Check In

  1. What is something you love to do that tells us a little about you: a hobby, a place, a team, a meal?
  2. Where did you find yourself smiling this week, and where did the week squeeze you a little?

This Week's Message

Sunday's message continued our series on the fruit of the Spirit with joy, and began with an honest question: what happens to your joy when your circumstances change? The message drew a line between happiness and joy. Happiness depends on what happens; joy comes from where we are rooted, like the tree planted by water in Jeremiah 17 that doesn't fear when heat comes. Four movements followed. Joy is rooted, not random. Joy is received, not achieved: Jesus offers us his own joy, the joy of a Son who knows he is loved by his Father (John 15:9–11), and we stay close to him through his words, prayer, and his people. Joy is revealed under pressure: beaten and jailed, Paul and Silas prayed and sang at midnight (Acts 16:25), because pressure shows what is already in us. And joy is restored when we come home: in Luke 15, the father runs to his son while he is still a long way off, before any speech or cleaning up.

Read Together

Galatians 5:22–23 and John 15:9–11

Discuss

  1. What stands out to you in these two passages?
  2. In John 15:11, Jesus doesn't tell his disciples to work up joy; he says "my joy," the joy of a Son who knows he is loved by his Father. How does knowing you are loved by God in Christ change where you look for joy?
  3. Happiness depends on what happens; joy comes from where we are rooted. Where do you notice your joy rising and falling with your circumstances, and what tends to come out of you when life presses in?
  4. The message named three ways a branch stays connected to the vine: his words, prayer, and his people. Which one would you like to lean into this week, and what might get in the way?

Pray

Pray with David, "Restore the joy of your salvation to me" (Psalm 51:12). Thank the Father that he runs to meet us while we are still a long way off, and pray for one another, especially for anyone whose joy feels far away right now.

Use what serves your group; you don't need to get through every question.