Joy Is My Job [Heaven Come Down] — Pastor Jason Burns

Devotional

Day 1: Good News That Breaks Through Bad News

You’re surrounded by alerts, headlines, and messages that make you hold your breath and brace for the worst. The soul can get stuck in screen apnea, living on edge, expecting another wave of darkness. Into that very world, the Christmas announcement arrives first with “Do not be afraid,” and then with “good news.” God’s voice pierces the silence and the gloom with a message that lets you exhale. Today, open your heart to hear that first word again—do not fear—and let the good news steady your breathing. Receive the light that cuts through the night and steadies your soul. [10:50]

Luke 2:10–11
The messenger said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with news that is truly good and will fill every kind of person with great joy: Today, in David’s town, a Rescuer has been born for you—He is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Reflection: Where is fear shaping the way you read your messages and the news, and what simple boundary could help you begin and end your day with God’s “Do not be afraid” instead?

Day 2: Joy Is Internal, Christ-Anchored, and Chosen

Happiness rises and falls with circumstances, but joy takes root in what Christ has already done for you. Joy is a decision you can make before the day speaks, and a posture you can keep when the day shouts. It is not pretending pain isn’t real; it is trusting that Jesus is nearer and stronger than the pain. You can choose to wear joy, the way you choose your clothes each morning. Say it with resolve: “My joy is my job,” because Christ has secured the deepest reason to rejoice. Choose joy, even here, even now. [16:08]

Isaiah 61:3
He exchanges your ashes for beauty, trades your grieving for oil that gladdens, and wraps you with a praise-filled garment so that the heavy spirit no longer rests on you—forming you into strong, planted lives that reflect His goodness.

Reflection: What is one concrete way you will “put on” joy this week—such as a gratitude list, a worship playlist, or a daily prayer—and when will you do it?

Day 3: Put On Praise To Lift The Heaviness

Life carries gravity—diagnoses, bills, losses—and praise is God’s gift of levity in the weight. Praise doesn’t deny the storm; it reorients your attention to the One who calms it. Whatever you magnify grows, so praise chooses to magnify God instead of the problem. When the spirit feels heavy, practice opening your mouth and lifting your eyes. Make praise the garment you reach for first so your heart can breathe again. Let your worship lift what worry pinned down. [13:11]

Isaiah 61:3
God places on you a celebratory mantle in place of the heavy cloak; where mourning once sat, He applies the oil of gladness; He replaces ruin with beauty, making your life a sturdy testimony to His faithfulness.

Reflection: Think of a specific heavy situation you’re carrying; what words of praise could you speak over God’s character in that situation this week?

Day 4: Joy In Chains, Confidence In Completion

Paul wrote about joy while shivering in a cell, chained and uncertain of tomorrow, yet certain of God. His joy didn’t come from comfort; it flowed from confidence that Jesus finishes what He starts. Joy thrives when we trust God’s ongoing work more than our current conditions. Even in hard places, gratitude and intercession can rise. Let your prayers today be marked by thanks and a settled assurance that God is not done with you. Expect His faithful completion. [21:57]

Philippians 1:3–6
Every time I think of you, I thank God; and in all my prayers I find myself glad because we share in the work of the gospel. I’m fully persuaded of this: the One who began His good work in you will keep shaping it until it is complete in the day of Christ.

Reflection: In an area that feels stalled or stuck, what small act of trust can you take that says, “God, I believe You’re still working here”?

Day 5: Great Joy For All People—Light For Everyone

The announcement did not draw lines; it opened doors—shepherds and sages both found their way to Jesus. This is good news of great joy for all people, including you and the people least like you. A Savior has stepped into the mess and lifted the burden you could not carry. His life is light for every person, and darkness does not get the final say. Don’t just celebrate this; experience it—receive the peace with God He came to give. The light is for you, and it will not be overcome. [24:19]

John 1:4–5
In Him was real life, and that life shone like light for every person; the light keeps shining in the darkness, and the darkness has never had the power to put it out.

Reflection: Who in your world feels far from God right now, and what gentle, tangible step could you take to share this “good news of great joy for all people” with them?

Sermon Summary

We wrapped our Heaven Come Down series by naming the ache of our age: we’re inundated with bad news, conditioned by fear, and running on adrenal and compassion fatigue. Into that darkness, the Christmas story breaks in with piercing light: good news of great joy for all people. I opened with the familiar anxiety of “We need to talk” to show how our reflex is dread—because bad news sells and our brains have been trained to expect it. But God’s announcement to forgotten shepherds flips the script. Heaven’s first word in 400 years of silence wasn’t judgment; it was joy. Not shallow cheerfulness, but deep, resilient joy.

I framed life as a tension between gravity and levity. Scripture is honest about grief and loss, yet Isaiah promises beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Praise doesn’t deny the weight; it reorients us to a greater weight of glory. Joy, then, isn’t a synonym for happiness. Happiness is external, circumstantial, and fragile. Joy is internal, rooted in Christ, and chosen. I shared our story—my wife’s cancer at 23—and how she chose joy in the chemo chair, bringing life into a room designed to drain it.

Advent’s pink candle taught us something too: joy stands out. In a world discipled by cynicism and doomscrolling, a life of quiet, stubborn joy is prophetic—it looks like light in a dark room. Paul modeled this from a freezing Roman cell, writing what scholars call the “book of joy.” If joy can sing from that pit, we can choose it in traffic, at the doctor, and in layoffs. So I gave us a simple mantra: my joy is my job. Not because we earn it, but because grace empowers us to put it on like a garment.

And all this joy hinges on a Person. Today in the city of David a Savior is born—Christ the Lord, the Anointed One who lifts the yoke. You can’t save yourself, you can’t earn God’s favor, and you don’t have to. Joy becomes real when you’re included—when the story moves from a page to your heart. That’s why I invited anyone ready to stop merely celebrating Christmas and start experiencing Jesus to trust Him as Savior and Lord.

Key Takeaways

1. Joy is internal, not circumstantial. Joy isn’t the absence of pain; it’s the presence of Christ in the pain. Happiness rides the waves of outcomes; joy drops anchor in a Person. Because it’s rooted in Jesus, joy can coexist with tears and still be true. That’s why you can walk through darkness and not be swallowed by it. [15:54]
2. Wear praise to lift heaviness. Isaiah calls praise a garment because it’s something we can choose to put on. Praise re-sizes reality, shrinking our problems by enlarging our view of God. It doesn’t erase the gravity, but it restores levity and breath for the next faithful step. [13:11]
3. My joy is my job. Grace doesn’t make effort unnecessary; it makes it possible. Choosing joy is spiritual resistance against a culture of outrage and despair. When I steward my inner life with Christ, I carry light into rooms that forgot it was possible. [22:51]
4. Good news is for everyone. The first audience—overlooked shepherds—signals that no one is outside the reach of this joy. God’s glad tidings are not tribal, partisan, or performance-based. If it isn’t good news for your neighbor and your critic, it isn’t the gospel Jesus announced. [23:25]
5. A Savior who lifts your yoke. Christ doesn’t add spiritual weight; He removes it. The anointed One steps into our mess, not to demand we climb out, but to carry what crushes us. Joy grows where striving ends and surrender begins. [25:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:22] - Heaven Come Down recap
[01:14] - Joy: heaven’s gift to us
[01:37] - The dread of “We need to talk”
[180:00] - A world conditioned by bad news
[05:36] - Doomscrolling and anxiety
[07:17] - God breaks 400 years of silence
[08:37] - Angels meet overlooked shepherds
[09:53] - Good news of great joy
[12:50] - Garment of praise over heaviness
[15:54] - Joy vs. happiness contrasted
[16:34] - Choosing joy through cancer
[19:57] - Paul’s prison and Philippians joy
[22:51] - My joy is my job
[27:41] - Experience Christmas: invitation and prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
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- Bold passage: Luke 2:8–11

Observation questions

In Luke 2:8–11, who are the first people to hear heaven’s announcement, and what time of day is it when it happens? What emotions do they experience?
The angel’s message has clear parts. What three things are promised and to whom, and what is the content that makes those promises possible? ([10:12])
Isaiah speaks of “beauty for ashes,” “oil of joy for mourning,” and a “garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Which of these “exchanges” stand out most to you, and why? ([12:50])
List the specific contrasts made between happiness and joy. How are they different in source and stability? ([15:54])

Interpretation questions

What does it reveal about God’s heart that the first recipients of the announcement are overlooked shepherds and that the promise is “for all people”? How might this reshape who is “in” on the good news? ([08:37])
“Garment of praise” is a vivid picture. How does this metaphor teach both honesty about heaviness and personal agency to respond with worship? What might be the wisdom of calling praise something we “put on”? ([13:11])
If joy is rooted in Christ rather than circumstances, how does that confront a life trained by bad news, alerts, and fear? What would change about the reflex to expect doom? ([03:00])
“Christ” means the Anointed One who lifts the yoke. What does that title say about human striving, and why might surrender be the soil where true joy grows? ([25:38])

Application questions

When you see “We need to talk” or a notification pings, what happens in your body and thoughts? This week, what practice will you try in that moment (breathing, a short prayer, a Scripture phrase) to re-center on good news rather than dread? ([01:37])
Where has doomscrolling or constant headlines been discipling your emotions more than Scripture and prayer? What boundary will you set (time limit, media fast, curfew for screens), and what life-giving replacement will you choose? ([05:36])
What would “putting on the garment of praise” look like tomorrow morning? Name 2–3 concrete actions (worship song before news, written gratitude, reading a psalm aloud) you’ll actually do. Who can encourage you in it? ([13:11])
Identify one current hard place. What would it look like to choose joy there this week—one small, specific step that anchors you in Christ rather than in outcomes? ([15:54])
“My joy is my job.” What daily rhythm will you practice for the next seven days to steward your inner life—gratitude list, breath prayer, a joy journal, praying Philippians 1:3–6 for someone? When and where will you do it? ([22:51])
Good news is for everyone. Who in your life feels like an overlooked shepherd—or even a critic? What is one gentle, relational step you can take this week to bring good news and great joy closer to them? ([23:25])
Where are you carrying a yoke of striving (performance at work, spiritual perfectionism, family pressure)? What would concrete surrender look like—one thing you will lay down in prayer and one conversation or action that trusts Jesus to carry it? ([25:38])

Sermon Clips

Now pause here for just a moment. To understand what's about to happen, you need to understand the world in which Jesus was born to. Shepherds were seen as nobodies. They had no value. They had no worth. They didn't contribute to society. In fact, they were so excommunicated from the world around them that they weren't even able to vote in whatever elections they had. And to these nobodies comes the greatest announcement, the pro-announcement that there is a light that is coming to the world that pierces all the darkness. [00:08:30] (30 seconds) #ShepherdsHeard

Happiness is external. Joy is internal. Happiness is based on circumstance. Joy is based on Christ. Happiness happens by chance. Joy happens by choice. What does it mean? It means you can choose to put on joy no matter what you're walking through. You ever known someone walking through a difficult situation, and yet no matter how hard it gets, they have joy? You ever notice this? [00:15:54] (31 seconds) #JoyIsAChoice

When we make this decision that no matter what I'm walking through, joy is a choice that I choose every single day. It also means that there is nothing that can happen to me greater than the price Jesus paid for me. So because he's already settled the accounts and because my soul will forever be with him, what's the worst thing that can happen to me? What, I die and then I wake up in the presence of God? [00:19:01] (25 seconds) #JoyBeyondFear

Look at this. One of the marks of a true believer, of a mature believer, is how you respond to difficult circumstances. I got good news and bad news. You will have some difficult circumstances around you, but it's how you respond that makes the difference. I can't help when I think of this to think about Paul. Paul, who wrote like half of the New Testament, he finds himself later in his life in the city that he longed to preach in, Rome, but he wasn't standing on a platform, he found himself in a prison. [00:19:27] (30 seconds) #FaithInAdversity

They told us the situation and circumstance was so bad, like there's no bathroom, so people just go to the bathroom there. It smelled bad. You were freezing. You thought you were gonna die. And it was so bad that many people would just take their own life rather than stay in that prison. And from that prison, Paul writes a letter that we call Philippians. Scholars call it the book of joy. [00:21:15] (21 seconds) #PhilippiansBookOfJoy

And I'm so grateful this is true. I'm so grateful that it wasn't good news of great joy for good people or for the people that were born in the right city or born in the right zip code or born to the right family. It's not just good news of great joy if you voted a certain way or believe a certain thing about God. It's not just good news of great joy if you're a Christian. It's good news of great joy to all people. [00:23:23] (24 seconds) #GoodNewsForAll

Savior means you can't save or rescue yourself but God knew what you needed. It's good news of great joy that you can't do more to earn it, you can't do more to receive it, you can't do enough to attain it. It's good news of great joy for all people that a Savior has been born. What does a Savior mean? It means that God stepped into the mess. It means that no matter what we've done, no matter how far we feel from God, no matter what our life has screamed to God, God stepped into the mess for us. [00:25:02] (28 seconds) #SaviorSteppedIn

Because Jesus and the Christmas story is God screaming through the darkness good news, not bad news. Good news of great joy. It's not based on your circumstances, not based on what's happening around you. It's internal. It's because of what Christ did for you. It's good news of great joy for all people which means for you. [00:26:59] (25 seconds) #JoyFromChrist

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