Where did you notice or experience the love of Christ this past week—through Scripture, prayer, another person, or an unexpected moment? How did that experience (or its absence) shape your sense of joy?

 

 

The greatest threat to Christmas joy is not culture, but cynicism and boredom with the story of God’s redemption. Where do you notice yourself becoming cynical, guarded, or emotionally disengaged this season—and what do you think that is protecting you from?

 

 

Psalm 126 recalls affliction before it celebrates deliverance. How does remembering God’s past faithfulness—rather than minimizing hardship—actually deepen joy? What part of your story might God be inviting you to revisit with gratitude?

 

 

Isaiah 52:1-6 calls God’s people to “wake up” and live into what God has already done for them. Where might you be living as though redemption is still something to be earned rather than received? What would it look like to awake to grace this week?

 

 

Isiah 52:7-10 States that joy grows when we trust that “our God reigns.” What are you currently waiting for God to do? How might joy change if anticipation replaced anxiety or control in that area of your life?

 

 

Isaiah says joy leads to proclamation— “How beautiful are the feet…” Who might God be calling you to bring good news to this Advent season, not through pressure or performance, but through the quiet confidence of a joy rooted in Christ?

 

 

Which posture do you sense God inviting you into this week—remembering, awakening, or anticipating—so that joy might come as a consequence of experiencing Him?