Advent 2025 - The Peace That Has Your Name On It

INTRO:

In our culture today, when it comes to The Miss America Pageant, there is a running Joke about Peace .

In answering questions about global issues or the contestants hopes for the future, the typical answer always revolved around “World Peace.”

Peace is widely sought after as a personal and social value across cultures, though people often disagree on how to achieve it and what it practically requires in daily life.

Do you know what the Greek word for Peace is??????

The Greek word for “Peace” is Shalom.

If you have ever watched the Show “The Chosen” you would recognize the fact that they say “Shalom” twice.

(“shalom shalom”) as an intensified blessing meaning “perfect peace” or “complete wholeness,” not just a casual “hi” or “bye.”

It has depth to it.

The Second Sunday of Advent calls us to meditate on peace—not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of Christ in the middle of our chaos.

Advent is a season of waiting, hoping, longing.

But it also reminds us that Christ brings peace before He brings perfection. ……. (Can I get an Amen?)

Many people today are living without peace—circumstances, regrets, identity questions, fear of the unknown.

Into that world, Christ speaks:

“My peace I give you.” (John 14:27)

And in Revelation 2:17, He gives a symbol that assures us of who we are in Him.

Have them Stand in Reverence of the reading of Gods Word.

BODY:

Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’”

Jesus is speaking to the faithful in Pergamum:

“To the one who conquers (is victorious), I will give him… a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”

To understand this, we must know what a white stone meant in the ancient world:

There are 3 usages of this “WHITE STONE.”

1. A symbol of acquittal

In ancient courts, jurors voted with stones: (Guilty or Not Guilty)

White stone = not guilty

Black stone = guilty

Christ gives us peace by declaring us acquitted and forgiven.

2. A symbol of identity

A new name meant a new identity, a new belonging.

Only God and the recipient knew the name:

This speaks of personal, intimate peace—being fully known and fully loved.

3. A symbol of invitation

White stones were sometimes used as tokens for entry into feasts.

Jesus gives a white stone signifying:“You are invited. You belong at My table.”

The white stone is more than an object—it is a message of peace, grace, and identity.

So when we look at Advent Peace and the White Stone—we may need to answer a question: How They Connect

Peace begins with knowing we are forgiven

Many people cannot feel peace because they believe their past disqualifies them.

Rick Warren is quoted saying ….. “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.”

“Our past may explain us, but it does not define us.”

But Jesus places a white stone in our hands—declaring us innocent because of His sacrifice.

Advent peace begins not with trying harder, but with being pardoned.

Peace grows from knowing who we are in Christ

The white stone gives us a new name.

It means:

You are not your failures.

You are not your past.

You are not what others have called you.

You are who God says you are.

Peace comes when identity is rooted in Christ—not circumstances.

(And Finally) Peace is sustained by God’s invitation to His presence

Peace comes not from a change of situation, but from the presence of God in the situation. (Thats good preaching Pastor)

This Advent season reminds us:

Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.

The white stone says:“You have a place with Me—now and forever.

Even when everything around us is shaking, our place in Christ is secure.

So how do we apply this to us today?

A better question may be …… How do we receive the Peace?

CONCLUSION:

1. Lay down the stones of accusation

Sometimes we hold our own “black stones”:

guilt

regret

shame

bitterness

Christ hands us a white stone—peace, forgiveness, belonging.

2. Embrace your God-given name

Ask:

What names have I been living under?(Failure, unworthy, anxious, forgotten)

What name might God be speaking over me?(Loved, chosen, forgiven, mine)

3. Walk in Advent peace

Peace is not passive; it is practiced:

Quiet your heart in prayer

Rest in Scripture

Extend forgiveness

Trust Jesus with the unknown

Conclusion — Peace Has a Name, and So Do You

Have everyone stand

…. have them pull out the Black stone they were given as they came in this morning.

…. hold it in their hand

Advent peace is not fragile.

It is rooted in a Savior who stepped into our world, carried our sins, and gives us a new identity.

The message of the white stone is clear:

You are forgiven.

You belong.

You are known.

You are loved.

You have a new name.

And in Christ—you have peace.

So this morning ….. by a symbolic act let us come up front and lay down our BLACK STONE and pick up the WHITE STONE signifying …..

Trading in the ….

guilt

regret

shame

bitterness

for ….

Innocence

Satisfaction

Worthiness

Gratitude

Taking on a New Name

No longer being called ….

Failure, unworthy, anxious, forgotten

But being ….

Loved, chosen, forgiven, His

WAIT FOR THEM TO COME FORWARD AND GO BACK

Church …… We can leave here today “Walking in PEACE!”

Every morning put that White Stone in your pocket and throughout the day as you place your hand in your pocket for “Whatever” reason you will be reminded ….

…. Of the Peace that dwells within you,

…. His Love for you

…. You are forgiven

…. You are HIS

Amen? Amen!!!!!

Have them repeat after me ……

Declaration:

I am forgiven and free

through Jesus Christ.

I carry not

the black stone of my past,

but the white stone

of His peace, identity, and invitation.

I leave this place

walking in His perfect Shalom—

whole, loved, and secure in Him.

I declare this is Jesus Name!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of Your peace that reaches deeper than our chaos and our past. Today we lay down every stone of guilt, shame, and fear, receiving instead the white stone of Your forgiveness and new name. Let Your presence guard our hearts and fill our lives with lasting peace as we walk in the truth of who we are in You.

Its in Jesus Name I pray, AMEN!