Adapted from "Great Joy," a Christmas message by Dr. John Waterloo on Luke 2:10–12
Christmas is full of good things: lights, cocoa, cookies, songs, services. Dr. John Waterloo admits he loves all of it. "I think I like Christmas because I like joy," he told his congregation at Central Baptist Church of Ponca City, Oklahoma, on their Christmas festival night. But before the crowd went out to the festivities, he stopped "to make sure we truly understand what it's all about." He turned to the angel's words to the shepherds:
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10–12, KJV)
Why the Grinch had no room for joy
Dr. Waterloo started with a story almost everyone knows: Dr. Seuss's Grinch, who stole the presents and still couldn't stop Christmas from coming. Why did the Grinch hate Christmas? "Because his heart was full of hurt and pains of the past and brokenness," he said, and there is "not room enough for joy when you have that in your heart."
The answer isn't just a nicer feeling. "Christmas joy is more than just words," he said. "Christmas joy is God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ, because we need a Savior."
1. Great joy is for all people
The first thing that jumped out to him was the phrase "to all people." In his words, "great joy is not relegated to just one people group."
"I love the fact that we can have joy here in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and they can have joy in Germany," he said. Joy reaches Asia, Africa, India, every continent: "the same type of joy. Why? Because of Jesus." He pictured believers all over the world on Christmas morning, "smiling and singing Joy to the World because the Savior's come."
2. Great joy is often missed
The good news was for everyone, but not everyone received it that night. "It really came to the shepherds. It really came to Mary and Joseph that night," Dr. Waterloo said. "Only a few saw the angels. Only a few participated."
That led to the question at the heart of the message: "How many will miss joy this year?" Some will be caught in depression and hurt, he said, and "will not turn to the one who brings great joy."
He was honest that hard things don't take a holiday. "Life doesn't stop for Christmas. There will be passing aways. There will be problems." The good news is that God's Word "tells us those things can be turned into great joy." So, he told the room, "you have an opportunity to turn sorrow into joy."
3. The signs are all around us
The shepherds had a sign: a baby in a manger. "What's our sign today?" Dr. Waterloo asked. It isn't the lights or the Christmas candy. "Look around you. There are people who are wrapped in great sin and found great joy."
He pointed to people in that very room whose stories were marked by "the depression, the sorrow, the mixed-up lives" until they put their faith in Jesus "and everything changed." He mentioned kids who come home saying their mom or dad got saved. To believers who had lost their joy, he offered David's prayer, "Restore unto me the joy of my salvation," and the promise that "your joy can be restored."
Not a Grinch, not a Scrooge
Dr. Waterloo then turned to Dickens's A Christmas Carol, a family favorite at his house, and the morning Scrooge wakes up changed. "This cruel, mean, hard-hearted guy suddenly was laughing and full of joy." He noted that in the original book, Scrooge's nephew greets him with "A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" Then he applied it: "You don't have to be a Grinch and you don't have to be an Ebenezer Scrooge. No, if you find Jesus, everything changes."
The sign now is us
His last word was for Christians. "One of the greatest signs is going to be to this world is that you and I enjoy life." He granted that "bad days" and "tough weeks" happen to everyone. "But overall, can I tell you, this season, we must find great joy... Because we become the sign now. The babe's already come. The sign now is us."
This Christmas, the question is still there: how many will miss joy this year? The invitation is still there too: "We've got to bring the real meaning of Christmas back into Christmas."
Listen to the full message: https://sermonharvest.com
"Great Joy" by Dr. John Waterloo, Central Baptist Church of Ponca City, OK (Dec. 11, 2022). Source: https://archive.org/details/121122-pm-you-tube-stream. Licensed CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Edited and excerpted by Sermon Harvest: quotations are from a machine transcript checked against the audio, and the headings and connecting text are ours. No endorsement by the speaker or church is implied. Scripture is quoted from the KJV (public domain). "A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" is from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (public domain).
For a 45–60 minute group. Based on the message by Dr. John Waterloo, Central Baptist Church of Ponca City, OK (Dec. 11, 2022).
Before you meet
Listen to the 16-minute episode, or watch the three short clips. Read Luke 2:8–20.
Open (5–10 min)
- What's one Christmas tradition that really brings you joy? What's one that mostly brings you stress?
- Dr. Waterloo said, "I like a life full of more joy than sorrow and sadness. And I think most do." Where do people usually go looking for that kind of life?
Read
Luke 2:10–12. Read it aloud, and if you can, in two translations.
Discuss (30–40 min)
The big idea: "Christmas joy is God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ, because we need a Savior."
1. Great joy is for all people
- The angel says "to all people." Dr. Waterloo said, "great joy is not relegated to just one people group." Who might we quietly assume the good news isn't really for?
- He described joy that is "the same type of joy" in Ponca City, Germany or India: "Why? Because of Jesus." What does it mean that joy in Christ doesn't depend on culture or circumstances?
2. Great joy is often missed
- "Only a few saw the angels. Only a few participated." Why do you think so few people responded that night?
- He asked, "How many will miss joy this year?" What keeps people from joy at Christmas: busyness, grief, depression, sin, or something else?
- He said, "life doesn't stop for Christmas. There will be passing aways. There will be problems." Has a hard Christmas ever surprised you with joy? How do Psalm 30:5 or John 16:20–22 speak to that?
3. The signs are all around us
- The shepherds' sign was a baby in a manger. Dr. Waterloo said our sign today is "people who are wrapped in great sin and found great joy." Whose changed life has been a "sign" to you?
- Read 1 John 1:9 and Psalm 51:12, which he quoted. What is the link between confession and restored joy?
Not a Grinch, not a Scrooge
- The Grinch's heart, he said, was "full of hurt and pains of the past and brokenness." Scrooge's change made him "laughing and full of joy." Which of the two do you relate to more right now, and why?
The sign now is us
- "The babe's already come. The sign now is us." What would it look like this week for your joy to be a sign to someone?
- He was quick to add, "I get bad days. And I get tough weeks… We all have them." How do we keep this challenge from turning into pressure to fake happiness?
Respond (5 min)
- Name one person who may "miss joy" this year. How could you share good tidings with them?
- If your joy has faded, pray Psalm 51:12 this week: "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation."
Pray
Use the end of Dr. Waterloo's closing prayer as a guide: pray "for broken and burdened hearts," and for those who are lost, "that they can find the source of real joy."
Discussion questions © Sermon Harvest, released under CC BY 4.0. Quotations are from "Great Joy" by Dr. John Waterloo, Central Baptist Church of Ponca City, OK (Dec. 11, 2022), https://archive.org/details/121122-pm-you-tube-stream, licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Edited and excerpted by Sermon Harvest. No endorsement implied. Scripture: KJV (public domain).
Speaker: Dr. John Waterloo, Central Baptist Church of Ponca City, OK. Message given at the church's Christmas festival night, Dec. 11, 2022.
Source: https://archive.org/details/121122-pm-you-tube-stream, file 121122PM-YouTubeStream.mp3
License: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Changes: Edited and excerpted by Sermon Harvest. The music, program and announcements were removed, and filler repetitions and recognizer artifacts were deleted. The words are the speaker's own. The church and speaker do not endorse Sermon Harvest.
This transcript was made with Whisper (small.en and medium.en, several passes) and lightly cleaned. It is not a certified verbatim transcript. Lines marked [?] are low-confidence. Bracketed timestamps are positions in the original archive.org recording. To convert to the demo podcast episode, subtract 27:37.8 up to 30:08 (so 28:01 becomes 0:23), and subtract 28:09.5 after 30:40, because the Dr. Seuss quotation in between was cut from the episode (so 31:51 becomes 3:42). See qa-notes.md.
[28:01] Well, I'm reminded, as we've heard these great music tonight and the kids and the joy there, and we'll dismiss here in just a few minutes, and it's our festival night. But you know, I'd be remiss if we don't take just a minute to make sure we truly understand what it's all about. Luke chapter two is a famous chapter, and I'm just gonna read a couple verses. We'll probably hear from Luke 2 several times in the next several weeks.
[28:23] But if you jump down to verse 10, if there's a Bible in front of you, if you need it. But the Bible says unto the angels [sic], and the angels said unto them, fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. And I don't know about you, but whenever I hear of something joyful, that's good tidings. And it's a wonderful thing. And it says, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And I tell you what, beautiful verses.
[28:57] Charles H. Spurgeon, writing on Christmas, as we're getting ready to celebrate this on December 25th, said this: there are no less than 136 proposed days for Christmas … according to history … [?] of what day Jesus was actually born, 136 of them, all with compelling evidence on which day. You say, preacher, which day is it? Well, it's now December 31st. I mean, on 25th. Why? Because that's the day we're celebrating. The fact of the matter is, one of the things he concluded is what I've always concluded. It doesn't matter what day it was. What matters is we take the time to celebrate, to celebrate the birth of Christ. And for us, for many years now, decades, December [25th] has been chosen, and so that is the day that we come together and we celebrate Christmas.
[29:47] In that, I [was] reminded, as I was saying this week, of a Dr. Seuss Christmas story called The Grinch. How many have ever heard of it? Ah, yes. You might remember, as I looked it up and wrote some notes, he takes the food and toys from all the Whos of Whoville in an effort to steal [?] their Christmas joy. [About 32 seconds of lines quoted from Dr. Seuss, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" (30:08–30:40 of the original) are omitted here and were cut from the episode.]
[30:40] Christmas joy is more than just words. Christmas joy is God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ, because we need a Savior. Do you know why the Grinch hated Christmas? Because his heart was full of hurt and pains of the past and brokenness. There's not room enough for joy when you have that in your heart, that's for sure. And I thought about that and read that, and then I come to Luke chapter 2, and it says the angels said unto them, Fear not, I bring you good tidings of great joy.
[31:09] I want to present it to you tonight for a few minutes: great joy. I like joy. I think I like Christmas because I like joy. Now, I get it. There are times of sadness and sorrow in this world as part of life. But the reality is, I like a life full of more joy than sorrow and sadness. And I think most do. That would be our pursuit. Christmas brings that. We go see the Christmas lights, we drink the Christmas cocoa, we eat the extra Christmas sugar cookies and we do not feel bad about it. We play the songs, we sing the Christmas songs, we come to the Christmas services. We enjoy it. Why? Because we know the good tidings of great joy. It is a season for joy. It really is. But as I look at these verses I was reminded of this great joy.
1. Great joy is for all people
[31:51] Several things jumped out to me. First of all, I love the first part here. That is, great joy is not relegated to just one people group. Did you see in verse 10? To all people. Man, I love that. I love the fact that we can have joy here in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and they can have joy in Germany. They can have joy in Asia and Africa and every continent. You can go to India. You can go wherever you want to go and people can have joy, the same type of joy. Why? Because of Jesus. It's a wonderful thing. So it's not just ours. It's really not. It's a wonderful thing to imagine on Christmas Day believers all across the world will be smiling and singing Joy to the World because the Savior's come. That's going to be a wonderful thing. So I'm glad it's for everybody.
2. Great joy is often missed
[32:37] Secondly, I wrote down, I would add though that it's often missed by a lot of people. If we concluded this story, we would see, although good tidings of great joy came, it really came to the shepherds. It really came to Mary and Joseph that night. It didn't come to everyone. Now, it was available to all people, but there's only a few that showed up that night. Only a few saw the angels. Only a few participated. And so [those great tidings / although it was great tidings] [?] and great joy, not everybody got it. And every time I think about this, this comes to my mind: How many will miss joy this year? How many will miss joy this year? Depression and hurt, they will not turn to the one who brings great joy. If you're here tonight, I tell you that you have an opportunity to turn sorrow into joy. We do. We have an opportunity. Why? Because we possess the good tidings of Jesus Christ. Whatever ill tidings come our way, and I imagine for some of you ill tidings will come your way. It is still life, and life doesn't stop for Christmas. There will be passing aways. There will be problems. There will be issues that arise. But the good news is this: we have good tidings from God's Word that tells us those things can be turned into great joy. God can change everything, and it's a wonderful thing.
3. Signs of great joy are all around us
[33:46] And then I wrote this down. Besides that I wrote: third, I would submit that we have signs all around us. And we read that. He said, in verse 12, and this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And I love that, I love that picture there, but I thought, well, what's our sign today? We've got this story, it's here, it's done. What sign shall we have? And I do believe we have signs of great joy all around us. And it's not the lights. And it's not the Christmas candy. Okay, it's close to the Christmas candy, okay? But it's not the cookies, it's not the candy, it's not even tonight, the festivities and so forth. That's not our Christmas joy. I would tell you, as we're looking for Christmas, where's the signs? I would tell you it's in here right now.
[34:32] Look around you. There are people who are wrapped in great sin and found great joy. From great sin we come [to] great joy. For some of you, you're already a believer and you've got yourself into a place and a position and you're sad now because of sin. I tell you, repent of that sin and find great joy. Amen? That's what we do. Aren't you glad we have a Savior that can bring us joy? When we're wrapped in sin, we can find forgiveness and still move on, and God uses [us]. I love that. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. … Restore unto me the joy of my salvation. So, if you're a believer here today, I tell you, your joy can be restored. If you're not, can I tell you, it begins with Jesus. That's what … we're celebrating. You're going to see the nativities all over the place and it [will] fly right by you. No, don't let it fly by. The signs of this are around you.
[35:26] There are individuals sitting next to you and in this auditorium who have amazing changed lives. If you hear their testimony of what they used to be like, the depression, the sorrow, the mixed-up lives and all that it brought. One day they had an interaction with Jesus. No, a real angel didn't show up, but Jesus, the Holy Spirit did. And they came to a point in their life, they put their faith in Jesus and everything changed. I love hearing stories of even some of our young kids, and they'll accept Jesus and say, I feel warm all over. I love that. I love hearing stories [from] kids and they'll say, yeah, my mom or my dad got saved. Changed our family. And everything went from night to … [?] man, isn't that great? You know what does that? Christmas: the good tidings of great joy. Jesus himself does that. It brings us such great joy. It really does.
[36:19] And so tonight, here at Central Baptist Church, we have a message for you. We have tidings for you. Things don't have to be the way they are. You don't have to be [a] Grinch. You don't have to be full of pain. You don't. You don't have to be. No, you can find joy during this time. And it may take a little time, but you can. If you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ, can I tell you? Today's the day. Today's the day. And if you have, [you] can reclaim and restore that joy in your life. Christmas brings us back to that point. … [?] Maybe it's good, but right now if it's not for you, you should turn and say … [?] there is a better way.
The Christmas Carol
[36:58] … [?] we watch it more times than I can really explain. I told you before, my wife loves the Christmas Carol. Anybody else like the Christmas Carol? Did you know there's more than one? There's not just the Muppet Christmas Carol. I'm not sure if you're aware of that; there are other versions out there. My wife's … [?] this year she may have told her [Sunday] school classes to watch every one of them. So she's watching every single one of them. I have a couple favorites in that group that I like, but I can tell you I am not an avid watcher of Christmas Carol as my wife. She could explain it way better than I could, I'll tell you right now.
[37:36] But in that story, most of you know about Ebenezer Scrooge, and the story is simple. He hates Christmas, and he's a bug [?], as everybody knows. And as you go through the story, three angels [sic, spirits] appear that night: Christmas present, past, and then future. We don't go all the way into it, but each one has their own little different version, and again I have my personal favorites of that, but they all take him and show him the present and they show him the past and then they show him the future. The theme that goes throughout that, after he sees the future, is the end of the movie, and the end of the movie is a fun time, because depending on what version, and really every version has it, where everything changes. He wakes up and he's like, well, there is a chance then. You're showing me what things could be. … But can they not change? Of course they can. And he gets up that day and everything changes.
[38:25] I love the ones where you see the look on everybody's faces, especially his nephew. … That's a fun one, when he walks in, and again various versions, and they're singing or they're eating or they're just sitting there, and he walks in and everybody's eyes light up and it's like, Ebenezer Scrooge? I love Bob Cratchit coming into work. Probably my favorite one is when he's kind of trying to trick Bob Cratchit, and he's kind of yelling at him, and then finally he starts laughing and tells him, no, I'm going to give you a raise and I'm going to take care of you. And Bob Cratchit grabs that pokey thing, and he's like, what is wrong with you, crazy man? I love that part. He's like, what happened to you? Why such a great change? He's like, what have you been drinking? I mean, something's wrong with you. But there was this transformation where this cruel, mean, hard-hearted guy suddenly was laughing and full of joy. He changed. The story goes on to say that he celebrated Christmas as good as anybody ever did from that day forward. That's a neat story. We love that story.
[39:23] But let me tell you what I get out of that story. What I get out of that story is what I learned from the Word of God, and that is this: we have good tidings. And that story that was written by Charles Dickinson [sic: Charles Dickens] actually can have a real, true ending in your life today. You don't have to be a Grinch and you don't have to be an Ebenezer Scrooge. No, if you find Jesus, everything changes. Everything changes.
[39:46] As a matter of fact, what was interesting to me is, even in that story, if you go to the original, and not all of them have this, but the original does, and his nephew, looking at Ebenezer Scrooge at one point, says, Merry Christmas, Uncle, God save you. So, like I said, not every version is going to have that, but the book, the original does, because Charles Dickinson [sic] was a Christian. And can I tell you tonight? Our desire for you is Merry Christmas. May God save you. That's our desire for you, is that God would save you and bring you great joy.
[40:16] But I can tell you, [you] will not find joy in the presents [?] and you will not find joy in the fellowships and the activities. As a matter of fact, for some of you, you'll find great sorrow in that. If you're the one doing all the cooking and all the preparing, it may not be very joyful. But I tell you, you take some time to stop, and you take some time to get to know him, and it changes everything.
A Christmas card
[40:34] I received a Christmas card already this year. They're coming in the mail. Are you aware of that? One of the Christmas cards, one of our sweet members, they're here tonight. I won't share the name or all the card, but one of the things that stood out to them was … [?] them rejoicing at this time, and their Merry Christmas was this. They early on accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They were a believer, but God led them … [?] It happened to be our church, Central Baptist Church. Should have been one of many churches, but … so it happened to be Central Baptist Church. And in coming there, God got a hold of their heart. Already saved, so they already had the joy of Christ in them. But they say they began to grow, and in growing, they said they knew of Jesus, but for the first time in their life, they finally knew Jesus. Began to know him personally. And how it just changed their perspective of Christianity. How the joy came into their life. And I thought about that and said, man, what a proper perspective at this time.
Invitation and close
[41:24] So whether you're here tonight and you've never really put your faith into … oh, you know the story and believe in him, that he exists, but you've never put your faith into him for salvation. I'll tell you, I'll be around for the rest of the Christmas festival. I'll be here, I'll be outside, I'll be walking around. At any point you can [come] and say, Pastor, can we talk? I'd love to sit down with you. Sit down in our office, open up the Word of God and help you find real joy. Real joy.
[41:51] And, Christians, if you're here, can I tell you? It's time to find joy. I tell you, one of the greatest signs is going to be to this world is that you and I enjoy life. Amen. Think about it. We have Jesus Christ, salvation, all the blessings of God's Word. And I get bad days. And I get tough weeks. Okay? I get it. We're not attacking anybody for that. That happens. We all have them. Okay? But overall, can I tell you, this season, we must find great joy. We must get back to having the joy of our salvation restored. Why? Because we become the sign now. The babe's already come. The sign now is us. And we become the sign. And we've got to get excited. We've got to enjoy. We've got to bring the real meaning of Christmas back into Christmas. And I tell you what, if we do that, then we have good tidings of great joy for everyone.
[42:33] So tonight, as you celebrate, as you enjoy, as you walk around Central Baptist Church, don't mistake what's taking place tonight. We will enjoy the fellowship, but don't mistake this: what we do is because of what He has done for us and the great joy that we possess inside of us. We'll share that with you tonight. I hope you enjoy yourself and your family's [visit] [?]. It'll be a blessing time. Would you join me for a word of prayer tonight?
Closing prayer
[42:55] Lord, we come to you now in this small devotion, sharing just part of the Christmas story. Good tidings [?]. Lord, what a blessing it is. Lord, we've heard great messages in song. We've opened your Word. Lord, for these 45 minutes we've been able to hear from you. And now, Lord, I pray you to impress upon the hearts of those that are here, as some fellowship is spent and some time is spent rejoicing. Lord, I pray for broken and burdened hearts, that, Lord, they can get things right with you. Lord, I pray for those who are lost, Lord, that they can find the source of real joy. And Lord, what a wonderful night it will be. Lord, thank you. We thank you for your love. We thank you for coming. Thank you for your forgiveness, Lord. Without you, Lord, I don't know where we would be. But Lord, with you, I know, Lord, we have great joy. Lord, we thank you and praise you now in Jesus' name. Amen. [43:42]
