Sunday, December 24, 2023
The Gospel of Peace - Inner Peace
Music
Introit
Hymn #94
Hymn #85
Hymn #109
Hymn #143
Hymn #92
Sermon Notes
By Jeff Gilstrap
Scripture:
Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 5:9Theme:
In order to live in peace, we must be at peace with ourselves. The key to this is we must understand and reclaim who we are and whom we belong to. We are a child of God created in the image of God. It is when we embrace this identity, we cannot help but live in communion and peace with all people.
Reflections:
As we bring to a close our Advent sermon series on peace, we have examined how we must deal with violence in our community and how we as peacemakers must embrace Jesus’ teachings of nonviolence. This morning, I want to look deep within ourselves and discuss our need to seek healing in our own lives so that we can be at peace with our own lives. If we are at peace with ourselves, then the potential to respond in a violent or confrontational way is eliminated or at least greatly reduced. If we can take responsibility for our own actions, understand who we are and whose we are, and understand we are part of a bigger picture, then we can start to reduce the cycle of violence and peace has a chance.
To be at peace with ourselves, we must understand our fundamental identity, who we are and whose we are. We must understand our fundamental identity is rooted in the fact that we are created by God and created in the image of God. We belong to God. God created us, claimed us, loves us, and shapes and forms us long before we are ever born. We are born in the image of God but, over time, sin reshapes us and tarnishes our image. Jesus through the Holy Spirit helps us to reclaim our ultimate identity as a child of God. We are an extension of God in this world because God is in us. And because we and all others are created in the image of God, we are called to live in community, that is the way God created us. We cannot exist on our own in isolation. Once we discover and embrace this, we see others as created in God’s image regardless of who they are, and we cannot help but seek a peaceful existence with the other.
Questions/Thoughts:
- What does it mean to you to be created in God’s image?
- Believing we are all created in God’s image, how does that impact how you relate the others, especially those who are different from us (race, nationality, etc.)?
- Why do you think you respond in a negative way toward others? Is there something inside you that leads to confrontation?
- How did Jesus address confrontation to remove barriers and create community?
Music Notes
By Kenneth Jones
Reflections:
Introit: For Advent, our Introit has been “Creator of the Stars of Night”. For the last Sunday of Advent, we sing verse 4, which addresses the Trinity.
Opening Hymn: “Now the Heavens Start to Whisper”; a 21st century text that weaves together what is hidden and what is revealed
Candle Lighting Response: A hymn that underscores the ‘waiting’ of the Advent Season. We will sing one verse each week; verse four this week for the Advent Candle of Love.
Special Music: Millie and I will sing and arrangement of “Let There Be Peace on Earth”
Responsive Hymn: “Blest Be the God of Israel”, a paraphrase of the Song of Zechariah.
Sending Hymn: We take our first dip into Christmas hymns, with “Angels From the Realms of Glory”
Benediction: For the four Sundays of Advent, we will sing verses from “While We Are Waiting, Come”, this week returning to verse 1. The simple text, with it’s repitition of the word “come”, reinforces the anticipation of the season.