Luke 2:8-11
8 “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. (10) And the angel said to them. Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people;

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”.

Romans 3:23 “ALL have sinned and All have fallen short of the glory of God.”

John 10:10 “... I came that you may have life and life more abundantly.”

Five Tips For JOY at Christmas... That will last you ALL YEAR LONG

1. Place your TRUST fully upon Christ Jesus.

Trusting God is so much simpler than not trusting Him. When you doubt God... His Word... and His promises... You're left to your own devices and reasoning when it comes to working things out. A a result you get stressed out.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

2 Examine your life and address any known sin.

2 Corinthians 13:5
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 51:12
“Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.”

3 Set your eyes on the prize.

Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

By keeping your eyes on “Prize” ... You are consistently reminding yourself that:
• You belong to God • You have purpose
• Your life matters
• Today is worth living

What is our prize?
• To know Christ
• To have Christ
• To be in unity with Christ
• To experience the power of Christ • To receive eternal life

4 Be generous and invest in others
The Bible is clear that we are to live our lives generously.

1 John 3:16-18
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

5 When life is hard and your are struggling with all of life’s circumstances one of the quickest ways to get reprieve is ...
• To find a way to serve someone
• To give of your time, money or any other of your resources.

One of the quickest ways to bing a shot of Heaven’s JOY into your life is to find a way to be generous and to give and invest in another persons life.

Proverbs 11:25
“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”