WELCOME
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
In these darkening days, the time of waiting and watching is here! Are you ready?
We come seeking peace.
We seek serenity within ourselves.
We seek harmony within our families.
We seek goodwill among our neighbours.
We seek a ceasefire among all nations.
We seek not just the absence of conflict,
But the presence of shalom–
the abiding peace
the healing life
the unrelenting justice
that God calls us to in Christ.
Let us worship with Divine hope.
Prayer
CONFESSION
It’s starting already, Lord. It is only the second Sunday in Advent, and we are caught up in the pressures and stresses of the holiday season. Pursued by the temptation to spend our funds, our energy, our spirits, we feel that there is no peace or rest in the world.
Lord of light and peace, shine on us this day.
Forgive us when we have so easily succumbed to the anxieties and fears and temptations of the season.
Slow us down. Calm our spirits.
Give us an awareness that this is the season of waiting and of preparation. Pour peace into our lives and help us to be bearers of peace to others.
For we ask this in Jesus’ precious Name. AMEN
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Even in the midst of difficult times, God is with us, bringing peace to us. Receive God’s rich blessing of peace and hope. AMEN.
The Star
A Journey of Peace
Today's Message: Pastor Marlee Page
Monologue & Advent Candle Lighting
(Gazing at the manger from a distance as he stands):
And now, a manger. (Shakes head) Dear Lord, what next?
I guess I should have anticipated that things would not go according to plan, since nothing has looked like I planned since all this started. Sometimes I think back to a year ago – when I was busy building the house where Mary and I would live after the wedding. It’s true that I hoped that by this year this time, we would be blessed with a son to start filling the rooms in our little house. And now here we are – so far from that house in Bethlehem. No family gathered to sing and celebrate the birth of our new son. The women who should have helped Mary so far away. The image of everything I thought about our family so different than any dream I had while building that dwelling.
(Chuckles). Ah, dreams. I thank God for gracing me with the dream that made clear that Mary’s story, as ridiculous as it was to everyone, was true. After weeks of doubting everything Mary said, I suddenly knew how it felt to have a story that nobody believed, to have a word from God nobody thought that you should have. It was a gift, this dream. An angel, speaking to me! A simple carpenter. But when I woke I knew that many other dreams would disappear along with the sleep of that night. Our lives would look nothing like I planned.
I knew I could still divorce her. I knew that everyone still expected me too. I knew that I could find another bride to fill that house with a family. But now I also knew what I was called to do. I knew that God had something in store for this child Mary carried, and for some reason, God had decided I would be a part of it.
And so I had peace.
Peace in marrying a woman amidst the rumblings and mutterings of our whole village. Peace in packing the items in that house and walking to Bethlehem when Mary was so pregnant.
And now, peace with placing our baby in a manger.
Oh Mary, how I had pictured this time for you comfortable in your own bed, with a fire burning in your own hearth, with your own people caring for you as you gave birth to our son! I assumed you would lay our newborn son in the arms of those who knew and loved you, instead of in the embrace of a box of oats and hay!
But I assumed a lot of things. I assumed a lot of things would be my source of peace. And I know even now, if the men of the village could see me they would ask me the same questions I would have asked of them if the circumstances were reversed. Are you disappointed, Joseph, to have not provided something better for your wife? Are your anxious, Joseph, for what the future holds? Are you worried, Joseph, about what this means?
And I know I would never be able to explain to them what I feel as I look at this manger. This manger that to many would be a sign that I am not in control, that my family is in turmoil, that I have not provided as I should. That I am a poor husband, a failing father, a weak man, an insufficient provider. (smiles). How could I tell them I feel none of those things? That looking at this manger, I feel peace like I have never felt before?
I feel peace because I know the God who showed up to Mary and showed up for me is somehow right here, right now in the most unbelievable place: God is here, at this manger.
Candle Lighting
Today, on this second Sunday of advent, we light the candle of peace. When the circumstances of our lives and our world seem beyond understanding, we trust in the Prince of Peace, who was born in a manger.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:18-25
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 …..And he gave him the name Jesus.
This is the second Sunday of Advent. We are journeying together toward Christmas.
The word advent is a version of a Latin term meaning “coming” and these four weeks leading up to Christmas are our opportunity to look forward with great expectation to the coming of Christ as we have embark on a journey of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
The star has been our guide as we’ve journeyed onward, just like it was to all of them years ago.
Through all the circumstances and surprises of their journey, the star never faltered or failed. It faithfully pointed the way to Jesus. So, together, we continue to look for the light today as we follow the star on a journey of peace.
When I think of peace, I am often reminded of the well-known hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” that I believe you sang last week. This old song is loved by so many because of its message: “When peace like a river attendeth my way / When sorrows like sea billows roll / Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say / It is well, it is well with my soul.” The song portrays such strength and steadfast trust. Dave told us back in November the story behind those words.
Horatio Spafford was a businessman in Chicago in 1873. After already losing one child to pneumonia, he sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him on a ship to Europe. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank, and all four of Spafford’s children died. He got a message from his wife that she had survived, and he left on the next available ship to go and meet her. During his journey, near the place his daughters had died, Spafford penned the words to the song. The painful circumstances he faced make the lyrics all the more powerful. The words were not written by someone who was enjoying an easy life but by one who found peace, deep, authentic peace, in the midst of heartache.
Yet, when we think of peace, we often think of the absence of hardship, trouble, violence, and fear. As the hymn so beautifully captures, this journey of peace is not immune from those things. In fact, they are central to the story. On this journey we learn that peace is not the absence of trouble but rather the presence of God.
Let’s look back on the scripture and monologue we heard this morning.
Joseph found himself in a season where peace was certainly missing from him life. He found himself in a predicament where he was betrothed to a woman he knew was pregnant but not with his child. WOW!! What do you do with that?
At that time, if he left her, he was also quite aware of what was going to happen to her. The Law told them she could be stoned to death! How could he live with that? How could he find any peace in that decision?
This journey of peace is certainly an appropriate journey for our world today. Just as the ancient Roman world must have felt during that first Christmas, our world seems full of violence and warfare and uncertainty. And the pressures of our daily lives barrage us at an unparalleled pace.
Ours is a world in desperate need of peace! But it is a world where the Prince of Peace has walked and understood. He has come, and He is present. His peace is available to us today.
Let’s explore that peace together.
Peace in the Midst
How do you picture that night Jesus was born? So many images and songs focus on a picture of “silent night”—a peaceful moment when all was calm and bright.
But, if such a moment occurred on that first Christmas, it was probably a very fleeting moment. Mary gave birth in an animal shelter. I’ve only given birth in a hospital but I have spent a lot of time in a barn. Neither is a very quiet, peace-filled place.
The city of Bethlehem was overflowing with hordes of people who had arrived after many dusty miles on rough, dangerous roads by foot and by livestock.
Visitors started arriving to see the new baby within hours of His un-sanitary birth and, at the same time, King Herod was in angry pursuit. Let’s not forget the company of angels rejoicing and worshiping with abandon. It’s no wonder an angel had to tell the shepherds first not to be afraid and then assure them they brought a message of peace:
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests’” (Luke 2:13–14).
There was noise and hurt and pain and struggle and fear that first Christmas. And yet there was great joy and deep peace of the highest order.
Sound familiar? Our journey of peace this season is not one separated from the realities of life but a journey of peace in the midst of life with all its noise and chaos. Sometimes we need just such a pause. As we journey toward Christmas, let’s acknowledge the fact that our lives are far from peaceful, and the eternal peace promised at Christ’s second coming is still not realized; But, as we let the words of Jesus wash over us and through us, He brings His calming message to our spirits like soothing water.
Peace. Be still.
Jesus brings peace right into the center of our hurt and frantic striving and He brings the power to cease the noise, calm the storm, and overwhelm our hearts with His restorative sense of perfect peace. He is indeed the Prince of Peace.
Prince of Peace
The prophet Isiah’s words reveal something very important about peace:
“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” (Isaiah 9:6).
Peace is not just a feeling or a state of being. Peace is a person. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Throughout Jesus’s life and teaching we see that peace comes from the person of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit—God’s presence with us.
By sending His Son, God sent peace into the world. When we abide with Him, we abide with peace. And as we abide with peace, we learn to trust God with the unpeaceful parts of our lives, and we find ourselves transformed within.
Isn’t that what we’ve been working on all fall? To become apprentice’s of the Prince of Peace and be transformed to be more like Him.
In the midst of all that was happening that first Christmas, we are told that
“Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
On the surface, Mary’s life had not become more peaceful. If anything, things got even crazier with the announcement of her miraculous pregnancy and the birth of a new baby. Mary was learning to trust the One who was in control.
When we can surrender our control—stop worrying, stop planning, stop striving—to the Prince of Peace, we can find rest in Him. The inner and outer chaos, anxiety, noise, and busyness of life may not change, but we can experience peace because we trust the One in control.
Where do you need to surrender and enter the journey of peace this season?
Let me encourage you to encounter the peace of Christ by taking the psalmist’s words to heart:
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Such stillness can be a precious commodity in this busy holiday season, but even a short pause can allow us to breathe deeply and connect with Jesus Himself, the source of our peace.
This passage can be easily used as a Breath prayer, where you inhale and exhale God’s words making in a part of you.
Be Still- And Know
Or maybe thinking of our theme today we change it to:
Peace- Be Still
Peace for the World
Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, and we can abide in Him, and experience peace in our souls. But we know that peace doesn’t always come to the world around us. As we look around our world and watch the daily news, we realize how desperate our world is for peace. Countries are at war. Refugees are far from home. Our neighbours are hurting. There is violence in our schools. There is anger in our families. We continue to live in the place of tension between the past, present, and future, that place in a broken world still churning and reeling until God completes His restoration.
Against that setting, our path may not look much like a journey of peace even as we look toward and near Christmas. Jesus has brought peace to the world with His arrival. He continues to fill us with peace through His Spirit, but it is not until He comes again that our world will experience complete and perfect peace. Yet this is where the peace we experience now can shine the brightest—because it doesn’t always make sense against the surrounding circumstances.
The Bible tells us God’s peace is beyond understanding. And yet we are encouraged to draw close to God and to rely on Him for His peace. Philippians 4:6–7 tells us and you’ve heard these verses before,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I know it doesn’t make sense, but yet, it does! It transcends understanding. It is too good to be contained by the limits of this world. Its reality is even better. When we abide in the Prince of Peace and come to Him in prayer in every situation, His peace flows over us to settle and guard our hearts and minds.
Maybe this is the paradox of prayer. So often we come to God asking Him to change our circumstances or those around us. Sometimes He does, but more often, He changes our hearts and perspectives.
As we pour out our hearts and connect with Him, we are able to see a little more like He does, to trust more confidently in His ability to handle things no matter what, and to settle in the peace of His goodness and faithfulness, to tap into that sense that it’s all going to be okay no matter what, one way or another, because He’s holding us. That sense of understanding, of calm and acceptance, acts like a guard around our hearts and minds. It’s the gift of peace that Jesus promised when He left the earth.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” He told His disciples. “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
Those weren’t just empty words. They were rooted in reality, a deeper reality than the harsh conditions facing Jesus’s followers at the time and the ones He knew would come. Jesus knew there was a lot to fear. He knew there was much suffering in store for His followers; yet He told His disciples—and us—not to be afraid. Why?
Because He knows the end of the story. He knows that no matter what troubles us and causes us fear now, in the end, His peace will overcome all.
Joseph learned this too, but he found his peace and certainty in a visit from an Angel sharing God’s invitation to him to become Jesus’, the Prince of Peace’s earthly father. And then he had the courage to say Yes!
As we journey toward Christmas, we can trust the promise of peace for ourselves and for our world, and we can experience peace because we know the One we put our trust in.
He is faithful and true.
His peace was prophesied long before His arrival:
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
As we have seen, He delivered to us His unfailing promise as the Prince of Peace.
As we end our time together today, let’s pause and soak in Jesus’s words: Peace. Be still. Let those words wash over you as you repeat them to yourself. The Prince of Peace has come, and He is coming again. In the meantime, He gives us this message to hold onto: Peace. Be still.
Prayer
God, thank You that in the midst of the chaos and pain of our lives, You invite us into Your peace. Help us to abide with the Prince of Peace and to rest in the peace that comes from trusting in You. Give us the courage to trust You with our lives and with the situations we see in the world around us. Fill us with Your peace. Keep us in Your perfect peace. Let it continually restore us and draw us to Yourself. And let us bring Your peace into the often-chaotic world around us. Amen.
Song
Benediction
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24–26