Come All Ye Joyless | Come All Ye Faithless | Menlo Church Live Stream
Devotional
Day 1: God shows up in ordinary, everyday moments.
When the angel came to Mary it was in the middle of a small, forgettable town and a regular moment of her life, showing that God's presence is not reserved for special places or perfect circumstances. This ordinary interruption invites the same hope: God is willing to meet people where they actually are, messy and unfinished, and to bring something holy into that reality. Receive the invitation to slow down and notice where God might already be present in the plain rhythms of your day. [29:47]
Luke 1:26–38 (ESV) In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Reflection: Where in your everyday life—your kitchen, commute, workplace, or a routine relationship—will you intentionally pause this week and ask God to reveal his presence?
Day 2: Joy rooted in God's peace, not circumstances.
Paul’s words to the Philippians describe a joy that holds steady because it is grounded in the peace of God, not in the shifting weather of life. That peace becomes a guard around the heart and mind when prayer, honest petition, and thanksgiving are practiced even in the middle of uncertainty. Make a small, concrete practice this week of bringing one particular worry to God in prayer with thanksgiving and notice how guarding peace begins to operate. [49:56]
Philippians 4:4–7 (ESV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Reflection: What is one persistent anxiety you can bring to God this week in prayer with a posture of thanksgiving, and how might you practically remind yourself of God's guarding peace each day?
Day 3: Contentment through Christ strengthens in every circumstance.
Paul models learned contentment: he did not depend on circumstances to determine his strength, but relied on Christ who strengthens him in every situation. This kind of contentment is not passive resignation but a steady posture that trusts Christ’s power to sustain through plenty and lack alike. Identify one area where you habitually measure your worth by circumstances, and ask how Christ’s strength could reframe that measurement. [52:14]
Philippians 4:11–13 (ESV) Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Reflection: Where do you default to trying harder or controlling outcomes rather than relying on Christ’s strength, and what is one practical step to lean into his sustaining power this week?
Day 4: Surrender creates soil where joy can grow.
Mary’s response—"let it be to me according to your word"—models surrender that makes room for a deeper, God-rooted joy even without full certainty. Surrender here is a posture: it is handing over what one is clinging to so God can work in the gaps and reveal the next step. Consider what you are still trying to control and name one small, specific thing you will release to God as an act of trust this Advent. [37:40]
Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV) Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Reflection: What is one control or narrative (about your finances, relationships, image, or future) you will intentionally hand to God this week, and how will you symbolically mark that surrender?
Day 5: Perfect love drives out fear, freeing joy.
Before joy can deepen, fear often needs to be named and cleared; Gabriel’s first words to Mary were "Do not be afraid," and God repeatedly moves into the places where fear has the loudest voice. When love—not performance or control—defines the relationship with God, fear loses its power and joy can take root in the freed space. Practice naming one fear honestly to God or a trusted friend and invite God's love to meet that fear this season. [33:38]
1 John 4:18 (ESV) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Reflection: Which specific fear are you avoiding naming this Advent, and who is one person you will tell (or which prayer you will speak) so God's perfect love can begin to cast that fear out?
Sermon Summary
Christmas sells us a fragile happiness—quick hits of feeling that collapse the moment real life pushes back. I invited us to slow down and make space for the presence of God that can’t be rushed or purchased. Looking at Mary, we see a different path: God shows up in ordinary places; his favor often disrupts our comfort; he clears out fear to make room for a deeper joy; and he grows that joy not in certainty, but in surrender. Happiness isn’t the villain, but it can’t be the vision. It depends on circumstances we can’t control. Joy, by contrast, is a steady work God grows within us even as circumstances get more complex.
Mary’s “yes” came without full clarity or control. She was favored and troubled, chosen and confused—yet surrendered. That posture is the soil where joy takes root. I shared my own season of white‑knuckled control, masking fear with activity, and how even in church work I learned that holding the world together is an illusion. God never asked me to carry what I was carrying. He asked me to trust him.
Joy requires practice, not pretending. Paul learned joy in plenty and in want because he learned to release outcomes and stay close to Christ. So we name what’s real instead of faking it; we release what we cannot control instead of engineering outcomes; and we stay close to God in what we don’t understand. Happiness is the sugar rush of the soul—lots of effort for short returns. Joy is a gift cultivated over time by the One who entered our circumstances, from cradle to cross, to secure a hope deeper than anything December can deliver.
This Advent, the invitation is not to master a plan but to adopt a posture—open hands instead of clenched fists. Every place happiness can’t reach is where Jesus already stands waiting. Joy isn’t achieved; it’s received. And when we choose surrender over certainty, God grows in us a resilient joy strong enough to stand in any season.
Key Takeaways
1. Joy grows where happiness can’t Joy is not a mood upgrade; it is the rooted life of God within us that can flourish even when circumstances are complicated. Mary’s life became harder, not easier, and yet her inner life deepened. If you’re exhausted by chasing a seasonal high, consider that your soul is built for something sturdier than pleasure management. Joy begins where control ends. [25:42]
2. God’s favor can disrupt comfort Being “highly favored” didn’t insulate Mary from upheaval; it initiated it. Favor doesn’t mean ease; it often means a holy interruption that reorders priorities. If comfort is your compass, you may miss the gifts only discomfort can uncover. God’s favor is forming you, not padding your schedule. [31:54]
3. Clear fear to make room for joy Heaven’s word to Mary wasn’t “cheer up,” but “do not be afraid.” Naming and surrendering the fear that drives your decisions creates the inner space where joy can breathe. Avoidance anesthetizes; honesty liberates. Let God name what’s stealing your peace and entrust it to him. [33:15]
4. Joy grows in surrender, not certainty Mary didn’t get a full map; she gave a full yes. Certainty makes you a manager; surrender makes you a disciple. Joy is the fruit of trusting the One who holds the future, not of finally getting enough data. Lead with “Let it be to me.” [35:57]
5. Invest in joy, not the rush Happiness is a sugar rush—costly, distracting, short-lived. Joy forms as you slow down, tell the truth, release outcomes, and stay near Christ in confusion. Choose practices that deepen roots rather than feed anxiety. You’re not trying to win a feeling; you’re cultivating a presence. [45:44]
Bible reading (ESV) Luke 1:26–38 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Observation questions
Read Luke 1:26–38. What words or short phrases does Luke use to describe Mary’s emotional movement from the angel’s greeting to her final response? Which single word in the passage stands out to you most, and why?
Luke says Mary was “greatly troubled” (v.29). Which details in the angel’s message made that trouble deeper, and where in the passage do we see her processing the shock rather than pretending it’s fine?
The angel’s first instruction is “Do not be afraid.” How does naming fear first set the stage for the rest of the announcement and Mary’s response? (“Do not be afraid.”) [33:15]
The passage ends with Mary’s surrender: “Let it be to me according to your word.” Where in the narrative do you notice the shift from asking for a full plan to choosing surrender? [35:57]
Interpretation questions
How does the claim “joy grows where happiness can’t” reframe the goal of Advent and Christmas practices—shopping, parties, decorating—so that a person’s priorities change? [25:42]
What does it mean to interpret “God’s favor can disrupt comfort” as a description of calling rather than as a promise of ease? How might that change how someone hears difficult interruptions in life? [31:54]
In what ways does surrender (as Mary modeled) create the “soil” for joy? What internal obstacles commonly prevent a person from surrendering, and how might those obstacles be exposed and removed? [35:57]
How should the example of learning contentment “in plenty and in want” shape the daily practices a disciple adopts during seasons of uncertainty (for example, prayer rhythms, community confession, financial boundaries)? [44:29]
Application questions
Name one area where you have been trying to “buy happiness” this season (money, overscheduling, performance, image). What is one small step you can take this week to name that to God or a trusted friend? [46:30]
What specific fear is driving decisions in your life right now? What would it look like this week to hand that fear to God in a concrete way (a prayer, a conversation, a written surrender)? [33:15]
Where are you gripping control (family decisions, finances, reputation, future plans)? Identify one concrete thing you will release this month and how you will practice releasing it (a boundary, a delegated task, a confession). [48:24]
Choose one spiritual practice to “stay close to God” during confusion this Advent (fixed prayer time, listening prayer, Sabbath rest, Scripture with a friend). When exactly will you do it and who will help you keep the commitment? [49:56]
Recall a season when trying to manage everything drained your joy. What practical lesson did that season teach you about trusting God, and who could you invite to help you live differently now? [39:17]
If joy is received rather than achieved, what is one way you will receive God’s gift of joy this week (accepting care, receiving a truthful word from Scripture, resting instead of performing)? How will you remind yourself to receive instead of strive? [51:53]
Sermon Clips
Now, I want to be clear. Happiness, in terms of emotional state around positive circumstances in your life, that's what happiness is. It's not the villain. Like, that's great. When it happens in your life, we should enjoy it. Happiness isn't the villain. It just can't be the vision. That can't be the goal of your life because it's dependent upon things and situations you can't control.
[00:24:42]
(19 seconds)
#HappinessIsTemporary
And without a Jesus-shaped vision of joy, without a Jesus-shaped vision of Advent or Christmas, the cultural promise of happiness at any cost is the most convenient and available vision for life to reach for. But what we're going to see in the very first Christmas is that there is something deeper than circumstantial happiness available, something that doesn't just happen to us. It happens through us. It happens within us. And ultimately, in Mary, the mother of Jesus, we will see that joy grows in places happiness can't reach.
[00:25:16]
(36 seconds)
#JesusShapedJoy
This is the paradox of joy, that something is happening inside of us that is different than what's going on around us. There's an inner confidence and peace and a capacity to weather the storms of our lives, a state of being that goes beyond our circumstances. This joy is what grows in places that happiness can't reach. She was favored and troubled. She was chosen and confused. She was blessed and afraid.
[00:32:11]
(29 seconds)
#InnerJoyBeyond
Mary demonstrates that joy isn't just pretending that everything is okay. It's understanding that everything is not fine. And that even though that might be the case, choosing a path with God that is deeper than everything else around us is the wise choice. Fear is often our pathway to the deepest kind of healing. If we will simply be honest about our fears, if we'll be honest about the things that we go, if I didn't have this or I had to face this or that person left, this job was no longer available. Oftentimes that thing, if we were willing to give it to God, on the other side of it, there is far greater joy available.
[00:35:03]
(41 seconds)
#RealJoyNotPretend
Finally, we see that God grows joy in surrender, not certainty. When Mary asks God how Gabriel's plan was about to happen with the birth of Jesus since she was a virgin, it wasn't a cynical question. It was out of sincere curiosity. And we know that not only because of how Gabriel responds, but because of her response after that, after the plan is communicated and she gets a sense of just how profound this moment is in her life and in the history of the world, as much as it's going to affect her expectations and her circumstances, she is in.
[00:35:44]
(39 seconds)
#SurrenderForJoy
And I wonder for you and me if that's the descriptor of what our journey with God looks like, or if we only trust God once we've determined that his plan is trustworthy. She trusted that if she kept walking with God, he would keep revealing the next right step. See, joy, it isn't the reward for her getting her life under control. It was the fruit of her deciding that even if she wasn't certain about everything, she could surrender to God and trust his hand on her life.
[00:37:05]
(29 seconds)
#TrustStepByStep
But I didn't, not really. I trusted my worry more than God's wisdom. I trusted my anxiety more than God's activity. So I did all the Christmas stuff, right? I did everything on the outside that you would expect a pastor to do. I preached sermons. I led services. I prayed with families. I helped Christmas happen. And inside, I was unraveling.
[00:39:56]
(23 seconds)
#WorryVsWisdom
I didn't cling to fear because the situation was too big. I clung to fear because I didn't really believe that God would show up unless I stayed in control. This idea that God only works in my life when he sees I've worked as hard as I can first is not actually true. That's not just stress. That's a spiritual posture. That's a disposition of the way I think about the world. Do I go to God first, or is he my last resort?
[00:41:36]
(34 seconds)
#LetGoOfControl
Many of us, we live there more often than we want to admit, not just at Christmas, but all the time. We grip our kids, our relationships, our calendars, our image, our finances, that really difficult class, that relationship we hope comes into being our future with white knuckles. And there's no way to even get into our lives. And then we wonder why joy never shows up. We say that we trust God, but we give him no room to move in our lives. Everything's a non-negotiable. And Mary, she shows us another way.
[00:42:10]
(32 seconds)
#LoosenYourGrip
She didn't have certainty. She didn't have control. She didn't have the full plan. What she did have was a surrendered heart and open hands to say, God, if this is what you're calling me to do, I'm going to trust you with it. Her surrender, it's the very thing that made space for joy, not the thin, seasonal happiness that we settle for around Christmas today, but God-rooted joy strong enough to stand in the middle of the chaos of Christmas when it first started.
[00:42:41]
(28 seconds)
#TrustWithoutCertainty
See, joy, it doesn't grow where fear is in charge in our lives. Joy grows where we release the illusion that we're the ones holding the world together, and it is an illusion. Maybe, just maybe, the reason that some of us feel joyless is that we're just, honestly, we're tired. We're tired from trying to run a universe that we were never designed to carry.
[00:43:10]
(25 seconds)
#JoyOverFear
And this is where we need to be honest. See, happiness and joy, they do not grow in the same way. Happiness just, man, it's kind of easy. You know what it takes. It just takes energy and distraction and spending and scrolling and performing and planning and entertaining and sometimes, if we're honest around Christmas, pretending. You're not actually happy, but you know that's the part you're supposed to play. In other words, happiness is the sugar rush of the soul. You get a quick hit and then you crash. It fades as fast as it comes.
[00:45:15]
(37 seconds)
#NotJustHappiness
Joy takes something different. Joy takes investment. Joy takes slowing down when everything in you wants to speed up and go at the pace of spending your way to circumstances that you hope you can control. Joy takes sitting with God in places that you would rather escape. Joy takes telling the truth about what is really going on inside of you and inviting God to meet you there.
[00:45:51]
(23 seconds)
#SlowDownForJoy
Second, release what you cannot control. Paul says that he has learned the secret of being content in all circumstances. And his secret was not that he needed to orchestrate more outcomes or manipulate people to get what he wanted. That was not the secret. For him, he understood what this was going to look like. Mary, she hands God the most important part of her life and she says, let it be according to your word. I'm in. And joy grows where surrender takes root in our life, where we decide, God, you get to call the shots.
[00:48:20]
(35 seconds)
#ReleaseControlFindContentment
That's what joy does. But it takes an investment. Happiness just takes more effort and more effort and more effort. Happiness collapses as soon as your circumstances shift. But joy stands steady because its roots go deeper than anything life can shake loose. So this Advent, Mary, she's inviting us into a deeper life. Paul is showing us what it really looks like. And Jesus is offering to grow in you a joy that your circumstances can't touch, can't reach, can't accomplish.
[00:50:20]
(31 seconds)
#InvestInJoy
Long after this Christmas, we will be paying down the debt that we incurred in pursuit of momentary happiness. With things like buy now and pay later and attractive credit card opportunities, a lot of Americans will be paying for this Christmas next Christmas. Happiness always makes you pay for what you get long after you get it. But joy is the opposite. Joy is getting what Jesus paid for by going from a cradle on that first Christmas on his way to the cross to secure your forever hope.
[00:50:57]
(34 seconds)
#JoyPaidByChrist
Happiness drains you, but joy was bought for you. It fills you up. Happiness is earned. Joy is given. Happiness is purchased on credit. Joy is purchased at the cross. At some point, you have to realize that the reason joy feels so different from happiness is because joy does not depend on your and my effort. It does not depend on you and me manufacturing an outcome or my life circumstances being okay or my effort or my performance or my personality.
[00:51:31]
(31 seconds)
#JoyIsGift
Joy is not something that you and I achieve. It's something that in Jesus we receive. That's the secret that Paul learned in Philippians 4. He doesn't say, I found the strength within me. I found the power of positive thinking. He says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Not through optimism, not through hustle, not through getting life under control, through Christ. And Mary discovers the same truth.
[00:52:02]
(25 seconds)
#ChristIsOurStrength
Her joy is not the product of her circumstances. Her joy is the product of her surrender to the one who would enter her circumstances. But the foundation underneath all of it is not your and my discipline. It's God's grace. And this Christmas, I hope you'll receive it. Not our spiritual strength, not our understanding and endurance to push through, but God's presence being made more and more present in our lives. Not our ability to hold it all together, it's his willingness to hold you and me together.
[00:52:27]
(30 seconds)
#JoyThroughGrace
And here's the good news this Advent. Every place that happiness can't reach in your life is exactly where Jesus has already gone. Into the fear, into the confusion, into the disappointment, into the grief, into the exhaustion that has made you wonder about God. God is waiting because there's something deeper for you than even what you think you want in those places.
[00:52:58]
(21 seconds)
#JesusGoesThere
