joy

Bad Attitudes & Black Holes

by Ben Zornes · May 22, 2025

Bad attitudes are black holes. Now, I’m a pastor by trade, not an astrophysicist, so forgive me if I’m a bit inaccurate in the particulars of what happens in those mysterious heavenly phenomena. Like black holes, bad attitudes really suck all light into themselves. Everything that gets too close gets swallowed up.

A certified grump, who is full of bitter complaints and seething resentments, can turn every room or situation either into a broiler room or a walk-in freezer. Such sinful dispositions have an incredible gravitational pull to cause anyone who gets close to simply slip into the grip of the grumpiness. It might be out of despair, fear, anger, or laziness, but when sinful moods are allowed to prevail in a relationship (whether in a marriage, family, church, friendship, or business) it is certain to make everyone miserable.

If you are the grump, you might develop a perverse joy in seeing how your foul mood sucks the life out of all those around you. You may know that what you’re doing is wrong. But, you simply don’t know how to refrain from the pleasure you find in making folks revolve around your ever-changing moods. If you find yourself orbiting such a grump you might scratch your head as to how in the world you can escape the clutches of the black hole which has emerged in your living room.

For both the grump and those in their gravitational orbit the only way out is gratitude and joy. Gratitude arises when you realize that God, through Christ, has pardoned you for all your sins. Joy arises when you trust that God looks at you in Christ and delights in you. This faith and the thankful rejoicing that arises from it, is irrepressible. Such faith is the only thing potent enough to attain a sufficient escape velocity.

Loving Calculus

by Ben Zornes · Aug 19, 2024

We often say around here that parents need to not only teach their children to know the standard of God’s word, they also must be taught how to love the standard. That is an essential bit of pastoral wisdom.

I want to give some practical pointers on how to actually do this. If I were to tell a group of advanced mathematics teachers that they need to not only teach their students the finer parts of calculus but they need to teach their students to love calculus they very reasonably might inquire, “How do we do that?!”

The fact of the matter is that if you delight in something, it isn’t hard to confer that delight. If you delight in something you love pointing out all the subtle joys to be found in that thing. Chefs delight in the various seasonings and how they can be mingled gloriously. A baseball enthusiast will tell you all about the glories of Nolan Ryan’s fastball. Again, true delight must be present in order to spread that delight to others. So then, you must be exuberant in your delight in God’s Word, in God’s people, and above all in God Himself.

This ought to show up in how you sing both here at church and in your home; how you run your family Bible studies; how you address sin and disobedience and reconciliation. Is God’s Word the joy and rejoicing of your heart?

Personal delight is one thing, but then should come consistency. Your joy in the things of the Lord will draw your children into that delight. But only if you are consistent in your joy. A river without banks is a damaging flood. So let your joy in God flow in the channels of obedient leadership of your children. This will bring them to love the standard, which is Christ.

A Table of Rejoicing

by Ben Zornes · Apr 24, 2024

We must not grow indifferent to the message which Jesus came with. He came bringing Good News. His presence upon this earth was the inauguration of the good times. And though He has ascended to the Father’s right hand, He remains with us by His Spirit. The Good News has not become stale; the bright luster of the Gospel has not been corroded into an oxidized patina. Rather, it grows brighter with each day and through each age.

So then, this isn’t a table of gloom. It isn’t a table for stirring up pity upon poor Jesus. It isn’t a table of sorrow. Rather, this is where you can taste true joy and hand it to your fellow saint. This table is a memorial of Christ’s Gospel. The death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ is still good news of great Joy.

And not only is the joy undiminished, the joy of the Lord is and ever shall be your strength. And you need strength indeed. There are enemies within and without. Inward sin to subdue, and high towers of evil that need the Jenga treatment. There are wild places that must be tamed. There are toddlers to train in the ways of Jehovah. There are teens who must be readied to go out and make good trouble for the true troublers of Israel. There are aging saints to be tended to in their final days. There is wealth to be made and generously given away. There are houses to build and homes to be furnished with the grace of hospitality.

All of this must arise from the joy of the Lord which is proclaimed here. Your sins are forgiven because Christ’s body was broken and blood spilled on your behalf. And God ordained this so that He might feast with you at this table of rejoicing.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…

How Not to Worry

by Ben Zornes · Apr 19, 2024

Introduction

Nobody has to teach us how to worry. It’s like one of those viruses that we all carry around, and if our immune system is compromised it can erupt into a violent fever. Because of how common worry is we can easily begin to treat it as merely a part of the furniture of our emotional life. But worry is not simply an emotion, it is a sin.

Worry is a Respectable Sin

Worry seems to us like the common cold. It might even be seen as commendable and praised as a twisted form of a devoted work ethic. But worry really is a violation of what God’s word commands for us.

Be careful/anxious for nothing (μηδὲν – Accusative Singular Neuter; and it ought to be translated as, wait for it…nothing). Philippians 4:6

The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD. Proverbs 19:3

Psalm 37 commands us to fret not because of evildoers:

Fret not thyself because of evildoers.
Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Reasons we Worry

There can be a number of reasons why worry takes us by the throat. Worry takes advantage of our circumstances and our uncertainties. Worry takes advantage of our passage through time to churn up a whole sludge of events to consume our minds with concerns.

Past – Unconfessed sin; embarrassing mistakes, harm done to us.
Present – Lack of faith in God’s sovereignty in governing and ordaining our particular set of present circumstances.
Future – Idolatry by concluding you should carry your burdens with no reference to God’s promised care and provision for you. Worry looks at the future with arrogance, convincing you to think you can discern the future which only God knows.

Furthermore, when you look at what Scripture teaches about worry is that it often comes side by side with a warning against a sin which is in a symbiotic relationship with worry: envy. Envy is the practice of ungodly comparison, and worry is the tag-along. you can see how this ungodly comparison can enflame all sorts of worries:

How do I get what those wicked people have?
How do I keep those wicked people from hurting me?
How do I get revenge on those evildoers?
How do I get the ungodly to like me or ignore me?
How do the evildoers get away with their sin, but I have to do what the Bible tells me to?

How to Overcome Worry

First, you must do your duties with Gospel joy. Imagine that you are tasked with carrying a bag of feathers up a hill. Worry is insisting that you need to add an unnecessary brick or two. Will it help you go faster? No. Will it accomplish what you were assigned? No. Will it increase your joy? No. God has given us duties to carry out, but we are to do so in faith and by the joy that comes from placing that faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God through Christ has forgiven all your sins, supplied you grace for every circumstance, and a certain hope of being found righteous in Christ at the final judgement.

Secondly, you need to understand something about yourself. You are finite. You have a limited amount of knowledge and capacity to process that knowledge. You’re like a computer with a limited amount of processing space and if you try to load all the programs at once you will fry the motherboard. It is not wrong to think about things, to consider things, even to meditate and plan. In fact Scripture requires this of us. But it demands that we do so without any worry/anxiety.

Third, you should pay close attention to how the Word teaches about this sin. Paul prohibits worry when he says, “Be careful for nothing”. However, Scripture never tells us just to knock it off. The removal of the weeds of a particular vice is accompanied with instructions to plant in its place a vineyard of a particular virtue. Here is Paul’s strategy for battling worry: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Phi. 4:6). Prayer is the true application of Calvinism. If God is sovereign, act like it and this means pray about everything. But that prayer is to be marked by an important attribute: thanksgiving.

Conclusion

So then, do not expend any extra bandwidth on worry. It is a brick in the bottom of your backpack. Just take it out. The hand you take it out with the hand of gratitude. Thank the Lord for all His benefits to you (both in private prayer and public worship). Thank those around you for ways they bless you (notes, texts, verbally). This isn’t power of positive thinking. This is the power of living by faith. By faith you can look at the world as a magical place made by the loving hand of Almighty God; you can see your present circumstances as dragons to slay or an orchard to nurture; you have certain hope for a future that is bright because you are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

Hard Times for Joyful Saints

by Ben Zornes · Aug 28, 2023

While we enjoy a higher degree of comfort than any generation before us, it is also evident that we face hard times. Government corruption, economic instability, religious apostasy, and sexual degeneracy are abundant. In the midst of these hard times, your duty as a Christian is to be joyful despite the various cultural sorrows we face. However, a distinction should be made. Being joyful in the midst of clown world doesn’t mean that you just adopt the ethos of an eternal optimist: naive, gullible, but with a toothy grin all while things deteriorate around you. This joy which we are summoned to by the Gospel isn’t a joy of obliviousness, it’s an anchor.

You can flee from the terrors. That is the coward’s way. You can sulk in a corner. That’s the complainer’s way. You can give way and join the madness. That’s the compromiser’s way. Or you can joyfully give thanks in all circumstances, for all circumstances. That is the Christian’s way.

Cowering, complaining, & compromising are all false promises to lead you out of the misery. Gratitude to God–for the forgiveness He gives to You through Christ, for the mercy He’s shown toward your sin, for the abundant life He has sealed to you by the Spirit–is the only way to make it through the fog of trials, into the fields of everlasting joy.

Christian joy enables you to face hard times and emerge from them more like Jesus. This is true no matter what news story comes out this week as another proof of our national fabric unravelling. So, be diligent in the tasks God’s given you. Pay no heed to the conniving of evil-doers. After all, they’re like grass. While the Word, this Word which we preach & feast upon each Lord’s Day, is the Word that begets everlasting trees of righteousness.

Through Christ You pour out upon us eternal joy and everlasting grace, enough to supply us strength in every trial, courage in every dark valley, bright hope in the deepest valley. Yet too often we give way to various temptations to complain, cower, or capitulate. This is a great shame, for You are our God, and You are not thwarted, or terrified, or trembling before any of Your enemies. Forgive us for both the guilt of the ways we avoid walking in courage, and the shame of doing so, considering we have such a God as you. Be merciful unto us for we bring to you now all our various sins and failures, for we know there is no other God like you, a God who forgives repentant sinners.

The solution to our cultural woes is not political or economic or educational. The solution is repentance. Humbling ourselves before God, confessing our sin to Him, and then walking in uprightness of heart is the path of courage, which will bear fruit in all spheres of life.

An Extra Dose of Cultural Christianity

by Ben Zornes · May 22, 2023

Christmas & Easter have pervaded the world in a profound way. Chinese factories churn out Nativity scenes. Muslim malls blast Joy to the World. Passion parades & Easter Egg hunts are still a thing (even if they’re a bit lacking in robust meaning). All this is, on the whole, a good start. But we have more ground to take. One spot on the calendar that is ripe for Christian cultural advancement is this week & next.

Today we celebrate the coronation of Christ. He took His seat upon the throne of Heaven & Earth as the undisputed Savior of mankind, and Lord of all things, all thrones and dominions, all men and angels, for all time. That should be enough to make you whoop & holler.

But my exhortation is this. If you’re able, begin to work towards circling Ascension & Pentecost Sundays on your calendar and put them on par with Christmas & Easter. Buy some early July 4th fireworks, and light them off tonight. Spread a feast fit for a King. Hang a piñata (which we’re planning to do after church next Sunday)! Gather some friends to sing until you’re hoarse. Open that special bottle of wine you’ve been saving.

Christ is King. Let us rejoice. He’s sent us His Spirit. Again I say rejoice. Hunt down your sin, like a mighty man certain of victory. Seek out the poor and downcast, and bring them the Good News. Proclaim liberty to captives, & lead them out of their captivity into the fellowship of the saints. Pray for our earthly kings to come to worship at Christ’s throne. And expect all your faithful efforts to bear fruit.

He has ascended on high & given gifts to men. Think upon it. Celebrate it. Build such a bright bonfire of joy that the nations are compelled to come.

One of the central errors of our age is that of thinking we can compartmentalize our lives; as if what we think about God can be nicely boxed up and stored in the attic. But to rip-off Tozer, what we think about God is the most important thing about us. Low views of God are lethal. Contenting ourselves with a Christ we can whistle up when its convenient for us is anemic. Our sins, great & small, all stem from neglecting the fear of the Lord in order to succumb to our fears of men. May God grant us the boldness which flows from our certainty that Christ is risen & ascended, that all things are under His feet, and that we are seated together with Him.

Grief in a Time of Gladness

by Ben Zornes · Nov 28, 2022

As I’m sure you’re already aware, the next month will be a sprint of Christmas hullabaloo. The central message of our celebration is that of good news of great joy for all nations: Christ has come. The centrality of joy should be unmistakable.

But amidst all the joyful anthems, alongside all the favorite traditions, hiding in the corner of many otherwise joyful hearts is a pang of sorrow. The dull grief of loss is sharpened anew. The memory of past celebrations brings a fresh wave of mourning. The realization comes anew that their laugh will no more be heard, their embrace no more felt, their presence will no longer warm the room.

This is where the potency of the Gospel shines brightest. For the Savior born in Bethlehem, as Isaiah foretold, would bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, and bring about the death of death. While the story is still in the telling, the ending is certain.

All your grief will soon melt into tears of glad rejoicing. All your sighs will give way to songs of triumph. All the nights of weeping shall break forth into an endless dawn of joy. The bitter bud of trials, will become the sweet fruit of sanctified glory. The darkest threads of the tapestry will give, from the distance of eternity, a deeper contrast to the whole.

The joy in all our sorrows is that God became a man and dwelt among us. He drank up the cup of our suffering to the very last dregs, so that you might drink only the finest of vintage from the cellar of His grace. Grace to comfort you in your most grievous trial. Grace to confirm you in your highest joys. Grace for the valley and the mountain. Indeed, our darkest sufferings are where this Good News of great joy shines the brightest.

Our sorrows too often become excuses to foster self-pity, indulge carnal lusts, ignore faithful reading of the Word, or flee the fellowship of the body of Christ. Yet our Father offers to carry our every last burden, and by the cross of our Lord Jesus we see that even the worst suffering, by the power of God, breaks forth in glorious resurrection. May we go to God for forgiveness for not bringing our sorrows, pain, and grief to Him; further, we must repent of the ways in which we fail to bear each others burdens, as well as making our burdens known one to another in order that we might bring each other to Christ, our great High Priest, who suffered in our stead. May God give us grace to turn from the ways which we’ve tried to soothe our pain & grief apart from Christ, and may we walk in the true joy which Christ’s advent is intended to bring us, that there is eternal joy beyond all of earth’s sorrows.