Christmas EVE Peace
Peace at Christmas
"When we are inwardly tossed by various tempests, and when Satan attempts to disturb our consciences, let us remember that Christ is The Prince of Peace, and that it is easy for him quickly to allay all our uneasy feelings." - Calvin
This is the crux of our thought for tonite. " Glory to God in the highest, and earth peace, good will toward men." ( or " with those whom He is pleased.")
The peace which is of Christ " For He is our peace" , Christ . Ephesians 2:14 -15 " He has abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments....that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross"
Point I- He is the Prince of Peace, the One Isaiah told about. He is our Saviour. He is the Prince of Peace because He possesed peace in Himself. Peace rests in our Christian hearts because they belong to Jesus Christ.
The contrast is clear. The wicked Isaiah 57:21 " There is no peace, saith my God , to the wicked." " They are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest."
Our Lord says in the Comfortable Words each Holy Communion, " Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Mt. 11:28
" Being justified by faith , we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Ro. 5:1
II. The Gift of Peace. He has made you at peace with God. The punishment of our sins has been bought by His satisfaction of the justice of God.
John 14 says He gives us His peace which the world cannot give.
The more He dwells in our hearts the greater will be our desire and our capacity to serve Him. The Expositor's Dictionary of Texts
Why is it we so fret and are so troubled? Why is it we are like the disciples when the Lord is asleep in the boat we are not trusting in His governance of our lives and its outcome? Jesus said to those disciples, " O thou of little faith, wherefore did thou doubt?" Mt 14:31
The farmer had two cows. One was skinny and one was robust and healthy, even we would say somewhat overfed. The visitor asked, " Why is this?" The farmer said, " The one grows the most that I feeds the most."
If we neglect the Body of Christ, His people, His Sacraments, His Home of Worship we will not grow either very much if at all. We may even shrivel and die in our sins without a faith that is alive and active.
" Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace , whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee: Trust thee in the LORD forever: for in the LORD Jehovah is everlasting strength." Is. 26:3
"In 1864, one of America’s great poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote the poem which became the well-known carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
When I first heard this song, I wondered, “Why does he suddenly shift from joy at hearing the Christmas bells into such deep despair?” It starts with:
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Then he says:
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men!”
The question is clearly answered when we see two verses of the original that are not included in our hymn. In these verses Longfellow speaks of the horrors of the American Civil War that was tearing the country apart. In fact, his son had been seriously wounded in that conflict not long before he wrote the song. (The death of Longfellow’s wife two years earlier may have contributed to his mood too.) Listen to what they say:
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearthstones of a continent
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Little wonder he is tempted to despair. And yet he concludes with the resounding affirmation, "God is not dead, nor does he sleep!" Through the Savior whose birth the angels celebrated, God will accomplish what he has promised. " sermoncentral.com
"When we are inwardly tossed by various tempests, and when Satan attempts to disturb our consciences, let us remember that Christ is The Prince of Peace, and that it is easy for him quickly to allay all our uneasy feelings." - Calvin
This is the crux of our thought for tonite. " Glory to God in the highest, and earth peace, good will toward men." ( or " with those whom He is pleased.")
The peace which is of Christ " For He is our peace" , Christ . Ephesians 2:14 -15 " He has abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments....that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross"
Point I- He is the Prince of Peace, the One Isaiah told about. He is our Saviour. He is the Prince of Peace because He possesed peace in Himself. Peace rests in our Christian hearts because they belong to Jesus Christ.
The contrast is clear. The wicked Isaiah 57:21 " There is no peace, saith my God , to the wicked." " They are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest."
Our Lord says in the Comfortable Words each Holy Communion, " Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Mt. 11:28
" Being justified by faith , we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Ro. 5:1
II. The Gift of Peace. He has made you at peace with God. The punishment of our sins has been bought by His satisfaction of the justice of God.
John 14 says He gives us His peace which the world cannot give.
The more He dwells in our hearts the greater will be our desire and our capacity to serve Him. The Expositor's Dictionary of Texts
Why is it we so fret and are so troubled? Why is it we are like the disciples when the Lord is asleep in the boat we are not trusting in His governance of our lives and its outcome? Jesus said to those disciples, " O thou of little faith, wherefore did thou doubt?" Mt 14:31
The farmer had two cows. One was skinny and one was robust and healthy, even we would say somewhat overfed. The visitor asked, " Why is this?" The farmer said, " The one grows the most that I feeds the most."
If we neglect the Body of Christ, His people, His Sacraments, His Home of Worship we will not grow either very much if at all. We may even shrivel and die in our sins without a faith that is alive and active.
" Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace , whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee: Trust thee in the LORD forever: for in the LORD Jehovah is everlasting strength." Is. 26:3
"In 1864, one of America’s great poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote the poem which became the well-known carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
When I first heard this song, I wondered, “Why does he suddenly shift from joy at hearing the Christmas bells into such deep despair?” It starts with:
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Then he says:
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men!”
The question is clearly answered when we see two verses of the original that are not included in our hymn. In these verses Longfellow speaks of the horrors of the American Civil War that was tearing the country apart. In fact, his son had been seriously wounded in that conflict not long before he wrote the song. (The death of Longfellow’s wife two years earlier may have contributed to his mood too.) Listen to what they say:
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearthstones of a continent
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Little wonder he is tempted to despair. And yet he concludes with the resounding affirmation, "God is not dead, nor does he sleep!" Through the Savior whose birth the angels celebrated, God will accomplish what he has promised. " sermoncentral.com
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