Contagious Joy

Message listening Guide

Main Idea: Joy doesn’t come from getting what you want. Joy comes from getting more of God.

Key Points:

Real joy is found in God's presence, not in better circumstances. (Psalm 16:1–11)

God Himself has always been full of joy. (Proverbs 8:27–31 — before creation, there was rejoicing.)

Joy is contagious — it spreads from God's heart to ours, and from ours to others. (Acts 2:46–47)

This Week’s Challenge: 
Do something you enjoy — with God.  
Pray: "Father, help me see Your smile over me."

Reflection Question:
When you picture God, do you see a frown or a smile?  
How might seeing His joy change your own?

Connection Group Conversation Guide

Get-to-know-you Question: Share your name with the group and the answer to the question: What’s one small thing (a smell, a song, a food) that instantly brings a smile to your face?

Review: Last Sunday's message focused on how real, lasting joy is found not in our circumstances but in the presence of God. The sermon emphasized that while circumstances only account for about 10% of our happiness, cultivating relationship with God—who is full of joy Himself—brings deep, contagious joy. Through Psalm 16, we were reminded that God delights in us and invites us into His joy, and that when we experience God's smile, it naturally overflows to others.

Discuss: The message shared that most of us intuitively believe that improving our circumstances will make us much happier. Do you think you fall prey to that tendency?

Read: Have someone read aloud Psalm 16:1-11.

Discuss: Have you ever experienced unexpected joy—even happiness—in the midst of hard or painful circumstances? What helped you find that joy?

Read and Discuss: A. W. Tozer wrote: “For a long time it has been drummed into us that if we are happy, God is worried about us. We believe He’s never quite pleased if we are happy. But the strict, true teaching of the Word is that God takes pleasure in the pleasure of His people, provided His people take pleasure in God.” When you picture God looking at you, what expression do you imagine on His face? Where do you think that mental image of God came from—family, culture, past experiences?

Discuss: The application challenge this week was to do something you enjoy with God and ask Him to reveal His delight in you. If you tried it, what was that experience like? If not yet, when this coming week could you plan a simple activity to do with God? Be specific: what would you do, and when?

Discuss: The message emphasized that our joy in the Lord can become contagious to others. Can you share a time when someone else's joy in Christ impacted you? Or a time when your joy seemed to open a door for someone else's faith journey?

Pray: Share prayer requests and close in prayer.