Becoming Joyful
Isaiah 61:1–7
Scott Sund, Senior Pastor
It is precisely in our honesty, our humility, and our willingness to be helpful to the world around us that we see the beauty for ashes in our lives and our JOY is restored.
1. Be Honest: Joy is mysterious and depending on the situation, elusive
2. Be Humble: Joy comes when we are authentically hungry
3. Be Helpful: Joy comes when you serve the world
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Discussion Questions
Before questions, attempt to give the group a bit of a summary of the main points of the sermon and then choose a few questions that fit your group’s needs and style. We don’t intend for you to use all of these. Three to five questions may be a good number.
Begin by reading Isaiah 61:1–7 aloud, taking turns reading the passages.
Pray over the group before beginning discussion.
1. Was your 2021 more beauty or ashes? Why?
a) What are you hopeful for in 2022?
2. Share a time when growth came through unease and difficulty.
3. When Jesus said He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61, the people to whom He was speaking didn’t believe Him because they were too focused on what was in front of them. Do you ever miss the possibility that God is working, because you were focusing on what was right in front of you?
4. Pastor Scott said that our honesty is the gateway to joy through our relationship with the Lord. In what ways do you find it difficult to be truly honest with God and each other in the areas in which you are struggling to find joy?
5. What is holding you back from being able to be completely honest with those in your community?
6. Where in your life do you find yourself trying to achieve joy on your own rather than being humble and inviting God to help you?
7. Where might God be calling you to receive joy by serving others?
8. When it comes to the three things that Pastor Scott told us to be in order to have our joy restored—be honest, be humble, be helpful—which one feels like the greatest struggle for you today?
9. Where can you use your own broken experiences to help others who are in similar experiences of brokenness?
10. Where do you need God to meet you in your ashes today? Take a moment as a group to pray that God will meet each person there.