Peace
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
someone once described a family trip as:
“When I was a teenager, our family took cross-country car trips each summer. To keep the peace, we each took a turn choosing a cassette to play in the car tape deck. No one was allowed to complain or comment about another’s choice. My mother liked to listen to hymns. I chose contemporary Christian music. My younger brother preferred rock. And Dad? He always thought the best thing was a 90-minute tape that was still blank!”
Peace can be brought in many ways
peace in no arguing or fighting
peace in the stillness of quiet
Peace in our soul is a peace that surpasses it all
that peace only has one source
David’s Psalm sung by pilgrims on way to Jerusalem echos peace brought in worship of the one who brings eternal peace.
Let us go (v 1-2)
Let us go (v 1-2)
The temple/Tabernacle was a holy place
They worshiped, God spoke
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem
one of the three
Joy expressed when asked to go
Let us go
excitement, drive
desire to go and worship
desire to not go alone
It is the will of God that we should worship him in concert, that many should join together to wait upon him in public ordinances. We ought to worship God in our own houses, but that is not enough; we must go into the house of the Lord, to pay our homage to him there, and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. 1
1 Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 930.
There is peace found in worship, even private worship, but greater peace found in worshiping together.
story of Zachariah and the people eagerly waiting to hear from God
Our feet are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem,
The journey to Jerusalem was hard and at times dangerous. Yet they kept in their hearts that soon, they would stand in the gates of that beautiful city of God. Soon, their difficult journey will be made sweet upon their entry.
Our journey throughout the week is hard. It brings pain, heartache, and struggle. Temptations abound and trials seem to never cease. Yet we look forward and in our hearts cry, “But soon I will be standing in the house of God.” A place of peace, a place of worship. Come and let peace be in your hearts. Come and rest your weary soul.
A Picture (v 3-5)
A Picture (v 3-5)
Description of Jerusalem
compact together
The people would pack together, worship together
The gathering of God’s people is essential to who we are. It is essential to peace
Jerusalem, that is built As a city that is compact together;
The city is compact. it is together. Like the church, the city is strong as it is together. A church divided will fall. A church where factions arise and quarrels abound will surely fail. We have within us the peace of God. Not just peace in our hearts from the battle with sin, but peace together as a body. We cannot be divided and hold to peace. Let us pray for peace.
All would gather despite their backgrounds and tribes
peace was made for these times
We gather to worship in peace!
Darrouzett and peace on Sunday
The temple had a place for judgment
a place to restore the peace to the city, the country, the people
Maybe that is one reason they were so eager to go....peace lived there
We have peace because of Christ on the cross
peace from torment of sin in our minds and lives
eternal peace that can never be taken
“He reigns! Ye saints, exalt your strains:
Your God is King, your Father reigns:
And he is at the Father’s side,
The Man of love, the Crucified.”1
1 C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 120-150, vol. 6 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 28.
Pray for Peace (v 6-9)
Pray for Peace (v 6-9)
The prayer for peace is the keep it
for the strength of the town and the people
A prayer of peace within the church
“For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will now say May peace be with you.”
A common greeting
Though they desired peace, to many times their lives were chaotic, yet they still longed for peace
In our world we seek peace
peace in our governments, peace in our workplaces and in our families, we even seek peace within our own minds
Peace has come
in the form of a baby.
A great disrupter to our minds is the uncertainty of tomorrow
and the pains of yesterday
But God has brought us peace, because he has conquered both
Conclusion
Conclusion
The baby who’s birth we celebrate brought peace to our hearts and our future
The return of him who’s advent we long for, brings with him peace for ever.
no more temptation, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more shame. Peace will reign.
Jesus is our peace, now and forever
come and know his peace
have ease in your heart, ease in your soul,
He offers peace to you, will you take it?