Peace Everlasting
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Welcome!
Announcements: This evening is the community caroling-come around 4 and we’ll leave shortly after-drive in vehicles-no wagons, tree lighting at 6 pm, dinner to follow here.
Next Sunday-Ugly Sweater/Christmas festive wear! Church board mtg following service.
Kids made craft projects for the elderly in senior communities. Adopt a resident-give a gift. All donations help fund camp for kids and bless the receiver of the gifts: this Sunday and next.
Christmas Eve 4 pm. Join us and invite others!
Call to Worship: So Jesus came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near... Ephesians 2:17 [NRSV]
Welcome to worship!
Jesus calls us here, Jesus calls us from far and near to hear a message of peace.
Whether you feel far from God, or near to God, this peace can be yours this morning,
a gift from the God of grace.
Let’s pray together:
God of grace, you know our hearts, you know what we need even when we don’t know what that is. This morning fill us with peace; peace that passes understanding, peace that bubbles over, peace that needs to be shared, so that we can be your disciples with good news for our neighbors near at hand, and our neighbors far away.
Amen.
Praise Songs
Advent Reading-Peace
Intro: As we prepare for Christmas many of us are joyfully searching for or creating those perfect gifts for those we love. It can be as much fun to find and make something as it is when they open our gifts as well because we have them in mind while we are putting those special gifts together. They are in our thoughts and in our hearts. Likely others are doing the very same thing with you in mind.
If you are someone who only wants to give gifts, I want to encourage you to learn to love receiving gifts because your joy in the receiving and using of the gift brings a blessing to the giver. Receive their gift with genuine thanks and be sure to enjoy your gift-if it’s a gift card-spend it. If It’s a book it. If it’s food, eat it. If it’s items to pamper you use them and be pampered. The point of a gift is for it to be used appropriately and enjoyed by the receiver right? It does absolutely no good to be set aside for a “special” time that never comes. Or put it in a closet for “someday”. That’s like having a set of beautiful china dishes that are packed away, unseen, forgotten, and unused because they are only for very special occasions. What is the point of having that special china if you never enjoy it? Just to hand it down to another family member someday who will also keep it packed away in totes? The enjoyment isn’t in having them in a box is it-it’s seeing their beauty and using them. Get your china or special dishes out and use them this Christmas!
So it is with gifts we receive from others. Too often, we set aside special gifts to be used for someday special, which can be good if we actually plan for someday special sooner rather than later. If we don’t then the intent of the gift is being left unused. So I urge you, to enjoy the gifts given to you whatever they are and if it’s something to take you somewhere -then that is reason enough for a special day-the fact that someone gave you a gift to eat out, to shop, to be pampered-whatever the thought behind the gift-use the gift as it was intended for you to enjoy, for your enjoyment of it blesses the one who gifted it to you.
What about the wonderful gifts we have from our Father in heaven? Are you putting them to use as He intends for you? Are you blessing the Giver in your using them often? Have you thought about the peace of Christ as a gift given to you because of the great love God has for you? Do you treat the peace He offers us as a gift that you are enjoying daily, or have you packed it away only to be brought out for certain times in your life? Have you taken away the blessing from the giver of this gift?
As we heard in our Advent reading, we’re going to focus on Peace Everlasting and be reminded of this precious, most valuable gift we have been given, that is not of this world. It is divine and we are to draw from it daily. This is what brings the greatest joy and blessing to the giver, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Let’s pray.
We have two Scriptures we’ll look at today-one from Isaiah as a prophecy of what was to come to the world through Jesus Christ, the Messiah and one from Jesus Christ Himself in what He promises all of us. Have ears to hear regarding His promised gift and have a heart to receive this promised gift-that is available to us even now. We don’t have to wait for this gift. He is calling us to receive it now, to walk in it and draw from it daily for every situation we encounter.
Isaiah 60:1–3 (NIV)
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Jesus is the Light of the World. Jesus shines in the darkness-no matter what darkness you are in or will face in your life-His light will shine through as you let Him in. His glory will cover you. Arise people of God-our light has come! We are no longer in darkness. The darkness can no longer consume us or hold us down. Rise up! He lights our path and shows us the way we should go that leads to peace and joy everlasting. Let us follow Him.
John 14:27–29 (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
Jesus states He gives us His peace, that is not of this world. It is supernatural and ever available. He gives us a command-not a suggestion- to not let our hearts be troubled and to not be afraid.
He freely gives us His peace, as a gift. Do you receive it?
He tells us to not be troubled or afraid- do you listen to Him and trust in Him?
When we choose chaos, anxiety, worry, overwhelm and fear in our situations we are grieving the heart of our Lord, the giver of peace. We are saying to Him, I will not receive your gift. Imagine doing that to someone who took time to make or buy you something special and you said, “thanks but not thanks. I don’t want that gift-you can have it back.” Would you do that?
Yet how often in our daily walk with Christ are we in essence saying that to Him? I don’t receive your gift today Lord-you can have it back. I’m going to choose to remain in fear. I’m going to choose to stew over this situation. I’m going to let my emotions run wild or sorrow overtake me.
I’m not trying to make light of very hard things we all walk through-we will all experience the depths of loss in a variety of ways-loved ones passing, relationships ending, friendships drifting apart, jobs no longer there, our health fading…there are real hurts and real struggles we face in this world for sure. And yet what makes the gift of peace through Christ so precious is that even in those hardest, darkest times His light shines through. The dawn has come and the Lord rises upon you. His peace covers you, lifts you, comforts you, carries you and restores you.
Christ left glory to be born here on earth as a man, and later died as the sacrifice to atone for our sins… so that in His resurrection we might also share in new life as we are joined together. He promised that as He left, He would send us the Comforter, an Advocate, One who would guide us into all truth and always be with us-that is His Holy Spirit. It is through His Holy Spirit, we access the peace of Christ because we are connected to Christ in Spirit.
Let’s explore what His peace means for us and offers us as we access it.
- Peace of Mind and Heart
Through God’s Word we learn many promises He has for us as faithful Believers. We learn about His heart and His intent for His children. When the world around us is crazy or running at break-neck speed, we can turn to His Word and listen to the voice of God speaking to our heart through His Spirit and have peace of mind and heart. He is God Almighty. He is sovereign. He has His perfect plan always in motion and never waivers from it. He is for us. He is with us.
As a mother, drawing from His promises daily gives me great peace to know my children are in God’s hands and whatever their future holds, He is for them and He is with them. I trust in Him and His spoken promises so I am free to live life abundantly with my children at every stage of life and encourage them in the walk God intends for them.
As a pastor, it is imperative I remain in His peace for I know without it, I would surely burn out. I have seen it and heard about it far too much in other ministry leaders. When any of us try to carry the burdens of this world in our own power, we cannot bear it. We cannot stand. It’s far too much. When we remember we were never created to carry our burdens alone, that we are to yoke with Christ and draw from His peace; then we can trust He not only has us, but He has everyone we care for. We can openly receive wisdom, direction, counsel and the much-needed rest we require to keep serving and caring well. As a pastor, I must surrender all to God knowing He has every one of you and every situation so my mind can rest, in His peace. He does not want any of us wide awake all night stewing on matters-for that is showing we are still trying to solve everything in our own reasoning and power, and we are not trusting in Him. He wants us to lay our heads down in peaceful rest, trusting in Him for whatever our needs are. I urge you to practice this and allow yourselves to rest.
Peace from Christ directly impacts our health. Don’t forget God created your bodies-every part of you has been designed by God, your Father and Creator. While we can feel stress, anxiety, sadness, and fear…we cannot remain healthy if we stay in any of those places for prolonged periods of time. Stress has a HUGE impact on our body’s health and comes out in many negative ways. Our physical, emotional and mental health are all hugely affected. Why do you think Americans are so unhealthy these days-There is far too much stress in our lifestyles and far too little abiding faith in our Lord. I believe too often we fail to use the precious gift of peace we have been given from our Savior. Let us not forget what salvation means. It is not just offering you life after death here on earth. The Greek word is “sozo”. Salvation is here and now and so much more. Look at the ways it was referenced in the New Testament:
bring...safely 1, cured 1, ensure salvation 1, get 1, get well 2, made...well 6, made well 5, preserved 1, recover 1, restore 1, save 36, saved 50, saves 1, saving 1
Christ’s salvation is to make us well, to restore, to save, to preserve, to keep safe. All of this is possible when we choose to walk in His peace that covers us.
Philippians 4:7 NLT Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Notice the word “then”. If we just read this Scripture on its own we gain some level of understanding, but in seeing the word then, we must go back prior and say well what do we need to do to experience God’s peace. There is some action or decision we must make first.
Here is it is: 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. THEN… we will experience God’s peace.
One other command we are given to help us effectively draw from the peace we have been given is found in: Colossians 3:14-15 NLT Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
We will never be in peace if we let bitterness, anger or revenge take root in our hearts. We must surrender whatever we are feeling and thinking in the moment and choose to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts-to consume our hearts above all. It’s a choice and an action of surrender above what we feel in a given moment. It is a choice we make, by faith in who Jesus is.
- Peace is a Gift
We must choose to see peace we receive from Christ as a gift from our Heavenly Father. It is a precious gift and He wants us to draw from it and use it daily. Don’t save it up for certain times. Let us not think we can handle situations in our own power and we don’t need to bring God in. Let us instead draw from it in all situations in our days as Christ intends for us. Let us pause in the moment and remember this gift we have.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
I have come to gain increasing self-awareness of when I am feeling restless, on edge, worried-we all know it-but having an awareness to say ok I need to stop this way of feeling and thinking and I know the solution-come into the presence of Jesus, who is my Peace. I just stop what I’m doing, I think about Jesus, and apologize for letting my feelings overwhelm me because I know He is with me always and willing to help when I let Him, I give thanks for this and His gift of peace, I ask for help, and I ask for His peace to wash over me. This all happens all at one time-but I am still for a few moments to allow this shift to happen in my heart and in my thoughts. Then as I feel His peace because I am thinking of all that He is and all He has done for me already, I begin again and allow Him to lead. When you see peace as a precious and glory gift as we ladies ready yesterday, you will want to use it over and over again. It’s not fancy china you only take out once in a while-it’s your best daily gift.
- Peace Removes Fear
What were the first words spoken by angels as they appeared to someone and by Jesus Himself as He was walking on the water towards His disciples? “Do not be afraid.” God said that over and over again to His people in the Old Testament. “Do not be afraid. Take courage I am with you. I will go before you.” His peace drives out fear and clears our minds to see Him for who He is-mighty, able and loving.
James 3:17-18 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
This Christmas as we are in our final days of preparing, finding just the right gifts, wrapping, hanging lights, baking, cooking, cleaning-let us choose to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and receive His gift. Let us continue to draw from this gift into the New Year and choose His peace over fear of anything that might come about. Let us stand in what we know is true. Jesus and His gift of peace is truth.
Conclusion: Peace everlasting is achieved through an eternal relationship with God provided by Jesus Christ. Peace for the heart and mind is a gift that removes all doubt and fear. Walk in peace everlasting till our Lord returns. It is His gift to you. Let’s pray.
Offering:
Prayers:
The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Song
Final Blessing: 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
