Jesus: Prince of Peace

Peace – the fourth week of Advent.

Peace is something that has always eluded humanity. Ever since the Garden of Eden we’ve been at war: at war with ourselves, at war with each other, and at war with God. And the reason is simple why we act this way, why we cannot find or have lasting peace: sin. Sin is basically us trying to take the place of God, us saying that we know what’s best for our lives. When we do this, put ourselves before God, we can never know peace.

Jesus came as the Prince of Peace. Do you notice that title? A prince is someone who is in line for the throne, someone who is powerful and who has authority. In olden times, knights would lay their swords on the ground and kneel before a prince in an act of submission, demonstrating that their sword was his to command, that they were below the prince. The prince would also speak on behalf of the throne, so that what he said was law. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, then we need to offer our lives and all our resources to Him. He needs to be the One who is command of our lives. When we do this we will be one step closer to peace.

The Prince of Peace also means that peace comes through Him. He is not only for peace, He is peace! Jesus came to reconcile us to God, to bridge the gap that sin had created, and allow us to come back into community with God. He is the way to peace, the only way to peace. We need to submit to Him as our Prince and also accept Him as our Saviour, the one who saves us from sin.

This Sunday evening, Christmas Eve, we will be celebrating the Prince of Peace, the Light who has come down to us to show us the way to God. Bethel will also be joining with us that evening so it will likely be a packed house! We will still gather at our regular time, 6pm, but you should try to be there earlier so you can get a seat! The Body of Christ joining together is just another example of the peace Jesus brings!

Pastor Mike