In this night of advent, we wait in hope and joy for the One who comes to save us all. Tonight, we'll finish our discussion from Isaiah 9:6 by talking about Jesus as the PRINCE OF PEACE. As a prince, Jesus is a leader in the kingdom of God, with power and authority that comes from serving the King of Kings. But Jesus is not just any prince, He is a prince of peace. Peace here is the word Shalom, which means to be complete. He brings Peace with God, so that we are complete in God. Let us rejoice in the One who has come, so that we have a way to be reconciled with God.

Continuing our study on Isaiah 9:6, this week we discussed Jesus as the EVERLASTING FATHER. The Hebrew word for Father used here is one used to describe a creator, so this title is calling Jesus as the one who created all things. But Jesus is not just any creator, He is the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever more. His character does not change, ever. When we read stories of Jesus having compassion on the people around Him in the Gospels, we can rely on Him to have the same character today for any and all who need Him. Let us take time to remember the coming of the One who will take care of us now and forever.

We continued our discussion on Isaiah 9:6 by talking about the second name of Jesus listed here: MIGHTY GOD. First, Jesus is God. He is the almighty creator, and we in turn need to seek and obey Him. But He is not just a god, He is a Mighty God, an extraordinary God. He knows our sins and our faults, and He still chose to forgive us. He knows our weaknesses and failures, and He still chose to love us. He desires to make us right with Himself, and only by accepting His salvation may we be saved. Let us take time to remember the coming of the One who created all and who can save all.

This week we finished our series on the Beatitudes, by talking about what it means to be persecuted. It happens because we belong to God, and the world rejects God. Jesus was persecuted, and by following Him, we are persecuted as well. The converse is true as well: if we are not being persecuted, we are not acting in a way that represents God. We must remain faithful to the message He has brought us, even if it makes the people around us uncomfortable. This is not a challenge to be obnoxious or noisy; rather this is a challenge to share His love with those in our lives, with gentleness and mercy and peace. In doing this, we can rejoice in the work that He is doing, and we will be blessed!

We continued our series on the Beatitudes this week by talking about what it means to be a peacemaker. Many people think that in order to be a peacemaker, we must be free from conflict, and help others to be free from conflict. However, the word used here is 'shalom', which means to work for the other person's highest good. If we believe that the best possible thing is for the other person to be reconciled in their relationship with God, then we strive to help them know their need for God, and that He is willing to redeem them. In so doing, we will become ambassadors for God, and will be known as the children of God.

Continuing our discussion this week on the beatitudes, we talked about having a pure heart. The word used here for pure is 'katharos', which means unmixed. It carries the meaning of being completely unblemished and without fault. So a pure heart is one that has been filled with God, with no sin and no distraction. Philippians 4:8-9 tells us to fix our thoughts on things that are of God, so that we then know God and He is with us. Doing this, we will see God, because He is pure and unmixed. As long as we carry sin we will not be able to see Him. So fix your thoughts on Him, wholly and completely, and then you will be blessed!

The first half of the beatitudes were about our relationship with God: recognizing our need for Him, working to obey Him, seeking Him wholly and completely. This week we continued our discussion by transitioning to the second half of the beatitudes, which talk about how we act in this world as a result of our changed lives. Starting off is the need to show mercy to others. The most important thing about mercy is that it is indiscriminate; we do not choose to whom we show mercy, but instead we show mercy to all people. Mercy also requires action: it is not something that we say or feel and move on without acting for the person. When we show mercy to others, then we begin to see God's mercy in our lives, and we accept the awesome gift He has bestowed upon us, and we are blessed!

We continued our discussion on the Beatitudes this week by discussing what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Isaiah states that all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags, worthless and discarded. So then how do we seek righteousness? Righteousness must come first from the heart. If we fix our attention fully and completely on God, then He will cleanse us from the inside out. Then we will have our fill of righteousness, and we will be blessed!

We continued our discussion on the Beatitudes this week by discussing what it means to be meek. The word used for meek here is 'praus', which is better interpreted as 'being angry at the right time'. So then, we will be blessed, or supremely happy, if we get angry at the right time, and don't get angry at the wrong time. What is the right time? The right time to be angry is when God is being defamed, or when you see injustice. If we are angry at the right time, then we will have the opportunity to have an impact on the world around us, and we will be blessed!

We continued our series on the Beatitudes this week by discussing what it means to mourn and to be conforted. We only mourn for the things we care about, so if we care about God and his commands, we should mourn when we realize our sinfulness and how it separates us from God. However, we have the Spirit with us to comfort us when we repent of our sin and turn back to God! What a blessing!