John 20:19-23. He comes through locked doors and his first words are “peace be with you,” and his next words are, “peace be with you,” and his next act is to send them out. Peace, not as the end of something, but as the beginning.

John 16:25-33. In this world, you will have trouble... Be of good cheer, not because all the conflict is taken out of your life, but because any conflict of this world can’t even touch my peace.

John 14:27-31. The world's peace and prosperity is temporary. But if your peace is in Jesus Christ, the son of God, risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, your peace is untouchable, unshakeable and eternal.

Philippians 3:12-21. It's okay to struggle. It's okay to fall. It's okay that following Jesus is hard a lot of the time! We live in a world built to pull us away from Christ. But the goal is worth the struggle. Press on! 

Mark 5:25:34. Twelve years. How long have you lived with your conflict? How long since you gave up hoping for peace, or looking for peace despite the conflict? Reminder: Jesus is not the source of things that bring us peace. He is our peace. Changing perspective can change everything.

Mark 4:35-41. Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? Now THAT is the right question... 

Luke 1:67-79. Jesus didn't come to lead us away from hardships. His peace is not the kind that avoids conflict. Rather, the peace Jesus brought was peace in spite of conflict. Psalm 23, the good shepherd doesn't lead his flock away from death, but through it because they are safe with him. 

Luke 2:8-14. Let me give you my working definition, and it’s incomplete and imperfect. Whole series of books have been written to define peace. But for sake of something we can bite down on for the next few weeks, peace is the lack of conflict.

Psalm 28. Power can be terrifying or brilliant. Passages like this, or Genesis 1 or Job 38 can be terrifying without understanding who God is, and what his relationship is to us. But in that context, these are sources of tremendous peace and rest for this Sabbath in the Psalms.