.  His hands open.  They show peace, love, and it’s not to be taken back, ever.  As baby Jesus grew, he spent time learning about his father, he obeyed his father. He opened his hands to be nailed to a cross.  God allowed His sweet baby’s hands to open, each finger, and to hang on the cross.  That is love.  All for our  peace.  Hold tightly to God’s son, baby Jesus, and let go of the worries of this world.

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