Our attitudes and outlooks can impact our lives significantly, so maintaining our God-given joy is essential. But how do we maintain joy? In this sermon covering the third week of Advent, Pastor Allen Jackson shares three steps we can take to keep our joy intact, and he teaches about the impacts joy has on perseverance, especially through suffering. Like hope that needs a foundation to rest on, joy requires upkeep, and we can practice that through familiarity with God's Word, listening to God's voice, and being in godly community. Holidays can be painful, but we can have lasting joy even through suffering, because our joy is made complete through our willingness to persevere in faith.

In the Christmas narrative, angels came to deliver "good news of great joy" to us. Good news of great joy doesn't mean everything is going to be easy, but it does mean our assignments will be meaningful and well-rewarded. In this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson teaches about the theme for the third week of Advent: joy. We may be tempted to grumble when facing trials, but God calls us to endure with joy. It's counterintuitive to our human natures, but with the Holy Spirit's help, we can find true joy in the midst of hardship. God is moving in the earth, and we want to be a part of what He's doing in His Kingdom, so let's choose to cultivate joy—sustaining, eternal, and supernatural joy.

We will need the joy of the Lord and the strength that comes with it to complete our God-assignments. In this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson discusses joy, the theme for the third week of Advent. Joy is a spiritual fuel that enables us to endure and overcome, and Pastor Allen shares examples from Nehemiah and Daniel, who flourished in hardship, to model how we, too, can rely on God to supply us with the strength we need. Our world seems to be darker day by day, but this Christmas season, let's overcome evil with the joy that comes from celebrating the birth of our Savior and King.

Our faith has shaped our culture for hundreds of years, but we're living through an immense decline of its influence in our nation. We've been so focused on eternity that we've neglected our role in the present age. In this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson discusses preparation, a theme of the Advent season. He teaches about leaders like Abraham and Stephen to demonstrate that as God progresses His plans in the world, we have to be intentional in moving with Him. The Church has an assignment, and we need to develop the discernment to understand it and accomplish it!

In the midst of God moving in the earth through remarkable miracles, demonstrations of His Spirit, and the fulfillment of prophecies, we must come to terms with the existence of evil. The second week of Advent is about peace and preparation, and in this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson discusses how we can have peace and be prepared for our God-given assignments, even when we're surrounded by expressions of evil. Pastor Allen shares the story of Jesus' birth, highlighting the uncertainty each person felt, even as they walked in obedience to God. Our stories will look similar, but we don't need to be overcome with fear or anxiety. As we practice obedience, Jesus promises to give us peace—and His peace is everlasting.

God's movements can bring discontinuity, discomfort, or hardship—but they also result in extraordinary outcomes. In this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson discusses what it looks like when God moves in the earth and why choosing to hope in the Lord is essential. Afterall, hope (the theme of the first week of the Advent season) is about the future. Our futures may look tenuous, and we may have misplaced or outright abandoned our hope—but when we choose to reject despair, and hope in God's faithfulness and trustworthiness, we can find a joy that lasts even in the midst of sorrow.

After feeling disappointed by someone or something we trusted in, how can we know where to place our hope? In this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson discusses hope, the topic of the first week of Advent, and how we can be certain that God is trustworthy. He teaches about the importance of guarding our hearts and practicing patience through the discomfort of hardship. Suffering will come to all of us because expressions of evil in our world are real, but the Bible teaches that even through difficult seasons, we can rejoice. We find everlasting joy and peace when we place our hope in the Lord!

Discontentment may try to arise as you begin this year's holiday celebrations, but let's aim to cultivate thankfulness. In this sermon, Pastor Allen Jackson discusses five ways we can practice gratitude this Thanksgiving season in obedience to God and His Word. He shares biblical methods of expressing gratitude to God, fostering thankfulness for the blessings in our lives, repenting of ungratefulness, being thankful in spite of the hardships we face, and living humbly in service and generosity to those around us. The discipline of a grateful attitude instead of a grumbling one will bless us this holiday season.