Dear all,

The Bible month in 2026 is an opportunity to explore Philippians together. Philippians is Paul’s joy letter as the church in Macedonian had been a great encouragement to Paul. The Philippian Christians had enjoyed a very special relationship with Paul, so he wrote them a personal expression of his love and affection. The concept of rejoicing or joy appears sixteen times in the four chapters, and the pages radiate this message, culminating in the exhortation to “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.” Philippians 4 v 4.

During my time in Northampton, I may have mentioned a singer song writer called Michael Card who wrote a song called ‘Joy in the journey’. He says joy is hard to find on ordinary days, in the routine of daily life. If real joy is to be found it must come from the outside. On those occasions when joy comes to us from beyond the ordinary it is transformed into a vehicle for true joy. The whole world can be transformed in a moment.

CS Lewis was drawn to Christ through an experience he described as “surprised by joy,” Lewis’s first experience of joy came via the ordinary. His brother, Warren, had fashioned a toy garden from the top of a biscuit tin. He says “Once in those very early days, my brother brought into the nursery the lid of a biscuit tin which he had covered with moss and garnished with twigs and flowers to make it a toy garden or a forest. That was the first beauty I ever knew. As long as I live, my imagination of Paradise will retain something of my brother’s toy garden”. The Lord used that ordinary piece of tin to create an experience so powerful that it shaped the mind of Christianity’s greatest contemporary writer. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis.

In one of Jesus’ final words to His disciples and to us for today. Jesus spoke of love and joy: “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you, John 15 v 9 – 12.

There is a joy in the journey. It comes from obedience, it comes from beyond, it comes despite the ordinary, or perhaps because of it. It is another word for love, which is another word for Jesus.

Finally, here is a photograph that brings me joy.