John 14:27

Jesus came to bring peace and He wants us to experience this peace.  We are able to have peace because He “has overcome the world.”  Peace is the experience of things as they were meant to be and this peace has a number of dimensions to it including peace with God, peace with others, and peace within ourselves.

When we accept Jesus sacrifice for our sins and submit to Him we experience peace with Him.  Our peace with God isn’t a one time experience however it is a continual process of repentance, recommitment and communion with God.  We must keep perspective on the fact that our peace with God is only possible because of Jesus sacrifice, not because of anything that we have done.  Romans 5:1

In order to live at peace with others we must have the humility to admit our mistakes and put others ahead of ourselves.  When we hold onto grievances we put our pride above the relationship and sacrifice the peace that God desires for us to have with those we love. Romans 12:17-18, Matthew 5:9

Anxiety and fear can steal our internal piece and keep us from experiencing life, hope and love as He has intended for us.  God has asked us to to cast our cares and burdens on Him.  He is able to calm the storm within us if we will turn our cares over to Him.  Philippians 4:7, 1 Peter 5:6-7, John 20:21

Jeremiah 29:11

Christmas is about God taking on human flesh and coming to the earth to save us.  The hope we have is the confident expectation that God is fulfilling His promises.  That God will work all things together for good.  In the here and now however, everything doesn’t always seem ok.  We hope because we haven’t reached heaven yet.  But in the midst of our difficulty God reminds us that He has a plan and a purpose for us.  He has given us a messiah and He has redeemed us and saved us from our sins.  This hope is real and sure.  Whatever we are going through, the end of our story is secure, our future is set, we have a hope and a future.  It is not a small thing to talk about hope.

Romans 13:1-7

How do we interact with and live in society under the authority of the leaders, law enforcement officers and judges that are put in place over us.  We are called to obedience and submission to the authorities.  We are to do what is right.  We are to be virtuous whether we are a citizen or a governing authority.  We are to pay our obligations.  Not only because of the penalties but also because of our conscience.  You are to give respect and honor to those who are put in place over you.

What happens when government does wrong and becomes corrupt?  Are we still to submit?  When we consider standing against an authority we must be sure that our protest is pure, that it is in submission to God.  In these cases we are to rebel righteously.  Identify the evil that is being done.  Define what good thing or right option should replace the evil.  We should be willing to personally sacrifice in order to bring about what is right.  In whatever way God leads us to make a change we must stay in submission to Him the whole time, serve His purposes throughout, and be willing to accept whatever comes about as we work to make things right.  Sometimes God doesn’t resolve injustice right away.  Remember that we are citizens of a different kingdom and that this world is not all that there is in God’s plan for us.

Ecclesiastes 7:2, John 11:35, John 11:25-26

Death is a thief and a robber.  It is not the natural order of things as God intended them to be.  Real death is not the loss of this temporal body, it is separation from God.  Jesus is the resurrection and the life and the deepest reality in this world is life, not death, because of Christ’s triumph over sin.  We have been put here, in this body, in this place, and in this circumstance for a reason.  The way we live and the way we die is a witness to our community and so we must seize our opportunity.  Accept God’s gift and live your life with faith and hope.  Be an instrument of God’s love to a hurting and dying world.

Today we sang old and new gospel music and praised our Lord together in song.

Romans 12:9-21

All of us are in a process of transformation.  Our first step in that process is to admit that we need to change.  Next we must have the urgency to act, the “spiritual fervor” that God gives, instead of succumbing to apathy.  The Holy Spirit, if we let him, can create this zeal and cause us to be alive in Christ.  Life is hard, but difficulty is not the only reality.  We can be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:9-21

Offer yourselves as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God.  This holiness is not our natural state though the capacity for both good and evil is within all of us.  When we are wronged our tendency is toward anger and revenge, but instead we are told to love our enemies.  We cannot allow the evil within us to define us.  Roman’s 12 explains how we should go about this, through love, doing good, turning the other cheek and believing that God is working all these things for good.

Romans 12:3-8

We are one body but each of us are a part of that body, uniquely gifted to God’s work and His will.  We have been given the grace and privilege to serve God with our gifts.  We are to approach these gifts with humility and not think of ourselves more highly than we aught.  Jesus modeled this approach to service for us during his ministry on earth.  This service comes out of a sacrificial love.

Romans 12:1-2

We are sanctified and we are justified now what is our response?  We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.  He does not motivate us through shame or guilt, but instead through His love and mercy.  In view of these things we are to respond and take action.  We are to offer ourselves to Him and place ourselves under His authority.  We get off the bench and into the game.

Romans 11:33-36

Who has known the mind of the Lord?  How unsearchable are His judgements?  His paths are beyond our tracing out.  Our response in the face of who He is must be awe.  However sometimes we must be reminded of who God is and that He has a plan for us. We must give up control and trust God to take care of us.  We may not understand the mind of God but we can rest in confidence that His plans will come to fruition in due time.