Prince of Peace
Scripture:
Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
Before we dive into this weeks lesson, I want to check in with you regarding last weeks lesson
Last week I challenged you all to allow God to be present with you (reading Scripture, prayer, worship)
- Did anyone follow through with this challenge
- Did you notice anything different about your week?
This week we are continuing our series title “He Shall Be Called”
Today’s scripture is found in
Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
One of Jesus’ many titles is “Prince of Peace”, and that is what we are going to focus on tonight
While this title is not specifically stated in the new testament as it was with Immanuel, we see the proof of this prophecy through the outcomes of his time in ministry
Before Jesus, there was a large division between Jews (a descendant of Israel) and Gentiles (anyone who is not a Jew)
- From the Jewish perspective, Gentiles were often seen as pagans who did not know the true God.
- During Jesus’ time, many Jews took such pride in their cultural and religious heritage that they considered Gentiles “unclean,”
- Gentiles and the half-Gentile Samaritans were viewed as enemies to be shunned (see John 4:9; 18:28; and Acts 10:28).
What did Jesus do?
- In Mark 7:26, Jesus helps a Gentile woman who had asked for her daughter’s freedom from a demon.
- John 4:1-26 Samaritan (mixed race) woman at the well
- Jesus broke down barriers between cultures
Ephesians 2:14
For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. (NLT)
Peace does not come only when there is no war, but harmony among everyone
- The Hebrew word for “peace,” shalom, is often used in reference to an appearance of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups, and nations.
- The Greek word eirene means “unity and accord”;
- Paul uses eirene to describe the objective of the New Testament church.
- But the deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is “the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God.”
Jesus was called the Prince of Peace because he broke down barriers and allowed “outsiders” in
Who are we keeping out
Tough Truth:
- we like to be comfortable
- we like to be around people we like and who we know and who know us.
- That’s not what the church was called to do
- We are called to be a unifying force throughout the world
- not to be comfortable with our own clique
- My dream for you is for you to have the desire to make this place into a place where we can break down barriers and unify cities/schools
- I long for this to be a place where people can come and fully feel welcome and at home because we shine God’s peace
Challenge for you:
- Invite one friend to the christmas party, one friend that might never step foot into a church otherwise
- Help make this place into a place where everyone who steps foot into it feels God’s peace
- in a world that is filled with rejection, pride and hate, let us counter it with love and inclusion.
