Advent 2025- pt 2- Peace

Living at war is exhausting. Can I get an amen?

The position of constantly being in conflict means always being on a hair trigger. Every muscle taut. Every neuron firing. Adrenaline flowing. Waiting for the next threat to arise and hoping and praying not to be surprised.

Our world today is like that. So many people living on the edge. War everywhere. In the house. At work. In the neighborhood. At the school. And online. All war. All the time.

And the more we fight the more conditioned to war we become. And worse, we are exhausted. So we are more ready to take offense, and conditioned for a fight.

Moments of peace are rare.

And when we find them, and only when we find them, we realize how tired we are at living at war.

And how much we crave peace.

Jesus came to bring that peace.

And when He arrived, that was a big part of the announcement to the world.

Peace is here!

Turn with my to Luke 2:1-20.

And yes I am sure many of you have read this a million times. My family reads it every Christmas morning. Linus reads a section of it in the Charlie Brown Christmas. And it is that section where this promise of peace jumps out.

When the announcing angels show up in verse 9 the shepherds are “filled with great fear.”

I would be too! Not just because these beings are showing up out of nowhere, but also because these guys are SCARY!

Precious Moments angels these are NOT!

And the angels tell them not to be afraid.

Fear is a big cause of conflict. We are afraid of what someone has said or what they could do. Fear steals peace.

And church, let me say, some of us have that fear of God- but not in a healthy way. We see Him as someone to hide from. Someone we cannot trust.

And the arrival of Jesus is one of the ways God seeks to overcome this fear so we can have peace.

Luke Comments

I bring you good news. This translates the Greek verb euangelizō, which means to preach the good news. The noun (euangelion) is translated by the word “gospel.” This verb is found eleven times in the Gospels, and ten of these are found in Luke. See comments on 1:19.

Of great joy. See comments on 1:14.

That will be for all the people. Are Gentiles included here, or is this a reference only to the Jewish people? Luke envisioned the gospel as being for all people, including the Gentiles (

He comes to us!

Verse 11- a Savior for YOU!

God brings us peace by overcoming the distance between Him and us.

Luke Comments

This verse gives a brief summary of the gospel message and provides the reason for the statement found in the previous verse. It tells of the birth of a Savior. This title is applied to God in

Before Jesus, only certain people could approach God and then only occasionally and through fulfilling certain rules. People were so afraid of God they would in some cases not even write His name out.

You cannot be in real relationship with someone you are afraid of- so God sent Jesus to overcome that fear and replace it with peace.

And He had to be the One to do it, because our sins made us incapable of bridging that gap ourselves.

Paul says as much in Romans- that we were actually in rebellion against God and His enemies.

And He came to bring us peace.

But peace is more than the absence of conflict.

It is the presence of justice and a sense of safety and well being.

Jesus comes to bring us peace because he is able to set us in right standing with God. He satisfies God’s need for justice for our sins- by dying for us.

And He provides us with something else we need- a real security for the future both in this life and the life to come.

Look at Ephesians 2:14-17.

Jesus is our peace with God and with man. He brings an end to all conflicts by His sacrifice.

That’s why the angels end with verse 14.

How do we, as followers of Jesus, seek this peace, this pleasure of God?

we avoid foolish arguments

we believe the best rather than the worst about people

we pray for enemies rather than attack them

we see people as created in the Image of God

we know that Jesus came for the world and that our job is to point them to Him

Now there is one other aspect of the peace of God that is revealed in the coming of Jesus. Look at verses 15-20.

There is one other key to peace. And that is having truth being spoken and promises beingt kept.

The shepherds hear all of this and they decide- let’s see. Is this real?

Luke Comments

Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. “This thing” is literally this word as in

And they arrive and look at verse 16- now compare it to verse 12.

Nailed it.

Luke Comments

Just as they had been told. This refers to the fulfillment of divine prophecy given by the angel.

And when they see that they have been told the truth they rejoice. They praise God.

Luke Comments

The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God. What the angelic host had done in 2:13–14 was now carried on by the shepherds.

For all the things they had heard and seen. This is the ground for the shepherds’ glorifying and praising God.

Peace produces praise.

So let me ask you this morning. How is your peace? Where do you need the peace of God?

What would your life look like if you pursued peace instead of conflict? Where do you need to reorient your life to the peace of God rather than the conflict of man?