The Wonder of Advent | Pass the Peace | Ephesians 2:14-18 | Duane Brooks

Scripture

• Ephesians 2:14–18

About this sermon

Someone has vandalized the shalom. How do we know? Things are not the way they are supposed to be. To be more specific, before Christ, we are not the way we are supposed to be. Paul, who found peace in Christ, wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus, reminding them that the Lord had given them peace with God and each other, through his own death. Then he urged them to make every effort to live in unity through the bond of peace. What will we do with the peace we have found in Christ? Please pass it. Message based on Ephesians 2:14-18 and 4:3. Time Stamps: 00:56 Last week we considered the simple question, is there any hope? 02:04 Cornelius Plantinga, a book called, A Breviary of Sin, Not the Way Things Are Supposed to Be, simply summarizes our world by saying, somebody has vandalized the shalom.  07: 11 That peace, unlike our common conception, is not so much about the absence of strife or the cessation of hostilities, but peace is not so much about an absence of anything as it is about a presence. The presence of God himself. 08:48 Shalom in other words is the way things ought to be. 11:56 I call this the acquisition of peace again. 14:45 Verse 13 of Ephesians 2. Through his blood on the cross, he purchased our peace. 17:25 And listen to what the prophet Isaiah says in 4818. He says, if you had trusted me and my commandments, you would have had peace like a river. 25:50 It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Quotes: Cornelius Plantinga: Somebody has vandalized the Shalom. Thomas Merton: We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God. Cornelius Plantinga: In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be. Duane Brooks: Jesus is our peace. Psalm 34 tells us to pursue peace. The good news is peace is pursuing us. Duane Brooks: Christ alone can move us from alienation to reconciliation: we cannot be right with others if we are not right with God. Christ’s peace is available and transmissible. Rich Mullins: Surrender don’t come natural to me. I’d rather fight you for something I don’t really want than take what you give and I need. I’ve beaten my head against so many walls. So hold me Jesus, ‘cause I’m shaking like a leaf. You have been king of my glory won’t You be my Prince of Peace? Tish Warren: In the Anglican liturgy the passing of the peace comes after confession and absolution, on the heels of our reminder that we are forgiven.This too is no coincidence. Our forgiveness and reconciliation flow from Christ’s forgiveness of us. Out of gratitude over the enormous debt our king has forgiven, we forgive our debtors. Receiving God’s gift of reconciliation enables us to give and receive reconciliation with those around us. In the end, God is the peacemaker. It is not simply “peace” that we pass to each other. It is the peace of Christ, the peace of our peacemaker. St Francis of Assissi: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. New here? Join us every Sunday at 10:30 am CT and every Wednesday at 6 pm CT or visit our website at https://www.tallowood.org for more information. Connect with us on our social media. Facebook: / tallowoodbaptist Instagram: / tallowoodbc X: / tallowoodbc

Topics

• Peace
• Christmas