Sermon Tone Analysis

Christmas

Heavenly Peace

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!!! Announcements

!!! Doxology Hymn no 323:         /“Into your presence we come”(Repeat, with Amen at end of repeat)/

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Call to worship

!!!!!! Bible Verse

Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

(Exodus 15:11)

!!!!!! Blessing

Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever!

Amen.

(Revelation 1:4-6)

!!! Hymn No 166:                            /“Come O long expected Jesus/

!!! Invocation and the Lord’s Prayer

!!!!!! Invocation

To you, O LORD, we lift up our soul; in you we trust, O our God.

Do not let us be put to shame, nor let our enemies triumph over us.

No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.

Show us your ways, O LORD, teach us your paths; guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are God our Savior, and our hope is in You all day long.

Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Remember not the sins of our youth and our rebellious ways; according to your love remember us, for You are good, O LORD.

(Psalm 25:1-7)

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The Lord’s Prayer

!!! Scripture Reading:                    /Isaiah 9:1-7/

!!! Prayer of Adoration and Confession

!!! Declaration of pardoning

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

(Matthew 11:27-29)

 

!!! Hymn No 169:                            /“Who is He?” (All:  Verses 1, 3, 5, 7, 8; Ladies: 2, 5; Men: 4, 6)/

!!! Offering and Dedication

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

(Proverbs 3:9-10)

!!! Prayer for others

!!! Hymn no 173:                              /“A Great and Mighty wonder”/

!!! Scripture Reading                     /Luke 2:1-14/          

!!! 8 Sermon                                   “/Heavenly peace/”

!!!!!! Introduction

Dear Brother and Sister in the Lord,

If there is one thing man desires above all, it would be peace.

For parents it would mean a safe environment to bring up their children – many people in war-torn countries move elsewhere mainly to secure a safe place to raise children.

For the businessman it would mean an environment to conduct his business with safety – just look at what happened with the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York.

Peace is priceless.

Just ask veteran soldiers.

The problem is just that peace can be a trap.

It can become addictive; leading to a situation that people will sacrifice principles just to maintain peace.

This form op peace is, of course, just the absence of war or tension.

This form of peace is nothing but a ticking time bomb that will explode and cause much harm.

This is the sort of peace the people enjoyed in the time of Caesar Augustus.

!!!!!! *8**  *Pax Romana

The time under Caesar Augustus was a very special time in the history of the Roman Empire.

He succeeded Julius Caesar is Roman Emperor.

After a period of many battles and wars, Augustus introduced a period of peace.

And it had wonderful consequences.

The reforms of Augustus as well as his long life contributed to the idea that he was something more than human -- he was certainly a hero, but the Romans thought of him in religious terms.

*8*  He was the god-king who was the saviour and benefactor of his people.

He was commonly addressed as /soter/, ‘Saviour of the world’, and as adopted son of Julius Caesar, ‘the Son of God’.

The money coined had his head on it.

His successor, Tiberuis, had coins with the inscription “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus’.

The imperial cheer-leaders and followers of Augustus were called Augustiani, in contrast to the followers of Christ, who were called Christiani.

His popularity led him to really move forward and assume religious status among the people.

He made himself chief priest of the civic religion and the public censor.

*8*  What was allowed in moral terms and what not, was determined by Augustus.

He was the standard of moral issues.

He was the supreme ruler, the king, the emperor and his authority (/auctoritas/) was absolute.

*8** *Under his leadership the Roman Empire was known for its achievements.

He provided a material and political base of cultural achievement.

This is the age of the /Pax Romana/, the Roman Peace.

Augustus was worshipped as the political reformer who had the power to bring peace and prosperity.

Augustus began building and rebuilding Rome.

This public works program gave citizens jobs and helped to increase Augustus' popularity among the people of Rome.

Since access to the provinces was essential for control, he made sure that the roads were kept in repair, and in some cases built new roads.

Augustus felt his city should tower over the rest of the world.

*8** *But the Augustan reforms were not limited to political, economic and social issues alone.

They also envisioned a fundamental change in Roman culture itself.

Augustus tried to turn Rome into a world capital and taught the Romans to identify their destiny with the destiny of all mankind.

They were the chosen people who would bring peace and stability to a violent and changing world.

The Romans looked forward to a world composed of the most diverse elements and people.

The Empire would be synonymous with the world.

Augustus put forth a series of moral legislation that was designed to improve the morals and restore republican virtue.

To the public Augustus appeared very moral and upstanding, but in reality, he was anything but.

In the guise of finding out secrets from enemies, he would often have sexual relationships with women who were related to these "enemies.”.

*8*  Under the rule of Augustus, many facets of the government ran very smoothly, leaving the impression that Rome was at peace.

War was a distant thing, confined only to the most rugged frontiers.

Thanks to the huge amounts of wealth from Egypt that were kept by Augustus after the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra, Augustus was able to throw elaborate feasts, festivals and celebrations for the people of Rome, to further the notion that peace had well and truly been achieved.

*8*  The Pax Romana, or Roman Peace has been said to be almost a "miracle."

He set up a government that was able to maintain a peace for many centuries.

A system of imperialism was put forth that lasted for centuries.

!!!!!! *8**  *Heavenly peace

These were the times when Christ was born.

Even the Jews in Palestine, although not under self-rule, enjoyed the fruit of the Pax Romana.

They were under the Roman Empire, but they enjoyed its peace and prosperity.

It was under the reign of Augustus that Herod was allowed to complete the new temple of the Jews in Jerusalem.

Then one night, while the shepherds were minding the sheep in the fields of Bethlehem, the heavens tore open with the angelic host singing a song of exultation.

They sang:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

(Luke 2:14)

*8*  It was a proclamation of the good news.

The previous angelic proclamations were directed particularly to the persons to whom the visions came.