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“The Advent Candle of Peace”
Intro:
This is our third Sunday of Advent.
This week we are going to switch it up and focus on peace and next week look at Joy.
The advent Candle of Peace - Peace is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit that we find listed in Galatians 5: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience ….” (Galatians 5:22)
We saw in our first week of advent that hope has to do with patience and waiting.
For example we read in
So today, we are looking at the candle of peace.
And what better place to begin than the angel’s pronouncement of peace to the shepherds on that first Christmas Eve.
Pray
———————————-
Silent night
One of the things I love about Christmas is the nativity scenes.
And one of the things I love about nativity scenes is that they are so peaceful.
It’s hard to imagine a more peaceful looking scene than Joseph and Mary with their newborn child surrounded by sheep and shepherds under the midnight sky.
We even sing about it one of the most peaceful Christmas carols ever written: “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin, mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.”
We all long for peace in our lives, and yet peace is sadly lacking in our world.
People are full of worry and anxiety, it is a growing epidemic.
Relationships are full of conflicts and stress.
The world is full of conflict and wars.
But that’s where Jesus comes in.
Because Jesus is not only our hope at Christmas, he is also our peace.
And it is only in Christ that we will ever truly obtain peace on earth.
Bill Bright, Life without Equal, p. 46; quoting from House of Common debate in the Canadian Parliament, 1946
“There will never be agreement at the peace tables of the world or rest in the individual heart until the Prince of Peace reigns supreme in the hearts of men.”
So that is what the Advent Candle of Peace is all about today.
Part of the Christmas story, part of the Christmas message is that Jesus brings us peace.
This morning we will be looking at four aspects of the peace that Jesus brings.
1) Jesus brings peace with God.
2) Jesus brings peace with self.
3) Jesus brings peace with others.
4) Jesus will bring peace on earth.
Jesus brings peace with God
So let’s start with the first one – Jesus brings peace with God.
We read in:
Notice that we are not naturally at peace with God.
The Bible tells us our sins have separated us from God, and it is only through Jesus and faith in him that we are brought into a relationship of peace with our God and Creator.
When God first sent the angel Gabriel to Mary, he sent Gabriel with a message of peace.
We read in
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her,
‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.’
Mary was troubled at the angel’s greeting, but the angel spoke words of peace and assurance to her, telling her not to be afraid because God was with her and she had found favor with God.
You might wonder how did Mary find favor with God?
The only way any of us find favor with God.
She had faith in God and in his promise of the Messiah to come.
Like so many Old Testament believers before her, she had faith in Christ before Christ even came.
And now God had chosen her to be the vessel through which his Son would enter the world.
God also sent an angel to Joseph, Mary’s finance.
And the angel told Joseph in
The name “Jesus” actually means “salvation.”
Jesus was given this name because he was the promised Savior who came to bring us peace with God by saving us from our sins.
When John the Baptist was born three months before Jesus, John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied about John.
And in his prophecy he spoke about how John would go before Jesus preparing the way for this One who would bring us peace with God through the forgiveness of our sins.
Hear Zechariah’s words about John the Baptist in Luke 1:
How did Jesus do this?
Why is it that everyone who puts their faith in Jesus finds peace with God?
It is because of what Jesus did at the cross.
Jesus was born into this world to die on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven and we could be restored to a right relationship of peace with God.
As we read in
That’s the first and most important thing the Advent candle of peace reminds us at Christmas.
Jesus brings peace with God.
Jesus brings peace with self
Secondly, Jesus brings peace with self.
Sin not only separates us from God.
Sin also brings separation within our own being.
We are conflicted beings.
We are constantly fighting anxiety and stress and inner turmoil.
We desperately need inner peace, and Jesus came not only to bring peace with God but also personal peace within ourselves.
We read in Luke 2 that Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying:
Simeon is a wonderful example of Jesus bringing personal peace.
We sometimes talk about our bucket lists, all the things we want to do or accomplish before we finish our lives here on earth.
Well, apparently Simeon only had one thing on his bucket list – he wanted to see the Messiah before he died.
And when he finally did, when he finally saw Jesus – that was all he needed.
He praised God saying,
“You now dismiss your servant in peace.”
Simeon embraced Christ, and he was at peace within himself.
When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you not only receive peace with God.
You also receive the peace of God to help you through the difficult circumstances of life.
When you know Christ, everything can be going crazy around you, and you can still be at peace within yourself.
Notice that this wonderful peace of God is only available in and through Jesus Christ.
The Bible says the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Hear these beautiful words of Jesus from
Jesus not only brings peace with God.
He also brings peace with self.
Jesus brings peace with others
And then thirdly, Jesus brings peace with others.
We have a wonderful example of this early in the Christmas story.
When Joseph first heard that Mary was pregnant, he considered breaking off the engagement.
He must have been terribly hurt and confused thinking that Mary had been unfaithful to him.
But then we read in
If Mary was pregnant with any other child, Joseph would most likely have broken the engagement.
But this wasn’t any other child.
This was Jesus, and he was conceived in her from the Holy Spirit.
And so Jesus, even before he was born, brought peace between Joseph and Mary and kept their marriage from coming apart.
We go through many challenges in this life, and one of the most difficult is when our relationships are in turmoil.
That’s when we need to ask Jesus – the Prince of Peace – to come and bring us peace in our relationships, to intervene, to reconcile and to restore.
We read this about Jesus in
Jesus came to break down the barriers, to bridge the gaps, to bring people together and to restore peace to our damaged relationships.
As believers in Christ, we are called to follow in his footsteps.
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