SERIES: ADVENT (Week 3)
TEXT: Isaiah 9:6-7
MESSAGE: Jesus, Our Prince of Peace
“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.” — Isaiah 9:6
Let me ask: do you have peace today?
“Apprehension infiltrates many aspects of modern life. Anxiety about looking your best and eating right. Pressure to perform your best in school
and get ahead. Aching questions about calling, jobs, and finances. Frequent comparisons to others on social media…Ironic worry about
mental health and social wellness. Uncertainty about choosing the right spouse, the right career, the right anything, the right everything….We
experience paralysis by analysis, overchoice, and complexity…Previously unimaginable complexity is creating an epidemic of anxiety in our homes
and heads that is ratcheted up in the hearts of the next generation.”— David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him…” — Matthew 2:1-3
Q: What does Jesus being the prince of peace mean for our lives? It means that His arrival gives us: (1. Peace with God 2. Peace that lasts)
His arrival gives us: (1. Peace with God 2. Peace that lasts)
- Peace with God (v. 6)
“…and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
“…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” — Romans 5:8;10
“The God of peace brings peace through reconciliation…we are most naturally at odds or separated from God. There is something of a spiritual war that needs a peace treaty. How does peace get made? Well, it is the God of peace who makes peace with his warring subjects, his creation. God becomes a man in the person of Jesus Christ to make peace.”— Erik Raymond
- Peace that lasts (v. 7)
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?”
A great Shadow has departed,” said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
(v. 7) “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”— Matthew 2:9-11
“Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story
Gold, a King is born today
Incense, God is with us
Myrrh, His death will make a way
And by His blood, He’ll win us”
— Keith & Kristen Getty (Joy has Dawned)