Prince of Peace

Pray

The nation of Israel waited a long time for the Messiah. The Old Testament is full of promises that one day the Christ would come. About 700 years before Jesus was born, one of Israel’s prophets named Isaiah wrote this special description of the Christ. Listen carefully to the names that he gives:

Read Isaiah 9:6

Today we’re going to focus on the last name that was given: Prince of Peace. A prince is a ruler, and a Prince of Peace is someone who brings peace through their reign. - Through being in cahrge!

In the Old days - a weaker king would send a more powerful king a

Peace offereing.

A gift to make friends with a more powerful king - before that king came a beat him and his people up!

Or in a battle,

the side that thought it was going to loose would wave a White flag - as a sign that they will no longer fight,

They want peace.

The stronger army would then stop fighting and they would make sure the loosers would still have a punishement.

You should all have a candy cane

You can think of the white section as wanting peace between us a God!

God is a King of Kings,

Mighty God!

He is the strongest most powerful force in all the world!

But we don’t always live for him.

We live our own way.

We lie,

and cheat,

we’re selfish,

or greedy.

We love ourselves rather than God!

So really we’re in trouble!

We need peace with him!

But what can we give him?

Will a candy cane make it all better?

The crazy thing is,

there is nothing we can give God tyo make peace with him!

He’s too perfect,

to amazing.

But - he loves us so much,

that he wants to make peace with us.

Romans 3 25 says

The New International Version Chapter 3

25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, m through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith

That all may sound complicated to our younger listeners today,

But is simply means,

God presented Jesus as the peace offering to cover for sin. People are made right with God when they receive the offering of the blood of Jesus by faith.

Peace with God requires our lives!

But if we gave those we’d have nothing left!

So instead - God makes peace with us by giving us the blood of Jesus in our place!

Take your candy cane

The red stripe reminds us that God made a peace offering FOR us,

in Jesus dying on the cross to forguive our sins,

so we can live in peace with God!

We have 2 jobs to do when we realise how much God must love us to send a peace offering to us on that first Christmas!

The first is to say sorry to God,

And Thank you to God!

The second is to celebrate -

And that might mean eating your candy cane and praising God later on today!

So

White is for peace with God.

Red is for the blood of Jesus that gives us peace and reminds us how much God loves us.

And just in case you fogget for a second who loves you that much,

You can turn the cane over and you get a

J - for Jesus!

Pray