Defining Joy vs. Happiness

Advent E3 — In the third week of Advent, we’re reflecting on joy. Joy’s not only a feeling based on circumstances but a rich biblical theme expressed in song, celebration, and even shouts of delight in all seasons of life. In the Hebrew Bible, words for joy appear most often in Psalms and describe communal feasts, temple offerings, and weddings. In these moments, joy is about remembering God’s goodness in the past and anticipating his future rescue. The New Testament continues this story, with Luke and Acts in particular overflowing with joy at the arrival of the Messiah, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the resurrection of Jesus. In this episode, Jon and Tim find the theme of joy everywhere in Scripture, even before God’s work is ultimately finished.

FULL SHOW NOTES

For chapter-by-chapter notes including summaries, referenced Scriptures, biblical words, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.

CHAPTERS

1. The Hebrew Words for Joy (0:00–15:24)
2. Joy in Psalms, Songs, and Processions (15:24–24:55)
3. New Testament Joy in Jesus and the Spirit (24:55–36:59)
4. Reflections on Joy With Alena (36:59-41:21)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Chara / Joy: Though not referenced directly in the episode, this 2017 video explores one of the biblical words for joy, chara.
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

• “I'll Be Warm This Christmas” by Lofi Sunday & TBabz
• “Joy” by Lofi Sunday & CRFT
• “Snowflakes” by Aves
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS 

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Special thanks to our guest Alena.

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