It’s a Good Day to Be Alive in Jesus

Psalm 118:24 puts a declaration in the mouth of God’s people: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” The day does not come with a promise that everything will be perfect, easy, painless, or according to plan. The day comes as something God has made, and that truth gives His people a reason to rejoice before circumstances ever line up.

The contrast between “I will rejoice” and “we will rejoice” points to the strength of church family. The house of God is not merely a place somebody has to go. The church becomes a people who are blessed, lucky, and full of mercy to be gathered together in the presence of Jesus. New Life on Eastern Valley becomes more than a building when its people carry Christ wherever they go.

The children in the church show what a praying, loving church family can do. Diana’s obedient heart, Shelby’s simple love for church, and Joseph reaching out to pray for a hurting woman reveal that God is working in young lives. The church makes a difference when parents keep bringing children, teachers keep teaching them, and saints keep praying, correcting, loving, and leading them toward Jesus.

The day cannot determine who somebody becomes. Circumstances may include hurting bodies, unopened bills, family trouble, disappointment, and prayers that have not yet been answered. God calls His people to stop letting what is wrong fill their vision and to remember what is right. Mercy met them in the morning, breath filled their lungs, hearts kept beating, and Jesus gave them another day.

Joseph’s pit gives a picture of that choice. The dirt beneath his feet and the walls around him could have consumed his attention, but the sky above him still gave him somewhere to look. The pit could not determine his attitude when God still had purpose over his life. Whatever gets somebody’s attention eventually gets their affection, so God must turn eyes upward before worry, pain, and distraction pull hearts in the wrong direction.

The unexpected meeting with Marie brings the needed reset: it is easy to get busy living life and working in ministry and forget who somebody is living and working for. Good responsibilities can still crowd out the central focus on Jesus. The day belongs to Him. Before feet hit the ground, the heart can say, “Lord, I give this day to You.” It is good to be alive, not because every day is good, but because God is good.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The day belongs to the Lord [41:25] Psalm 118 does not call a day perfect before calling it God-given. The day may carry pain, pressure, and unfinished answers, but it still comes from the hand of God. Praise becomes an act of faith when it refuses to wait for ideal circumstances. Joy begins by recognizing whose day it is. [41:25]
• 2. Circumstances cannot define worship [41:50] Trouble can influence feelings, but it does not have authority to decide who Christ’s people become. Hurting bodies, unpaid bills, and family burdens are real, yet they are not lord over the heart. God remains the One who determines identity and worship. The day changes when the heart gives it back to Him. [41:50]
• 3. Look up from the pit [46:36] Joseph’s pit had dirt below and walls around, but it also had sky above. The same pressure that surrounds a life can become an invitation to lift the eyes toward God. Despair grows when the heart stares only at what confines it. Faith remembers that God’s purpose reaches higher than the pit. [46:36]
• 4. Church family shapes young lives [38:19] Children learn more than songs and routines when they grow up among praying saints. A child who reaches out to pray for someone hurting has already seen that pain belongs at the feet of Jesus. Parents, teachers, and the whole church family become part of what God is building in them. Faithfulness in small moments can bear fruit for generations. [38:19]
• 5. Give the day to Jesus first [53:35] Busyness in life and ministry can quietly move Jesus from the center to the edge. Good work becomes spiritually empty when it loses sight of the One for whom it is done. The prayer, “Lord, I give this day to You,” resets the heart before demands begin. God deserves the first surrender, not the leftovers of the day.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:34] - It Is Good to Be Together
• [29:19] - This Is the Day the Lord Made
• [32:33] - Blessed to Be Part of the Church
• [33:48] - A Church Family Making a Difference
• [39:08] - The Church Goes Wherever Believers Go
• [41:25] - The Day Does Not Have to Be Perfect
• [45:15] - Where Attention Goes, Affection Follows
• [46:36] - Joseph Chooses to Look Up
• [49:00] - An Unexpected Word in a Thrift Store
• [51:26] - Do Not Forget Who You Live For
• [53:35] - Lord, I Give This Day to You

1. What contrast is made between saying “I will rejoice” and “we will rejoice,” and what does that show about the value of a church family? [30:07]
2. What examples were given of children learning to love, pray, and serve through the influence of parents and the church? [33:48]
3. In the picture of Joseph in the pit, what was beneath him, around him, and above him? [46:28]
4. What kinds of pressures and burdens were named as things that can compete for a person’s attention during the day? [45:43]

1. Psalm 118:24 calls God’s people to rejoice in the day He has made. How does recognizing that the day belongs to God change the meaning of joy when the day is painful or disappointing? [41:25]
2. Matthew 19:14 shows Jesus welcoming children. Why does the church’s prayer, correction, teaching, and love matter so much in helping children come close to Jesus? [38:25]
3. Joseph’s pit was real, yet the sky above him pictured hope beyond what surrounded him. What does looking up to God mean for a believer facing a situation that cannot quickly be fixed? [46:36]
4. Good responsibilities, including family care, work, and ministry, can still move Jesus out of the center. What are some signs that a believer has become busy doing good things but has lost focus on who those things are for? [51:26]

1. What circumstance is most likely to try to determine your attitude right now—pain, finances, family trouble, unanswered prayer, or something else? What would it look like to give that circumstance to God instead of letting it determine your worship? [42:21]
2. When you begin focusing on what is wrong, what reminders of God’s mercy and goodness can help turn your attention upward? Consider breath, another morning, people God is changing, or another opportunity to love someone. [44:33]
3. Where have you been staring at the “dirt” or “walls” of your situation? What is one specific way you can look up to God this week through prayer, gratitude, Scripture, or reaching out for help? [47:03]
4. How can you help make the church family a place where children see people pray, serve, forgive, and take hurting people to Jesus? Is there a child or young person you can encourage this week? [38:40]
5. Do you tend to think of church mainly as a place you go, or as a people you belong to and represent wherever you go? How could that change one conversation or action you have this week? [39:08]
6. What good responsibilities have been filling your schedule lately? How can you make room each morning to sincerely say, “Lord, I give this day to You,” before the day begins making demands on you? [53:35]