NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH
LESSON 1—THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER
John 3:16 (KJV)
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
1. As we get closer to the coming of Christ we should express our elation and happiness.
Matthew 2:10 (NIV)
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Philippians 4:4 (NIV)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Proverbs 17:22 (ESV)
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
2. We can laugh because we have a very present God who keeps every promise.
Nehemiah 8:4-12 (NIV)
Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion … (verse 5) Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground … (Verse 9) Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
3. Don’t be so impatient, wait on the Lord.
Psalm 37:9 (KJV)
For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
4. Don’t take yourself too serious, boast in the Lord.
Psalm 34:2 (NKJV)
My soul shall make it’s boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Matthew 5:5 (KJV)
Blessed [happy] are the meek [humble], for they shall inherit the earth.
5. Don't rely on human effort, trust in the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:5, 7 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. (verse 7) Blessed [or happy] is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
Genesis 17:1-8, 15-19 (ESV)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” (15-19) And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant [promise] with him as an everlasting covenant [promise] for his offspring after him.
Genesis 21:5-6 (ESV)
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”
2 Corinthians 1:19-20 (ESV)
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you … was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.