Family Devo: JOY TO THE WORLD & PSALM 98

Please read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn.

Psalm 98 talks about singing a new song because God has done amazing things. It says everyone, even the rivers and hills, should celebrate because God is fair and loving.

Joy to the World is a hymn Isaac Watts wrote based on Psalm 98. It was first printed in 1719. Though Watts was thinking about Jesus’ return to this world when he wrote it, many people now sing it at Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birth. The song talks about how happy the world should be because Jesus has come and will return. He's the king who brings joy and fixes everything that's wrong. Look up the lyrics and sing the hymn together as part of this devo. The song tells us that Jesus’ coming means the end of sadness and bad things. 

The Bible says that God loves everyone so much that He sent Jesus to save everyone, not punish them (John 3:16-17). It calls everyone to turn away from doing wrong (Acts 17:30) and promises that through Jesus, we can all have life again (Romans 5:18). Everyone should accept Christ as Lord!

Even though there's sadness in the world, the birth of Jesus is a reason to be joyful because it starts the fixing of everything. His life, death, and coming back to life mean we can look forward to a time when there's no more sadness—and this isn’t something we should think about at Christmastime; it’s something we should think about every day.

So, this Christmas, and then all year long, let's sing, be happy, and share this joy with others, remembering that Jesus's coming is good news for everyone, everywhere.

Discuss:

• How does the hymn Joy to the World relate to the idea of Jesus fixing everything wrong in the world?

• Why do you think it's important for everyone to share the joy that comes from Jesus's birth, life, death, resurrection, teachings, and coming return?

This week, we learned a little about one of the Bible’s Psalms of restoration. Let’s pray together and ask the Lord to help us be filled with the joy of Christian hope so everyone can see it. 

—JLP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Family Devo: PSALM 46: A SONG ABOUT GOD'S STRENGTH

Image
Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn. Psalm 46 is a special song some Israelites who lived a long time ago wrote with the Holy Spirit’s help. The song tells everyone to trust in God no matter what is happening around them. Here's what it says in simple words: God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid if the earth shakes, or if the mountains fall into the sea. We will not fear even if the oceans roar and foam, or if the mountains shake at the raging sea. Think about this. There is a river which brings joy to the city of God. This is the holy place where God Most High lives. God is in that city, and so it will not be shaken. God will help her at dawn. Nations tremble, and kingdoms shake. God shouts, and the earth crumbles. The Lord of heaven’s armies is with u...
Read more

BEING & RAISING "CHILDREN OF ISSACHAR"

Image
I wrestled in prayer for years, trying to become like an ancient "son of Issachar." They "understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chr 12:32 NET), so they wisely supported King David. Today's "sons of Issachar" understand AD 2024 and know what the church and Christian families should do. The church is "spiritual Israel," continuing the storyline and covenants we read about in the Old Testament. Fulfilled in Christ, they now find expression through the New Covenant in His blood. Israel's mission was to bring Christ into the world. Ours is to bring Him back (2 Pet 3:11–12). This is fundamental. Jesus is King and the loyalty of the world, church, family, marriage, and individual is due Him. Humanity's duty at all these levels is to serve Him faithfully and loyally. Only when individuals are faithful will marriages and families be. The church cannot be unified and focused on the mission if the member families are broken. An...
Read more

Friday Family Devo: WEAR GOD'S ARMOR!

Image
Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn. As we learned in last week’s devo, there’s a war going on in our world between good and evil. God is good, and all who want to be good must be on His side. God doesn’t expect us to fight without His help, though, so read Ephesians 6:10–20 together and then think about these things: When we're fighting for what’s true and right, we need to remember, we’re not alone. God gives us His strength to make us able to keep on keeping on. In fact, He promises never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5). All He asks of us in return is to trust and obey Him.  Pray for protection! Evil spirits serve Satan and somehow tempt people to evil and deceive many in the world. We can’t see them, but God can, and He can keep us safe. All we have to do is ask Him to, James 4:2 says so. A little later in James 4, i...
Read more