Embedded Files
I’ve Got the Joy Joy Joy
Verse 1
I've got that joy joy joy joy
Down in my heart
Down in my heart
Down in my heart
I've got that joy joy joy joy
Down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
Chorus
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
And I'm so happy so very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Verse 2
I've got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart
Down in my heart
Down in my heart
I've got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
Chorus
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
And I'm so happy so very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Verse 2
I've got the love of Jesus love of Jesus
Down in my heart
Down in my heart
Down in my heart
I've got the love of Jesus love of Jesus
Down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
Chorus
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
And I'm so happy so very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
“Rejoice the Lord is King”
1 Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore.
Rejoice, give thanks and sing
and triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice.
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
2 His kingdom cannot fail;
he rules o'er earth and heaven;
the keys of death and hell
to Christ the Lord are given.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice.
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
3 He sits at God's right hand
till all his foes submit,
bow down at his command,
and fall beneath his feet.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice.
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
4 Rejoice in glorious hope;
for Christ, the Judge, shall come
to gather all his saints
to their eternal home.
We soon shall hear the archangel's voice;
the trump of God shall sound, rejoice!
“A Thousand Hallelujahs”
Verse 1
Who else would rocks cry out to worship
Whose glory taught the stars to shine
Perhaps creation longs to have the words to sing
But this joy is mine
Chorus
With a thousand hallelujahs
We magnify Your name
You alone deserve the glory
The honor and the praise
Lord Jesus this song is forever Yours
A thousand hallelujahs
And a thousand more
Verse 2
Who else would die for our redemption
Whose resurrection means I'll rise
There isn't time enough to sing of all You've done
But I have eternity to try
Chorus
With a thousand hallelujahs
We magnify Your name
You alone deserve the glory
The honor and the praise
Lord Jesus this song is forever Yours
A thousand hallelujahs
And a thousand more
Bridge
Praise to the Lord
To the Lamb
To the King of heaven
Praise for He rose
Now He reigns
We will sing forever
Chorus
With a thousand hallelujahs
We magnify Your name
You alone deserve the glory
The honor and the praise
Lord Jesus this song is forever Yours
A thousand hallelujahs
And a thousand more
“Heart Sings Hallelujah”
Verse 1
Heaven’s silence has been broken
My heart sings hallelujah
With a child God has spoken
My heart sings hallelujah
Everything changes
Everything changes OH
Chorus
Glory glory in the highest
God we praise You
Savior Savior to the lost and broken
Jesus Jesus our Redeemer
Here to save us
My heart sings heart sings hallelujah
Verse 2
Angels come with words of wonder
My heart sings hallelujah
Freedom from the curse we’re under
My heart sings hallelujah
Everything changes
Everything changes OH
Chorus
Glory glory in the highest
God we praise You
Savior Savior to the lost and broken
Jesus Jesus our Redeemer
Here to save us
My heart sings heart sings hallelujah
“For Freedom Christ has Set us Free”
"For freedom, Christ has set us free!"
What joy is ours to claim!
No more enslaved, humanity
Finds life in Jesus' name.
We try, Lord, to be justified
Through all the works we do.
Yet you adopt us, saying, "Child,
It's Christ who makes you new."
2. We're clothed in Christ and we belong;
Now no one waits outside.
In him we find our common song;
Old ways no more divide.
"It is no longer I who live,
But Christ who lives in me."
He died for us, new life to give —
And new identity.
3. Now, Spirit-filled, may we be led
From ways that would destroy.
May we your people turn instead
To lives of love and joy.
May we find peace that makes us whole
And patience everywhere.
God, give us kindness, self-control,
And hearts and hands that share.
Ebenezer CRC - January 4, 2026
Adam Veenstra
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON INTRO SLIDE This morning we will be using two passages for our message - the first is from Philippians 4, which you can find on page 1830, and the second is from Psalm 98, which you can find on page 935.
Our message theme for today is based around the concept of “twelfth night”, because tomorrow is actually the twelfth day of Christmas according to the church calendar.
For centuries, these twelve days - starting on Christmas Day itself when Advent concludes - were a time of feasting and parties and joy. A time for having fun!
Twelfth Night, the final night of the holiday, was a particularly big celebration!
And I think there’s maybe a lesson to be learned about all that joy as our own holiday season comes to an end.
As we get back to routine tomorrow, we receive some Scriptural encouragement for how we’re supposed to jump back into ordinary life.
In Philippians 4 we read:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
And then if you flip over to page 935, Psalm 98 says:
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
MESSAGE PART 1
SLIDE 1 When New year’s happens near the end of the week like this year, it gives us a chance to have one last weekend of holiday fun before returning back to normal tomorrow.
The way the calendar works out, Monday morning marks a clean, definite end.
If I can be honest with you, I’ve never really liked that change.
I really prefer the festive version of normal.
I’d rather have a normal that includes lots of extra treats in the house and get togethers with friends. My version of seasonal depression will kick in sometime this afternoon - sure it’s light out, but that’s just the sun! That’s not as much fun as Christmas lights.
SLIDE 2 It can be easy for January to feel a bit dull and joyless after all the festive fun of December, and these twelve days of Christmas.
Which is the exact opposite to what we read in Scripture - in these two passages, and all throughout the Bible.
SLIDE 4 Instead, we are told that we can have joy, true joy, and that we can rejoice, and so we should rejoice, always. In every situation. Even when all the parties are over.
Philippians 4 can seem like a tall order, because we will not always feel like rejoicing.
But it goes on to list all the reasons why we can.
Because the Lord is near. Because the Lord is listening.
Because the Lord is guarding us against anything that might try steal away that joy.
SLIDE 4 Even if it’s just January blues.
That doesn’t deny the existence of the things in our lives that are hard.
That doesn’t deny the existence of hurt or pain - or even just boredom after the holidays!
It means that we know that there is still always some good, because of the faithfulness of God.
SLIDE 5 Because he has always made his salvation known, and he has always remembered his love and faithfulness to his people.
Joy is almost a form of protest!
By singing to the Lord, by rejoicing in him always, God’s people are declaring that no matter what else is going on in the world, he is good. He is worth of praise.
And so we can be joyful.
SLIDE 6 Author Richard Paul Evans has been called the “King of Christmas Fiction”, publishing 22 Christmas books in the last 32 years.
In one of them, he writes about his own experience travelling through different Asian countries at Christmas, which lacked so many of the traditional Western markers of the holiday season that he was used to.
But he writes that there was still something inside him that felt joyful and triumphant, that knew it was Christmas - that wanted to rejoice!
Rejoicing in what the Lord has done is a natural thing for God’s people.
And a good, necessary thing for God’s people!
SLIDE 7 In the November issue of the Banner, news editor Alissa Vernon wrote about Jesus taking the time to celebrate at weddings and feasts, to have fun with the people around him.
She says, “it’s right to remember and commemorate the things God has done.”
Like we see right here in Psalm 98. God’s people are encouraged, even commanded, to rejoice and to celebrate.
Always.
Some of you might remember the kids song based on Miriam’s song in Exodus. If you don’t know it, we’ll play a short clip for you right now:
SERMON AUDIO CLIP
MESSAGE PART 2
SLIDE 1 Whenever I read or hear the passage from Exodus, I can’t help but flash back to that song.
And if you’ve sung it before, you know that you sing it faster and faster and the whole thing gets chaotic and loud and ridiculous. The more people trying to keep up, the better.
That is a perfect example of joy. Miriam sang this song when God has triumphed over the powers wanting to oppress his people, and has promised his people freedom for the future.
But there is still a lot more hardship to come.
They are still in a time of transition and uncertainty.
But they are rejoicing.
SLIDE 2 It might not exactly be a hardship to have school start back up tomorrow.
It might not exactly be a hardship to have to take down the decorations in your office.
It might not exactly be a hardship to have council again on Thursday.
But life will once again have an agenda that doesn’t include tinsel and candy canes and saying “it’s Christmas” to justify eating junk food.
Joy might be a bit buried under the surface a bit.
SLIDE 3 But that doesn’t mean ordinary life is without it!
Our ordinary lives are allowed to be fun!
Our ordinary lives should be fun.
They should be filled with joy on the thirteenth night as much as the twelfth.
I get that I’m not the most emphatic person in the world; I guarantee by noon tomorrow someone will point out the irony of me preaching on joy and excitement.
So do as I say, not as I do.
How we engage our mission has to have joy.
How we talk about our faith has to have joy.
Because how we talk about these things - church and Scripture and our mission - will be picked up on by others.
By our community, and by the next generation.
If we talk about it being a chore to serve on council or volunteer for a ministry, or even to attend on Sundays, that’s the example we’re setting.
And who would ever want to follow that example?
Who would ever want to join a church family, or any group or community, that doesn’t have joy?
Church can be a hard enough sell on its own.
If we’re honest, there are some major dysfunctions in Christianity that turn people off.
So if we combine these very real injustices with a lack of any evident joy - we have nothing to offer people.
SLIDE 4 Enjoyment should be a part of faithful worship and mission!
It’s why all of our ministries and programming are such a vital part of our fellowship and outreach, because they provide opportunities to sing that song, for that joy to be on display!
And provide opportunities to invite others in to experience that joy, too.
SLIDE 5 The world needs joy.
It’s in a lot of pain - it needs the fun and excitement of Christmas to continue, to be a reminder that yes, there are still things we can be joyful about.
If you’re here on a weeknight in the coming months, you’ll hear noise.
You’ll hear Friendship, or the Cadets and Gems, the singers, and now this week the youth added to the mix.
I don’t go into the fellowship hall on Sundays after church because I can’t hear normal conversation over all that background noise.
If you go to the big Sunday School classroom after church, you’re going to hear yelling from gaga ball.
SLIDE 6 That is all a joyful noise. That is jubilant song.
It is the sound of a church family being together in love.
It is the passion of our faith bursting out.
As many of you know we are picking up that visioning process again now that the holidays are over.
SLIDE 7 Our existing vision statement says that we will “passionately celebrate” becoming a church that is engaged in its mission.
It can be easy for passion to get lost in the shuffle of everyday life.
But maybe because we have a narrow definition of that passion.
One of the most remarkable things that we heard about in the story over this past month is that Christ came in humility.
He came into the ordinariness of life.
His presence is in the everyday, so there is joy in the everyday.
SLIDE 8 We can’t have Christmas every day.
Party season isn’t sustainable.
But Bing Crosby once said that the secret of Christmas is not the things you do at Christmastime, but the Christmas things you do all year through.
That should be a part of our mission and vision this year - carrying the true message of Christmas with us, even when the season is over.
What January offers us now is still a true, deep joy.
What January offer us now is a joy that doesn’t need all the excitement and events of Christmas, but can sing and shout from the simple assurance of God with us.
Because the real meaning behind behind these twelve days - and nearly two months - of festivities is that the Lord is near, so we don’t have to be anxious about anything, but can, by prayer and petition, come to our God, and know that his peace will be with us.
Because it always has been.
That’s why God’s people can and should rejoice!
That’s why we keep the lights up and shining all year long.
And so as we go, I invite you to hear Psalm 98 once again, as a closing blessing, and an encouragement for the year ahead:
“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things…shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord..shout for joy before the Lord, the King.” Amen.
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