Our holidays have the power to

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.

• The whole idea behind the series we have been doing this December is about having a spirit of curiosity about Christmas. Hence the title: The Questions of Christmas!
• Last week we talked about the angel’s declaration that Jesus would be Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” Today, we want to talk about about another prophecy about Jesus from the book of Isaiah.
• God will one day bring beauty out of brokenness and will trade

for

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>> Read Isaiah 9:6-7 | For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
• While there are many beautiful descriptions of Jesus in this passage, the one that we want to ask questions about today is this declaration that Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

What does it mean that Jesus is the Prince of Peace?

• The title of “prince” here means that he is ruling and in

. The product of that rule and authority is peace.
• Peace is typically defined as the

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of war and conflict, but the Hebrew word shalom here indicates a wholeness, harmony, completeness, and fulfillment that hearkens back to the relationship that God created us for.

// There is no peace that can be found in this

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. >> Jeremiah 8:15 | We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
// While God originally created a world where everything was very good and there was harmony between God, humans, and creation, sin has separated us from that purpose. This creation has an

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date. >> Because of sin, there is no peace >> Romans 3:17 | and the way of peace they have not known.”
// All pain that we experience here on this earth is a

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for us to find our peace in something beyond this physical plane.

• All other forms of peace are

, temporary, and incomplete.

// Because they are

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>> James 4:1-2 | What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel…
// Eventually the people who long for peace pass away and more people arise who

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power and war >> Job 14:1 | “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.
// The last 150 years of human existence, where technology has been wedded to instruments of death and destruction, men of God who have been on the frontlines lament this reality >> US Army Field Commander & General Omar Bradley on 1948 Armistice Day Address: We have too many men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount… . Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.

• At His birth and death, Jesus has opened the

for us to have peace with God. When He comes again, He will establish His kingdom in peace.
• Vine >> He is a Prince who will in Person completely subdue every opposing foe, banish every disturbing element and thus bring peace to His people and to the nations. This the angels heralded at His Birth. (Luke 1:79; 2:14; Colossians 1:20; Romans 16:20; Isaiah 65:17, 20-25)

• No one else can do this except Christ alone. In His first coming, He lived and died to conquer the separation wrought by sin and open the door of peace between humans and God. In His second coming, He will conquer all the enemies of God and bring an

peace.

How do I

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peace?

• Oswald Sanders >> Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.
• The Christmas story is about God coming to us, so how do I find peace in Jesus?
• Joni Eareckson Tada >> Just think: Every promise God has ever made finds its fulfillment in Jesus. God doesn’t just give us grace; he gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace. If it’s peace, it’s only found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Even life itself is found in the Resurrection and the Life. Christianity isn’t all that complicated…it’s Jesus.
• The beauty of the Christmas story is that Christ comes to us. We

to Him as we do another person. We talk to Him. He speaks to us through His Word and His Spirit. We spend time with Him and increasingly reflect His character. He make relating to Him central to our decision-making, our understanding of what is right and wrong, the foundation of relating to others – this is what it looks like to set up His rule and reign in our lives.

Head: Belief; What have you heard today that you need to believe?

Heart: Attitude/Motivation; What attitude or motivation inside of you needs to change based on what you have heard?

Hands: Action; What is God calling you to do today in light of Jesus being the Prince of Peace?

Ray Ortlund >> Look at Jesus. As the Wonderful Counselor, he has the best ideas and strategies. Let’s follow him. As the Mighty God, he defeats his enemies easily. Let’s hide behind him. As the Everlasting Father, he loves us endlessly. Let’s enjoy him. As the Prince of Peace, he reconciles us while we are still his enemies. Let’s welcome his dominion.