Advent: Peace Beyond Understanding (December 23, 2018)

This week is the fourth week of advent and the focus of our lesson today will be peace. We will discuss what peace is, the source of Christian peace, and how we can experience peace.  

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Read Isaiah 9:6.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Who is this verse talking about? Jesus

Why do you think Jesus was called the Prince of Peace? Jesus would bring peace.

What do you think the word “peace” means?

According to Oxford Dictionary peace is “freedom from disturbance; tranquility” or another definition says that it is “a state or period in which there is no war, or a war has ended.”

Based on these definitions, does it seem like Jesus has brought us peace? No. We still have wars and conflicts and people or circumstances can definitely make us feel less than tranquil.

If Jesus was supposed to bring us peace why don’t we have peace? The reason most people don’t see that Jesus has brought peace is because of their definition of peace. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for peace is “shalom.” The word “shalom” means more than just a lack of conflict and instead means to be complete or whole.

What in our lives is broken and needs to be restored to wholeness? 

What are these verses talking about? Our relationship with God. When we walk in darkness meaning our sins, we can’t have a relationship with God because God does not sin and cannot tolerate sin.

Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and Isaiah 59:2 says “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” This means everyone’s relationship is broken with God.

What is the consequence for not having a relationship with God because of our sin?

In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 we read that for “those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

This is clearly not something that we want for ourselves and it is not something that God wants for us either. God wants a relationship with us and for us to have life instead of death. 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

This is why He sent Jesus, so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Romans 5 says that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Most people would say that they want peace. How can they have this peace?

1 Thessalonians 5:23 say that God is the God of peace. This means that all peace comes from God, and specifically from having a relationship with God. We of course can only have this relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, fixing our broken relationship with God, is the first step to having peace but did you know that our peace can also grow?

Read 2 Peter 1:2.

How can our peace be multiplied? By growing in the knowledge of God.

How do we grow in the knowledge of God? By reading God’s word.

 So, believing in Jesus should always bring us peace. As followers of Christ, do you always feel like you have peace? What are things that can rob you of peace?

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

So, when we feel like we lose this peace because of fear or anxiousness what should we do?

Read Philippians 4:6-7.

What is the result of our praying?

We receive the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

This means that even in terrible circumstances, in which people who do not know God would not be able to have peace, we can have peace. 

Jesus being the Prince of Peace is good news for us and it something that God wants us to share with others.

In the Bible we are told many times to make peace with others. For example, Romans 12:18 says, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Then in Hebrews 12:14 we are told to “strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”  

We are also told to be imitators of Jesus. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace this means that we should also seek to make peace with others.

Read Matthew 5:9.

This verse shows that those who want to be called the sons of God need to seek peace.  

It can be easy to be at peace with people when they are good and kind towards us, but do we need to seek peace with people who are not; people who are our enemies?

Read 1 Peter 3:9-11 and Romans 12:17-21.

We must live peaceably with all people.

This might seem hard to do but just as we talked about last week, God has given us a helper to do the things he wants us to do. This helper is the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22 we read that peace is a fruit of the Spirit.

When we find it hard to make peace with others, we should remember the sacrifice that God made to make peace with us. Isaiah 53:5 says “but he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” 

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Going Deeper:

Make a list of things that take God’s peace away from you. Take time to pray to God about these things and receive the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

Praise God in Song: