Songs of Christmas: Joy to the World
Pastor Clark Pfaff

As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  (Luke 1:44, NIV)

We should praise God because:

Key Point: God has done marvelous things.

a. God has saved us.

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. (Psalm 98:1-3, NIV)

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders, wonders of his love.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, NIV) 

b. God reversed the curse.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground.
He comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”(Genesis 3:17-19, NIV)

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12, NLT 

10 …those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” (Galatians 3:10-11a, NLT) 

…Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13, NLT)

Key Point: God deserves a response.

a. Sounds of Worship

Sing to the Lord a new song… (Psalm 98:1a, NIV) 
 

4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together 9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. (Psalm 98:4-9, KJV)
 

2 Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

b. Acts of Worship

 “The time has come…the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”(Mark 1:15, NIV) 

…in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15, NIV)

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her king;
let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.