Find Peace In The Heart Of Christmas

The Heart Of Christmas: Week 2

Summary: The announcement of Jesus’s birth was delivered to shepherds who lived on the fringe of society, in the fields, watching their sheep by night. If a king were born to the world, you would expect these shepherds to be the last ones to know about it. Yet, the heavenly angels told them that peace was coming to the earth for those on whom God’s favor rested. What a shocking message! God’s favor was even on the shepherds. They were being offered peace; and if it could be given to them, we can rest assured it is offered to us as well. Now that is good news for a world that is in turmoil!

Think: Jesus’s birth offers us peace in the middle of our difficulties and stresses.

Feel: Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the presence of Christ.

Do: Take time to share with God the stresses of your life and trust that His favor is on you today. He longs to bring you peace.

Intro: Hello, church family. I want to welcome you to worship today. You joined us at just the right time. We are in the middle of a Christmas series called The Heart Of Christmas. We have been discovering the true meaning of this holiday season and the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love that Christ brought us through his miraculous birth.

Last week we began with the hope that is at the heart of Christmas. We see the faithfulness of God from his prophetic word about Jesus’s future coming and the fulfillment of that word in Jesus’s birth, which gives us confidence that we can place our hope in him. No matter what we face, God is right on time and will meet us in our time of need. Today, we will look at another aspect of the heart of Christmas—the wonderful offer of peace.

The Christmas story in the Bible begins with an unlikely group of people. The first announcement of the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem was given by a multitude of heavenly angels to a group of shepherds who were out in a field watching their flocks to keep them safe at night.

Joke:

A shepherd was tending his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a dust cloud approached at high speed, out of which emerged a shiny silver BMW. The driver, a young man in an Armani suit, Ferragamo shoes, the latest Polarized sunglasses and a tightly knotted power tie, poked his head out the window and asked the shepherd, “Hey! If I can tell you how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?”

The shepherd looked at the man, then glanced at his peacefully grazing flock and answered, “Sure.”

The driver parked his car, plugged his microscopic cell phone into a laptop and briskly surfed to a GPS satellite navigation system on the Internet and initiated a remote body-heat scan of the area. While the computer was occupied, he sent some e-mail via his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, nodded solemnly at the responses. Finally, he printed a 150 page report on the little laser printer in his glove compartment, turned to the shepherd, waving the sheaves of paper, and pronounced “You have exactly 1,586 sheep.”

“Impressive. One of my sheep is yours,” said the shepherd.

He watched the young man select an animal and bundle it into his car. Then the shepherd said, “If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?”

Pleased to meet a fellow sportsman, the young man replied “You’re on.”

“You are a consultant,” said the shepherd without hesitation.

“That’s correct,” said the young man, impressed. “How ever did you guess?”

“It wasn’t a guess,” replied the shepherd. “You drive into my field uninvited. You ask me to pay you for information I already know, answer questions I haven’t asked, and you know nothing about my business. Now give me back my dog.”

Read:

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Shepherds in first-century Israel were individuals who existed on the fringe of society.

They were considered stinky, dirty, and untrustworthy. They lived on their own for months as they traveled with their flocks.

It would have been shocking to the first readers of the book of Luke that these were the people God chose to entrust with such an important message.

POINT #1 – THE PEACE OF GOD IS FOR ALL PEOPLE

The angels had to steady the shepherds by telling them to not be afraid because they were terrified of their presence. The message they brought was good news because a baby had been born who was the long-awaited Messiah—the one who was promised long ago to rescue God’s people.

The angels told them where to find Jesus, and before they left on their search, a heavenly host spoke over them: peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.

Jesus was ushering in peace.

Peace is for everyone

Illustration: Hope for the Future - homeless believers, church on the street, in the squats where they kept the chairs

In one survey, nearly one-third of those questioned said that of all the people mentioned in the Christmas story, they identified the most with the shepherds. The shepherds were average, ordinary people and yet were invited to see the birth of the King of kings.

What I find most amazing is that, when God wanted to announce the arrival of his son, he did not do it in the presence of kings or queens. He announced it to the poor and the forgotten. It truly is good news because, if God’s favor was offered to the shepherds, then surely God’s favor and peace is available to us as well.

It is the world’s greatest need. From the time sin entered the world and affected all of creation, we have been at odds with God. The Bible says we were enemies of God and in rebellion against his rule and reign. Sin did not just stop there, it also caused us to be in conflict with one another and ourselves. This is why Jesus’s birth was and is such good news. It is the ultimate answer to the brokenness that exists because of sin—brokenness between ourselves and God, ourselves and others, and our own inner voice.

This is the way Paul put it as he wrote to the church in Colossae. Paul was expressing the role that Jesus plays in making peace.

Read:

Colossians 1:19–22 ESV

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

To understand the peace that is ushered in at Christmas time, we must understand that, although Jesus arrived in a cradle, his life would lead to a cross.

Jesus intentionally lived a sinless life and willingly offered his life through crucifixion.

Paul said it is the blood of Jesus Christ that makes peace between us and God. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross pays for the sin we have committed, it appeases God’s anger toward sin, and it destroys the power of evil in our lives.

Being reconciled to God is the key to experiencing peace in every other area of our lives.

POINT #2 – JESUS RECONCILES US TO GOD

When we receive the gift of forgiveness that is offered to us by faith, we become friends of God and he offers us his power to help us navigate the difficulties of life. Some may believe that being made right with God means they will never face any problems. This is not the case. Pastor and speaker Dr. Tony Evans says it like this:

“Peace does not mean you won’t have any problems. Peace means that your problems won’t have you.”

-Dr. Tony Evans

The peace offered to those on whom God’s favor rests does not equate to the absence of conflict.

We may still have circumstances that don’t go our way or challenging relationships to navigate.

What it does promise is the presence of God in our lives; and if He is with us, there is nothing we should fear.

We can go to him for guidance and strength. We can lean on him when we get weary. He promises to bind up our wounds when we are hurt.

God desires for us to make peace with ourselves. Every past mistake, personal struggle, or worry for the future is met with the love and grace of God.

We also make peace with others because of the forgiveness of God given to us. When we come to recognize the grace given to us, our hearts are transformed to offer grace to others.

As we get closer and closer to Christmas day, we move through a season known as Advent.

Advent comes from the Latin word meaning arrival. Jesus’s first coming was the arrival of God’s light in the world.

Like sitting around a lit Christmas tree at night, the glow of God’s presence washes over us. It calms our fears and steadies our hearts.

At Christmastime, we also make note of another advent that is to come.

One day in the future Jesus will return and make all things right once and for all.

His peace covers our past, meets us in our present, and is a promise for the future.

POINT #3 – PEACE IS OUR PURPOSE

What the world needs more of … is people who have the peace of God in their hearts and who are willing to share that peace with others.

It is not optional for us to embody this peace. It is an expectation that Jesus has for his followers.

Joining God in making the world a better place is the purpose of our lives.

In fact, Jesus speaks to this in the middle of his most famous sermon called the Beatitudes.

Read:

Matthew 5:9 ESV

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The angels told the shepherds that peace was available to those on whom God’s favor rests.

Jesus said something similar when he stated that peacemakers will be blessed, and they will be called children of God.

When we are willing to seek reconciliation with others and fight for harmony rather than sowing dissension, we are identified with the heart of God who longs to reconcile the world to himself.

We look like the Father, and we are recognized as children in his family.

We find peace at the heart of Christmas because God desires us to be in a right relationship with him, with ourselves, and with others.

It is the very reason for which Jesus came to earth.

There are many people who do not value peace in their relationships, and so they live in a constant state of conflict. Some people are looking for a fight because they aren’t in one.

It reminds me of what Linus said to Charlie Brown in a Charlie Brown Christmas.

Charlie Brown was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, and Linus observed,

“Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.”

Unfortunately, this is the outcome for people who believe Christmas is about other things besides hope, peace, joy, and love.

This Christmas may we be people who embrace the gift offered to us through Jesus who died for us so we might live in a right relationship with God, ourselves, and others.

Questions:

1. What are the things in your life that are robbing your peace?

2. Where do you currently feel the presence of God that brings you Peace?

3. Where are you being called to be a peacemaker?

PRAY

Discussion Questions:

1. What kinds of things tend to rob peace from people’s lives?

2. How is the presence of God and the presence of peace related?

3. Why is Christ’s sacrifice necessary to reconcile us to God? To ourselves? To others?

4. What is one practical way to live life as a peacemaker?