It’s the second Sunday of Advent. Light a candle for peace! With “peace” not just meaning absence of conflict, but everything that makes for our highest good, as guest speaker Dave Riggs reminded us in today’s sermon.

For announcements, upcoming special events include Women’s Christmas Gathering on Saturday December 18 at 11 am (bring a wrapped white elephant gift), Church Christmas Dinner on Sunday December 19 after the service, and a Christmas Eve Service on Friday December 24 at 6 pm. Meanwhile, the Food Pantry is still open with a hot meal on Tuesday evenings, and Bible Study on Wednesdays starting at 6 pm. Welcome to church!

https://youtu.be/7XbY9TAFWl4

Sunday Message Notes: Christmas Peace ?

This season is all building up to the Advent – THE COMING of Jesus to the world

Define “peace”.

(Barclay)  “In the Bible the word for peace, shalom, never means simply the absence of trouble. It means everything which makes for our highest good. The peace which the world offers us is the peace of escape, the peace which comes from the avoidance of trouble and from refusing to face things.” It means so much more than the absence of war.

What is this promise of peace?

This was a hard sermon to write, because I didn’t see the “warm friendly peace” that the world likes to talk about in the Bible references. I think “hope” would’ve been so much more fun to talk about. Well, hold on to your seats.

Malachi 3.1-4 Doesn’t sound “peaceful”.

3 “I will send my messenger (John), who will prepare the way before me (God). Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

And what did Jesus do when he came to his temple, turned over the money changers tables and made a whip.

² But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, ⁴ and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

• Luke 2.13-14. The idea of peace at this time of year comes from when the angels visited the shepherds

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

• But, less than two years later the birth of Jesus resulted in Herod killing of babies, maybe of some of the children of these very same shepherds!
  • Jesus’ peace is different from what we would expect as he told his disciples. John 14.27

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.

• There is a Christmas song that talks about this. It is based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow written at the time of the civil war. (Selected stanzas)

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

• There is a “deeper magic” in this world (as C.S. Lewis puts it in the LWandTW). There is something more working in our world than is visible on the surface!
• So let’s think more about this peace. Our peace stems from our hope in Jesus. We are no longer estranged from God! Peace is knowing that god will do what is best and right in the midst of our current lives.
  • It is historically rooted not some pie in the sky wishing. Luke 3.1-2

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— ² during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness

• Seven historic people listed here to tie this down to a real historic time. What we believe is not some made up, spiritualized, fluffy story. But is grounded in historical fact.
  • It’s about incarnation – God becoming a real person – a helpless baby
    • Emanuel – God with us. This means that we can weather the storms of life and not be sunk or overcome by them. God with us is part of his peace package.
    • 1 John 4.1-5

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

Heresy in John’s time. Jesus wasn’t really flesh and blood. He just looked like a man. This was because they couldn’t envision God ever lowering himself to becoming a creature. This was a major part of the Gnostic belief. By the way, Muslims trip up on this very thing as well.

Heresy now. People say that Jesus wasn’t God that he was just a man or maybe they’ll say he was a great moral teacher. Both these beliefs are unbiblical and therefore wrong. But they are believed by the world around us.

But we celebrate Jesus’ coming – fully God and fully man. How can that be? I don’t have time this morning to develop this point. What’s important is to realize that this is what the Bible teaches and what we celebrate that this time of year.

Prepare the way of the Lord

Then Luke 3.3-6

³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

This is one of the hardest to translate because it contains four key words that have to be connected to each other correctly.

⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

Jesus was not just historic, he was the fulfilment of many prophesies.

A metaphor. This is a word picture shown a known reality and comparing it to an unseen reality.

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
⁶ And all people will see God’s salvation.’”^[a]

• A commentary says (Ellicott)

“The imagery is drawn from the great strategical works of the conquerors of the East. They sent a herald before them to call the people of the countries through which they marched to prepare for their approach. A “king’s highway” had to be carried through the open land of the wilderness, valleys filled up, and hills levelled (the words used are, of course, poetical in their greatness), winding bye-paths straightened, for the march of the great army.” Think of the building of an interstate.

• Peace is also set in a future hope. There is a second advent. Jesus will come again some day.
  • Then all will be set right – God will truly be with us, and he’ll make our paths straight.
  • Luke 21.27-28. Jesus says:

²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

• Rev 21.1-5. John at the end of the last book of the Bible, at the end of that book says:

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

• We are currently waiting for this next advent of Jesus even as we celebrate his first advent. Revelation closes with: “Come!”

Rev 22.12, 17, 22

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! …

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. We want the peace you’re offering.

There we’ll truly have peace.

We’ll be with our real family, the families on earth are only a foreshadowing. There we’ll truly belong.

Now

How do we… how can you prepare the way for the second advent?

Think about it for a bit.

Ideas:

• Remember Jesus’ first advent.
• Learn about our Father God  and his family
• Live honestly
• Love others.
• Grow in the likeness of Jesus
• Know we have a future – God with us and we with God.This will be the final HOME COMING!