Discovering Joy When Life Feels Empty with Isaac Serrano

About this episode

This episode explores how to find joy and purpose in life through serving others and embracing ancient practices amidst a materialistic culture.

In seasons when life feels meaningless, how can we perceive purpose, hope, and even joy? Amid our deeply materialistic culture, the purpose of life can seem to simply be the elimination of pain and inconvenience. Yet the answer to our deepest aches lies in the joy of serving others, the wisdom of our ancestors, and the worthiness of Jesus. In this episode of The Digital Examen , host Jay Y. Kim sits down with Isaac Serrano, lead pastor at South Valley Community Church in Gilroy, California and author of When Life Feels Empty . He also serves on the leadership team of the ReGeneration Project and is an adjunct professor teaching theology and ministry at Western Seminary. Together, Kim and Serrano draw from ancient Christian wisdom and their experiences as pastors in Silicon Valley to discuss how discerning our telos , embracing connection with others, and locating ourselves with God’s story are essential to experiencing joy in our digital age. Serrano shares why the antidote to pain and suffering isn’t positive thinking or attempting to escape pain, but embracing endurance, selflessness, and age-old practices like communal singing, thanksgiving, and prayer. If you long to…

People in this episode

Host: Jay Y. Kim

Guest: Isaac Serrano

Topics covered

• search for meaning
• joy in serving others
• ancient Christian wisdom
• endurance and selflessness
• communal practices
• digital age challenges

Keywords

• joy
• purpose
• meaning
• Christian wisdom
• endurance
• selflessness
• communal singing
• thanksgiving
• prayer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: South Valley Community Church, ReGeneration Project, Western Seminary

Books & works: When Life Feels Empty

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