Kay Warren has written a really good book called Choose Joy Because Happiness Isn’t Enough. Kay has walked through breast cancer, melanoma, death by suicide of her son, illness of her parents, and being the pastor’s wife of one of the largest churches in America. She defines joy this way: “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise Him in all things.”

As Kim said in our video we just shot, that definition is a mouthful. I agree, and it clearly defines Biblical joy in a way that gives us hope. Can you imagine living with that kind of settled certainty that no matter what you face, that God is in control? Can you imagine standing firm on God’s promises that everything is going to be alright? Can you imagine making a determined choice to praise God in all things whether good or bad? If we could live with that kind of hope and assurance, then I believe we could truly have a joy that contagiously flows out of us like what happened in Nehemiah’s day.

This verse that we looked at on Sunday says it well: “On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.” They were celebrating and worshipping God with songs of thanksgiving, and they were making so much racket that all their neighbors could hear. And believe me, I’m sure these neighbors, who were also their enemies, were intimidated at the sound of such resounding joy!

Let me come back and focus on what they did that primed their hearts for joy. It wasn’t just head knowledge about God they had, but they had experienced the presence of God through serving Him, celebrating Him, worshipping Him, and offering thanks to Him. We can engage with God in the same way, which I believe will lead us to experience the same kind of joy God’s people experienced. If you missed the message on Sunday, I want to encourage you to make it a priority to  watch or listen soon. Let’s be a people who pursue great joy!

Speaking of great joy, I just saw a flyer John Fairchild and Mare Dibert put together that gives the vision and dream behind our Drive-Thru Fall Family Festival experience this year. We’ve served our community 15 years now by offering a safe, fun, candy-filled experience for families each October 31, and even with the COVID-19 restrictions in place we believe we can offer a fun and safe time this year as well. There are three things we need that will be essential to pulling this off: candy, volunteers, and invites. You can drop your candy off at the church or order from your favorite online retailer and have it shipped directly to TCC. You can sign up to serve online or at church. Be sure to invite your friends using our website link or our Facebook event!

Last week was our first step toward bringing children back to church in their own fun environment so that we can give them an age-appropriate opportunity to engage spiritually. We’re offering a kid’s worship experience at 9:00 and 11:00am. Each gathering (one for pre-school 3 year – kindergarten, and one for grade school 1^st – 5^th) will be limited to 14 kids, so registration is a must. Find out room location and registration protocol on our website. I appreciate Bobby and his team for doing the diligent work to make sure we have a safe environment for all.

On Sunday, we wrap up our RISE UP series by taking a look at Nehemiah 13. I hope you’ll read ahead so you can be even more ready to be inspired. After last week, it seems that God’s people are finally in a place to honor Him by keeping the commitments we read about in Nehemiah 10. They had a huge party to celebrate the completion of the wall, and you might think they are on a trajectory that would keep them on track with God. However, as we’ll see on Sunday, they ended up taking another path that led to failure. I hope you’ll be here to learn from their human mistake.

We’ve been hearing from many people asking us to offer opportunities for prayer. God wants His people to pray, and so we’re going to gather on Saturday, September 26, 9:00-10:00am around the cross in front of our facility to pray together. I hope you’ll join with your church family as we gather to pray for our community, nation, and world. 

During this time when it’s impossible for us all to be on campus together, please make sure to stay engaged online if you can’t be here with us either outside or inside. Our services will continue to be streamed live at 9:00 and 11:00am, or you can watch them on demand any time you want right from our website or APP. Here’s an idea: When you’re watching online, please invite your friends to join you. If you haven’t downloaded the TCC APP, just go to the APP store and search for TCC GRASS VALLEY and download it today.

Our outdoor venue is for people who want to be able to sing and sit outside during the service. We have tents and fans outside. Each week we’ll continue to adapt and flex as we expand that opportunity at both 9:00 and 11:00am. We are a church of people  who gather together both online and onsite, indoors or outdoors to offer our worship to God.

Joyfully living everyday life on mission in intimacy with Jesus and others,