The Shepherd Candle:
JOY SPREADS
He has come
He is here
Come and see
Joy Quotes
“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”
-- Karl Barth (Swiss theologian)
“To get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with.”
-- Mark Twain
“The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”
-- Helen Keller
Opening Question
When have you, or someone you’ve known, had an experience of joy that could not be contained?
Discussion Questions
Read Luke 1:39-58
What joy did each person experience in this passage? How did they express their joy? (Baby John, Elizabeth, Mary)
What questions or concerns do you think each person would have had that could have prevented their joy?
How did expressing their joy lead to increased joy?
Later, in Luke 2:8-20, joy continues to spread. God joyfully announces the birth of His Son to shepherds in the field. The shepherds respond to the news by going to see Jesus for themselves. They leave with a joy that cannot be contained.
But Luke 2:19 records Mary’s response to it all that night—she treasured the moment—watching, listening, and pondering everything in her heart.
What kinds of thoughts and emotions do you think Mary was experiencing?
How would her ‘pondering’ make room for joy, even while she lacked complete understanding of what was happening?
Spiritual Practice:
Contemplation
What: Looking with the eyes of the heart to see the deeper reality
How: Respond to our experiences of God like Mary, treasuring and pondering them in our hearts
Why: Recognize that God is actively working in our lives
Concluding Question
How can contemplating our experience of God make room for more joy in our lives?
Personal Devotionals
Daily Scripture readings and meditations