Joy

A little child will lead them all (Isaiah 11:6; NLT).

Lord God,

1. You sent a little boy
To flood us with your Spirit’s joy,

2. To sacrifice his flesh and blood
For us, and fill our hearts with love.

3. For he, Lord, is your only Son,
The Christ, who came to make us one

4. With him, with you, and all the earth –
Lord, thank you for our Saviour’s birth.

References

1. The baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35; NLT).

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-3; NRSV).

2. He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20; NIV).

We have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9; NLT).

3. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one (John 17:22; NLT).

4. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:9; NLT).

You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other (Romans 12:4-5; NLT).

There is […] one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

The Saviour – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born in Bethlehem, the city of David! (Luke 2:11; NLT).