Luke 2:6–18

How to Return to Joy This Christmas Season

1. Jesus’ birth is about the good news of great joy to all people, regardless of circumstances. The shepherds were in some of the least desirable circumstances, seemingly trapped in an “unholy” lifestyle and distant from God in the eyes of those upholding the laws of religion at that time. Yet Jesus’ life begins with a new era being ushered in—that he would come for all people with news of great joy from heaven. Jesus’ birth is a reminder that God longs to find you and invite you into the joy of knowing him, even if you feel you can’t find him or ever experience joy based on the past or present.
2. Our shepherd reveals joy at the time we least expect it, in the places we aren’t looking for it, and in the activities of our lives that we think are outside the bounds of what w ...