Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction- the need for peace

Illustration: Origins of Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine and Literature.

Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

Illustration: According to the United Nations’ website- UN Peacekeeping helps countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.

We have unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy troops and police from around the world, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set by the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

Peacekeeping is distinguished from peacebuilding, peacemaking, and peace enforcement although the United Nations does acknowledge that all activities are "mutually reinforcing" and that overlap between them is frequent in practice.[3]

Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed.

If you were to look at Wikipedia’s page on peacemaking, you would find...

Peacemaking is practical conflict transformation focused upon establishing equitable power relationships robust enough to forestall future conflict, often including the establishment of means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community, or among parties, that had previously engaged in inappropriate (i.e.

violent) responses to conflict.

Peacemaking seeks to achieve full reconciliation among adversaries and new mutual understanding among parties and stakeholders.

When applied in criminal justice matters, peacemaking is usually called restorative justice, but sometimes also transformative justice, a term coined by the late Canadian justice theorist and activist Ruth Morris.

One popular example of peacemaking is the several types of mediation, usually between two parties and involving a third, a facilitator or mediator.

Transition To Body-

Hope

Love

Joy

Kingdom of Jesus Christ

Illustration: Prisoner of War (POW)

Body- Bringing the Mission Of Jesus Christ into Full View

Incarnate Christ Mediator Over All Creation (vv15-16)

Illustration: Rights of the first born child whose title/label identifies status

Mediator- a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement; a go-between.

Seeing Jesus is seeing God, the Father

Created everything

Incarnate Christ Reigns Supreme Over Everything (vv17-18)

Jesus Christ holds everything together

Illustrate: US Supreme Court

"EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW" - These words, written above the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building, express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States.

As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and such number of Associate Justices as may be fixed by Congress.

The number of Associate Justices is currently fixed at eight (28 U. S. C. §1).

Power to nominate the Justices is vested in the President of the United States, and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Co-equal branches of the government

Sovereign-

one possessing or held to possess supreme political power or sovereignty

b

: one that exercises supreme authority within a limited sphere

c

: an acknowledged leader : ARBITER

Jesus is LORD!

LORD over life

LORD over death

Incarnate Christ Peacemaker Over All Humanity (vv19-20)

The LORD God created, the LORD God takes responsibility and uses his sovereign power to make peace

So Jesus Christ is a...

Mediator- a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement; a go-between.

Alienated implies isolation, loneliness, and deep sense of not belonging

Put Off

Put On

Create in Me a clean heart

Transition To Close

Illustration: JESUS: HUMAN-SIZED GOD

Origen, also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria, Egypt.

He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, homiletics, and spirituality.

He was one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, apologetics, and asceticism.

He has been described as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced".

Well Origen, in the third century, had a great analogy for the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

He told of a village with a huge statue- so immense you couldn’t see exactly what it was supposed to represent.

Finally, someone miniaturized the statue so one could see the person it honored.

Origen said, “That is what God did in his Son.” Paul tells us in our text today, that Christ is the self-miniaturization of God, the visible icon or image of the invisible God.

In Christ we have God in a comprehensible way.

In Christ we have God’s own personal and definitive visit to the planet.

Illustration: Icon

a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere

: a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that represents an app, an object (such as a file), or a function (such as the command to save)

b: a sign (such as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning

An icon (from Ancient Greek εἰκών (eikṓn) 'image, resemblance') is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic churches.

They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion".

The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and angels.

Cultural icon, something or someone that is seen as representative of a given culture

Pop icon, a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era

Attributes necessary to be a Pop Icon:

Longevity- Usually, the pop icon status of a celebrity is contingent upon longevity of notoriety.

Ubiquity- A common element of pop icon status is the ubiquity of imagery and allusions to the iconic figure.

It is common for the figure to be recognized and even celebrated in areas outside the original source of celebrity status.

Distinction- Often pop icon status implies distinguished association with a societal ideal or archetype.

It is not uncommon for iconic figures to have a nickname or sobriquet that is used to emphasize this association.

Sometimes the very name of such individuals is even used as a synonym for common words or ideas.

Some fictional characters, such as Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, Snow White, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, James Bond, Darth Vader, Doctor Who, the Simpsons, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, Mario, Kermit the Frog, SpongeBob SquarePants, Pikachu, Alice, Willy Wonka, and Sherlock Holmes are regarded as pop icons.

But Jesus Christ’s icon status is synonomous with the cross

At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the Light

Close- Jesus said & did

Jesus Said

Christmas is next Sunday, but let’s go ahead a have an early birthday celebration

Unto to us a child is born

Jesus Gives Peace at all times

Jesus Bring Peaces to our lives

God is a God of Peace

Jesus is our peace

Jesus brought our peace

Jesus Christ leaves us the Peace Keeping Holy Spirit (until his imminent return to take us home)