In our world, there is so much sorrow, misery, and sadness.

We see indicators all around us that reveal to us that most people are looking for something,

anything, that can bring them true joy. In this study on joy,

Scott Pauley will take us to God's Word and help us discover the source of true, lasting joy.

And as we study the Bible together, we will find that God's joy is readily available to us

through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the very unique things about our study of the joy of the Lord in Scripture is that

very often the joy of the Lord is in the context of suffering, of difficulty. Now, that's not the way we think,

but that's the way the Lord works. We imagine that joy is found in good circumstances and happy

feelings, but joy is very often God's work in us in the midst of the most challenging

circumstances of life. And we all have them.

We turn our attention today to the joy of testing.

I don't know any students that really just love test, but test are going to come.

Everything God teaches, he test, and there are going to be trials and tribulations and lots of

temptations in life.

And I'm here to tell you, you can live in such a way that not only do you get through them,

not only do you just pass or just survive, but you actually can grow in the midst of those.

That instead of being something that is a wedge between you and the Lord,

they can be a prod that nudges you nearer and nearer to Christ all the time.

That's how you can rejoice in the testing.

We turn our attention today to the little book of James and the little book of First Peter.

Now they're back to back in your new

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