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Glorious Joy
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-9
First Methodist Church Wetumpka
December 14, 2025
Scripture Reading
Our scripture lesson this morning comes from 1st Peter chapter one. I'll be reading verses one through nine. Let me always encourage you to go home and read all of this letter—1st Peter. It is a beautiful letter. It has a lot of wonderful truths that you can find in it, a lot of those golden nuggets that will bless your life. And so I hope that you will go home today if you have the time and read all of 1st Peter.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ, and sprinkling by his blood.
Grace and peace be yours.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth and to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. Who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this, you greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer great grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine, and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with full and glorious joy. For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
One of the Most Prominent Themes of the Bible Is Joy
Now, one of the most prominent themes that you will discover in the Bible is joy. And if you were to do a search of joy and joyous and rejoice and rejoicing, you would find those words over 430 times in your Bible. From the very beginning, God's plan for mankind has been to bring joy into our lives. And throughout the Bible, we see stories of joy in response to God's blessings and the joyous celebrations of his promises.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites rejoiced and sang songs of joy when they escaped the Egyptians and made their way into the promised land, where they again rejoiced with songs of joy as God delivered them into the promised land. In Nehemiah, we see the people celebrating with joy when the walls around Jerusalem are restored.
In the New Testament, when Jesus was born, the angels announced, "I bring you good news of great joy." During his earthly ministry, Jesus attended weddings and participated in festivals. He brought—and continues to bring—joy to all those who follow him, and he encourages us to do the same.
The apostle Paul also speaks of joy in his letters, urging believers to be joyful even in difficult situations. The Bible teaches us that joy is a gift from God. It is the fruit of the Spirit to be celebrated and to be shared with others.
The psalmist reminds us that God has made known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
When we are going through a difficult season, we are reminded that joy brings complete serenity through faith in God. Because joy is rooted in the blessings of God. Joy is not fleeting, or based on circumstances, or worldly possessions, or accomplishments, or even the people in our lives. They are all blessings that make us happy and add to our joyfulness, but it is Jesus who is the source of our joy.
God's plan allows us to navigate the path of life while he sustains us with his joy. That's why we sing "Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king." We have reason to celebrate and sing songs of joy for all that God is doing in our lives—for sending us his Son.
Do You Know True Joy?
So my first question to you this morning is: Do you know true joy? Have you experienced the joy that only God can bring into your life? If so, how does it compare to the happiness you feel with a job well done, or the excitement of purchasing a new car, or the satisfaction you have when you achieve a worthy goal? Does the gospel open up a new dimension of joy that surpasses everything else?
And I believe it does.
However, the gospel is rejected by some because they see it as a crutch for weak people. Some people think that if you are strong enough, you don't need Christ—you can accomplish all you need to accomplish on your own. But as we read the apostle Peter's testimony, his faith in Christ was not a crutch.
Peter was not a weak person. He exuded remarkable strength under duress. He was a fisherman that quickly became the spokesperson for the disciples. And Peter was a bold proclaimer of the gospel message.
The gospel also offers answers to our deepest longings for joy. The gospel is not a psychological formula. The gospel is a person—that person is Jesus Christ. That makes Christianity distinctive. As Christians, we live in Christ, and Christ lives in us.
Only Jesus can bring deep, satisfying joy that is not dependent on our situations. Only Jesus can give us the joy that sustains us in our darkest hours. It is our privilege to know him every day. And the better we know him, the deeper our joy becomes.
A helpful approach to living—and you've probably heard this—is to live one day at a time. And rightly so. We have the privilege of choosing every morning when we get up the attitude that Christ Jesus had, and then we have the opportunity of making a new beginning with each new day.
We Are Citizens of Heaven
Now, Peter's encouraging words, written to people who had reason to be discouraged, still ring true today. Peter was writing to Christians who were being persecuted for their faith, and people around the world today are being persecuted because of their faith.
He calls these people exiles. An exile is a person who is living away from his or her homeland. An exile is separated from that which they love. An exile might live in a pleasant place, but their hearts always long for home.
Peter tells these Christians that they are exiles. And then he tells us as well that we are exiles. We are citizens of heaven forced by circumstances to live in another world for the time being. We too are longing for home.
There's an old gospel song that we were singing the other night at the choir party. And it says: "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. If heaven's not my home, then Lord, what will I do? The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore."
Peter says that we are citizens of heaven by virtue of our new birth. And when we become Christians, God sends his Holy Spirit to dwell in us, and he makes us new creations. Peter describes this as a new birth to a living hope, and this vibrant and enduring hope is rooted in the promises of God, particularly in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is the gift from God. God sent his Son to us. He lived his life. He died on a cruel cross. He was buried, and then he rose again. And he welcomes us into his presence. And he offers us the gift of eternal life—if we will receive it.
Other New Testament passages describe this as adoption. When we become Christians, God adopts us and we become his. Because God has adopted us, he becomes our Father, and we become his children. Christ dwells in us, and we become children of the King, entitled to all the privileges of a prince or princess.
Like royalty, we have free access to the King. We can talk with him whenever we want. He will never leave us nor forsake us. And he will love us and provide for us forevermore.
We Have an Incorruptible and Undefiled Inheritance
And then Peter tells us that we have an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for us. It is reserved in heaven for you and for me.
And Peter assures us: this world that we are living in is just temporary. In our future home, we have an inheritance waiting for us. God is protecting that inheritance, and God has allowed troubles to come our way only to prove the genuineness of our faith, just as fire proves and refines gold.
When I read this scripture, I am reminded of a pastor who died about 10 years ago, a man by the name of Fred Craddock. He was an influential American preacher and professor, and he was known for his dynamic preaching and storytelling.
Fred Craddock tells a story of a time that he and his wife had been on vacation in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee. They had gone to a restaurant called the Black Bear Inn. It was beautiful—maybe you've been there. One side of the building was all glass, overlooking the Smoky Mountains.
Craddock and his wife were just beginning to look at the menu when an old man with white hair walked up to their table.
"Good evening," he said.
Craddock replied, "Good evening."
The stranger said, "Enjoying yourself?"
Craddock said, "Yes."
The old man asked, "Where are you from?"
By this time, Craddock was wishing the old man would just go away and leave him and his wife in peace, but he replied to the old man, "I'm from Oklahoma."
Then the old man asked, "What do you do?"
And Craddock said, "I teach in a seminary."
The old man said, "Oh, you teach preachers. I have a great story about preachers."
The last thing that Fred Craddock wanted at that moment was to be distracted from the beauty of the Smoky Mountains, the elegance of the Black Bear Inn, and the company of his loving wife by a stale preacher story.
But the old man started in anyway.
He said, "I was born back here in these mountains. My mother wasn't married, and the reproach that fell upon her fell upon me. The children at school had a name for me. And it hurt. It hurt very much. During recess, I would go hide in the weeds until the bell rang. At lunchtime, I took my lunch and went behind a tree to avoid them. When I went into town with my mother, the men and women would stare at her, and then they would look at me. I knew they were trying to guess who my father was. It was a painful time.
"It was about the seventh or eighth grade when I started to go hear a preacher. He frightened me in one way, but he attracted me in another way. He wore a claw hammer tail coat. He had striped trousers, and he had a face that looked like it had been quarried out of the mountains. And he thundered when he preached.
"I was afraid people would say, 'What is a boy like you doing in our church?' So I would go in right before the sermon started, then I would leave quickly after the sermon was over.
"One Sunday, however, some women had queued up in the aisle, and I couldn't get out. And I began to sweat, and I began to wonder, was someone going to say to me today, 'What is a boy like you doing in our church?'
"Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. And I looked out of the corner of my eye, and it was the preacher's face. And I said, 'Oh, boy.'
"That minister stared at me and looked at me and stared at me. And I thought, 'Oh no, he's gonna guess.'
"He said, 'Well, boy, you are a child of… Hmm. A child of… Oh, wait.'
"And the preacher said, 'You are a child of God. I see a striking resemblance.'
"And then he swatted me on the bottom and said, 'Go claim your inheritance, boy.'"
Craddock looked at the old man. He said, "What's your name?"
The man said, "Ben. Ben Hooper."
Then Craddock remembered his father had told him of a time the people of Tennessee had elected an illegitimate son as governor—named Ben Hooper.
Go Claim Your Inheritance
Good friends, we are all illegitimate in some sense. Paul tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all have reason to worry about someone discovering the truth about us.
But that's not the end of the story.
Peter says, "Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading—kept in heaven for you."
For you.
By the mercy of God, we are all his children. And if Ben Hooper were here today, he would tell you to go and claim your inheritance.
You see, God didn't call you to be liked. He calls you to be light. And light by its very nature makes darkness very uncomfortable. You can't throw a shade on a child of light. You put me in the darkness—I'm going to shine twice as bright.
In other words, we must show other people that Jesus has made a difference in our life. Our attitudes and our conduct and our words must be shaped by Jesus. The supreme test comes in how we handle our problems and our difficulties.
Does Jesus give us glorious joy when we are disappointed and hurt? Does Jesus give us glorious joy when tragedy occurs? He can and he does.
Unbelievers are quick to size up Christians when they are going through hard times. That's why it's so important to rejoice in Christ and to point people to him no matter what you are going through at the time. Admittedly, this is no easy task. That's why Paul urges us to pray at all times and rejoice in the Lord always.
In John 16, Jesus told his disciples of his departure. He said, "You are sad now. But I will see you again. And then your hearts will be full of joy. No one can take your joy from you."
Once you have the joy of the Lord, no one can take it from you. That inheritance is sealed and protected by God himself.
You can have this joy—the joy that we've been talking about this morning—if you will acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then daily seek his presence. And when you seek his presence, the God of hope will fill you with all joy.
You can have this joy if you will remember that you are a child of God, a child of the King. The Psalmist David reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
And you can have this joy if you will go claim your inheritance. God has created you for a purpose. Your life is not happenstance. God has a joyous plan for your life, and with God, you can enjoy the fullness of his joy.
That's reason enough to let your light shine brightly today. That's reason enough to go claim your inheritance today and every day. That's reason enough to remind yourself that you are a child of God. You are a child of the King with all the privileges and all the rights that comes with that.
And that's reason enough to rejoice in God's glorious joy.
Amen.
Closing Prayer
Let's pray together this morning.
Lord Jesus, thank you for reminding us of the joy that you bring into our lives. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for reminding us today that we are children of the King. Thank you, Lord Jesus, today for reminding us that we have an inheritance that is being kept in heaven. Thank you for reminding us of the joy that we can have in you.
Thank you for the grace and the mercy you give us so that we can go through difficult days and still have the joy of the Lord in our life. And thank you, Lord, for giving us voice today so that we can rejoice in your glorious joy.
We pray all this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.
Invitation
This morning, perhaps you are looking for the joy that only God can bring into your life. If you will surrender your life to him today, he will restore the joy of your salvation into your life. And you will walk out of here with joy that no one can take away.
First Methodist Church Wetumpka
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