Sabbath School Study Week 1
Joy in Suffering
Introduction
Joy. It is safe to say all of us would love to say
we are filled with joy. Joy. What is it?
How is it different from happiness?
Is Joy something we have, something we find or share? Joy. Perhaps a word we use a lot during the
Christmas season and don’t think about the rest of the year. Joy.
There are many people with opinions about what it is how to achieve it
and hold onto it. We are going to spend the
next several weeks studying what is written about Joy in the book of
Philippians. Philippians is the “Book of
Joy” It is my hope that we not only read and learn but we put into practice
what we learn. I know that in the pages
of this book we are going to find the recipe, a tried and true recipe for
JOY. Each week we will not only have
things to read and questions to answer but we will discover ingredients to the
recipe for JOY. So let’s get
started. JOY.
First we need to define Joy.
Or attempt to define Joy as we understand it before this study. According to Websters definition
1joy
noun \ˈjȯi\
: a feeling of great happiness: a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone
: success in doing, finding, or getting something
Full Definition of JOY
1a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune
or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight
2: a state of
happiness or felicity : bliss
3: a source or
cause of delight
— joy·less adjective
— joy·less·ly adverb
— joy·less·ness noun
According to Theopedia, the biblical definition of Joy is
Joy is a state of mind and an orientation
of the heart. It is a settled state of contentment, confidence and hope. It is
something or someone that provides a source of happiness. It appears 88 times
in the Old Testament in 22 books; 57 times in the New Testament in 18 books.^[1]^
As we study the book of Philippians I would like for us to
constantly refer back to the definitions and by the end of our study define
Joy. It may be the same and it may have
a new more in-depth definition.
Chapter
1: 1-2
This is a simple hello, right? Yes it is but let’s look at it more closely.
1. What
does Paul call him and Timothy?
2. What
does he call the people he is writing to?
3. What
is a servant?
4. How
would you describe God’s Holy People?
Paul is writing to them with great
affection and humility. As leaders for
Christ we must always be humble. There
is no place for us His workers to be anything other than servants.
1. How
can we make sure we put ourselves in the place of servant?
2. What
will it look like? (Think of this in
context of what you are already doing.
For example if you are a greeter at our church, how would a greeter
serve as a servant, a humble servant?)
(If you are not a greeter in our church and feel called to that position
let us know…. We can get you connected and started right away :) __________________________________________
In verse 2 it says ___________________ and
_____________________ to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
I have read this so many times and have given it as much
significance as I do when you write Dear Beth in a letter to me. I never think you are saying, “my dear Beth”
you are just opening the letter in a formal way. Is that all this is, or is there more to
it?
Or could it be that these two incredible gifts could be the
foundation to JOY! Perhaps these gifts
that can really only come from
_______________________________________and _________________________________,
are two of the most important words or ingredients for Joy. Hmmm.
JOY
ingredient #1: An acceptance of the gift of __________________
and ____________________ to you from _________________________
and _____________________________________.
ACTION: We all know we have these gifts readily available for us, but somehow in the craziness of life we forget. So this week write on your computer screen saver scriptures about grace and peace. Find a peaceful picture with the words peace and grace. Or memorize a scripture about grace and peace. Do everything and anything you can think of to keep it the for front of your mind. You have been given Grace and Peace.
Enjoy my contribution to keeping close to your heart all week!
Enjoy my contribution to keeping close to your heart all week!
Chapter
1: 3-11
Here Paul is opening with a prayer of thanksgiving for his
dear friends. He praises God for them,
he shares how much apart of his life they are.
Paul was in prison and not in the best conditions for sure. Yet, “I always pray with joy” was how he
started.
JOY: Ingredient 2: Prayer and Thanksgiving (with joy) for others.
It is in the simple
act of praying for people in our lives, praising God for them, thanking him for
them, that we will start to find real joy.
This week we are going to put this into practice. You can use Paul’s prayer or use your
own. Here are some guidelines:
1. Pray
for someone you know.
2. Pray
with joy!
3. Thank
God for them.
4. Pray
that they will continue to know the Lord more.
5. Praise
God for the contribution they have made in your life.
6. Pray
that God will be praised!
So day 1 Pray for someone.
Day 2 pray for day 1 person and day 2 person. So you will pray for 2 people on day 2. and 3 people on day three, and so on all week long. Below is a chart you can fill out if it will
help you remember.
Day 1______________________
Day 2______________________
Day 3______________________
Day 4______________________
Day 5______________________
Day 6______________________
Day 7 _____________________
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