What if we as believers were known as the people of celebration and gladness, and the church as the place of feasting?

I think the very fact that He’s unhappy with sin is an indicator that sin is what robs people of happiness. So He’s happy with that which is not only in conformity to His holy standards, but also that which is in conformity to His happiness and delight.

William Whitaker, who was a Puritan and a Cambridge University professor in the 16th century, spoke of “sinning away that happiness wherein we were created.” And that is a very graphic picture not only of what Adam and Eve did, but also what we who are conceived as sinners and have a sin nature do

I think the first thing we need to realize is that historically there was no such distinction in the church and in the English language. Simply look up joy in a secular dictionary, say Webster’s Dictionary, and you’ll see it defined as happiness and, happiness defined as joy. They are synonyms with overlapping meanings. 

The Bible does not teach there is no marriage in Heaven. The Bible teaches there is one marriage in Heaven: Christ married to His bride, the Church.

Where did sports come from? Who gave us the ingenuity to even create them as human beings? Clearly it is from God. We are made in His image. Satan did not come up with the idea of sports.