How We Can Have Peace

Introduction

Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy & Worship Advent Wreath

Advent wreath. A wreath bearing four candles, each lit progressively on successive Sundays (or their eves) of the Advent season. Its popularity is recent (twentieth century).

Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered What Is an Advent Calendar? How Does an Advent Calendar Relate to Christmas?

The word ‘Advent’ has a Latin origin meaning ‘the coming,’ or more accurately, ‘coming toward.’ For Christian believers, Christmas is one of the greatest events in the yearly cycle, being the celebration of the greatest gift ever given by God to mankind. That gift was Jesus, the Son of God Himself

First Candle – Hope (Prophecy Candle):

Color: Purple (or blue in some traditions) symbolizes repentance and preparation, reflecting the solemn anticipation of Christ's coming.

Second Candle – Peace (Bethlehem Candle):

Color: Purple (or blue)This continues the theme of preparation and reflects the peace of Christ’s arrival.

Third Candle – Joy (Shepherd's Candle):

Color: Pink (or rose)Pink represents joy and celebration, marking a lighter, more joyful tone as Christmas draws near. This color is used on the third Sunday of Advent, often called Gaudete Sunday, meaning "Rejoice."

Fourth Candle – Love (Angel's Candle):

Color: Purple (or blue)The final purple candle reminds believers of God's love shown through Christ's incarnation.

Optional Fifth Candle:

Christ Candle (center candle):

Color: White symbolizes purity, holiness, and the light of Christ coming into the world. It is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Modern Use of Advent Candles

Johann Hinrich Wichern (19th Century):

The Advent wreath with candles gained widespread popularity through Johann Hinrich Wichern, a German Protestant pastor, in 1839.Wichern created a large wooden wreath with 24 candles (one for each day of Advent) to teach children about the meaning of Christmas. Four large candles marked the Sundays of Advent, while smaller ones marked the weekdays.

Simplified Version:

Over time, the wreath was simplified to include only four candles, one for each Sunday of Advent. This version spread beyond Lutheranism and became popular in Catholic and Protestant traditions.

Today’s lesson

John 14–17 is one of the most profound and significant sections of the Bible, often referred to as the Farewell Discourse or the Upper Room Discourse. These chapters record Jesus' final words to His disciples on the night before His crucifixion and reveal His heart for them as He prepares them for His departure.

What is peace?

Absence of conflict (Russia - Ukraine)

Inner calm - a quiet confidence in difficult times

Shalom - hello/goodbye, wholeness, completeness, well-being, harmony, and flourishing. It reflects God’s intention for creation—a state where everything is as it should be.

Right relationships - forgiveness after a quarrel

Trust in God - resting in the sovereignty of God during trials

Reconciliation with God

Fruit of the Spirit - refers to that inner tranquility of spirit that stems from reconciliation with God (Rom 5:1), which is achieved by the cross (Eph 2:14–17). It is a sense of well-being and trust in the future through a deep relationship with the Triune Godhead. When such a relationship is operative this “peace of Christ” rules in the church and in each of its members (Col 3:15) (Grant Osborne)

What is the peace of John 14?

John 12–21 (3) The Second Paraclete Statement: Interpreter of Jesus (14:25–31)

This peace was the gift of Jesus which would calm their troubled hearts and ease their fears of his departure. It is the peace that Christians would come to experience in the postresurrection era of the Spirit, when Paul could proclaim a peace of Christ Jesus that goes beyond all human understanding and guards believers “hearts and minds” (Phil 4:7).

John 14:23–31 CSB

23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me. 25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful. 28 You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe. 30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me. 31 On the contrary, so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do as the Father commanded me. “Get up; let’s leave this place.

1. Peace through God’s Presence

v. 23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

How does this happen?

God’s presence was lost after the fall

God’s presence is a millennial promise

Ezekiel 37:27 “27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Zechariah 2:10 “10 “Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you”—this is the Lord’s declaration.”

Paul prays...“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph 3:17)

But - most of you are probably thinking something else...

2. Peace through the Holy Spirit

v.26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

The Holy Spirit is our Helper, sent to teach, remind, and comfort us with the truths of God’s Word.

Through the Spirit, we experience Christ’s peace by remembering His promises.

The Gospel according to John 4. The Departure of Jesus and the Coming of the Spirit of Truth (14:15–31)

One of the Spirit’s principal tasks, after Jesus is glorified, is to remind the disciples of Jesus’ teaching and thus, in the new situation after the resurrection, to help them grasp its significance and thus to teach them what it meant

Did the disciples often not “get it”? Do we likewise fail?

3. Peace through trust in God’s Sovereignty

v.27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.

“When things go wrong, things go right, because God is sovereign” - Dallas Wilson

What was about to happen to the disciples? The terror and fear of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Will we experience such trials in life? Yes

Will those experiences be easy? No

But can we still have peace through trust in God’s sovereignty

The Gospel according to John 4. The Departure of Jesus and the Coming of the Spirit of Truth (14:15–31)

The world promises peace and waves the flag of peace as a greeting; it cannot give it.

But Jesus displays transcendent peace, his own peace, my peace, throughout his perilous hour of suffering and death. And by that death he absorbs in himself the malice of others, the sin of the world, and introduces the promised messianic peace in a way none of his contemporaries had envisaged. The pax Romana (‘Roman peace’) was won and maintained by a brutal sword; not a few Jews thought the messianic peace would have to be secured by a still mightier sword. Instead, it was secured by an innocent man who suffered and died at the hands of the Romans, of the Jews, and of all of us. And by his death he effected for his own followers peace with God, and therefore ‘the peace of God, which transcends all understanding’ (Phil. 4:7).

4. Peace through the Promise of His Return

v.28-29 You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming (back) to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe.

“I am coming back to you” - v.18, “I will not leave you as orphans”

When you were younger, did you ever fear being left alone? Did your parents ever have to leave you? (Dad at the football game)

A reunion is coming! This gives us peace

Conclusion: “The peace Christ offers is not temporary or circumstantial but eternal and rooted in His unchanging love, presence, and promises. By embracing these truths, we can experience His peace in every area of our lives.”

…and we can share this peace with others