What does Tribe teach about joy?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At Tribe, the teaching on joy starts with a clear distinction: joy is not the same as happiness. Brian Hunter draws that line plainly, pointing out that happiness moves with circumstances while joy is a fruit of the Spirit that cannot be taken away by situations or people. Joy is not something a person generates on their own. Brian says, "Joy is a choice, and we don't manufacture that from our flesh because it then comes forward as wax fruit like you're wearing a mask." The choice is not to conjure a feeling but to open something God has already placed in front of you.
That picture of joy as a gift you still have to open came up in conversation with the congregation. One member shared how he had arrived at the same realization during a hard stretch at work, which grounded the teaching in something real rather than abstract. Brian also responded to the idea that joy is a gift by pointing out that the gift may already be in your lap, but you still have to reach for it. That reaching is the choice.
For Brian and the Tribe community, joy is connected directly to God's word planted deep in the heart. Working through Psalm 19:7-11, he identifies bringing joy to the heart as one of the things scripture actually produces in a person when it takes root. This is not a transaction that happens once. Like a seed, the word needs tending, time, and the right conditions before anything visible grows. But the promise the passage holds out is real: where God's word is planted, a great reward grows.
Taught from Psalm 19:7-14 · Proverbs 4:20-22 · Romans 12:2 · Psalm 119:18
“Joy is a choice, and we don't manufacture that from our flesh because it then comes forward as wax fruit like you're wearing a mask.”
From Sweeter Than Honey
The passage taught · Proverbs 4:20-22
20 My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- June 2, 2025 Sweeter Than Honey Brian Hunter walks Tribe through Psalm 19, exploring how burying Scripture in your heart revives the soul, brings joy, gives wisdom, warns of danger, and yields lasting reward.
- June 1, 2025 The Great Reward A Jackson Hole pastor leads his congregation through Psalm 19, exploring what happens when God's word is buried deep in the heart rather than just read from a page.