December 8, 2025 • 39 mins
What if the peace you’re chasing can’t be scheduled, bought, or forced—and is actually found in a Person who draws near? As the holidays ramp up and our to-do lists grow louder, we step into the Christmas story to recover a peace that holds steady in real life. We talk about the restless feeling of trying hard but not moving forward, then reframe it with a mountain metaphor: excitement fades, the climb gets cold, and each step costs more. That’s when we remember the manger—Bethlehem, the house of bread—where Jesus, the Bread of Life, arrives in a feeding trough and turns a cave into holy ground.
We walk through Mary and Joseph’s obedience in discomfort, the angels’ announcement to rough-around-the-edges shepherds, and the bold claim that peace is not the moment everything gets easy; peace is Emmanuel, God with us. From that center, we unpack three anchors for everyday life: peace as a process (abiding with the Prince of Peace), peace as progress (stepping out of ruts and becoming peacemakers), and peace as persistence (daily bread, daily presence, steady formation). Along the way, we offer simple, honest practices to prioritize presence amid noise—scripture before screens, short prayers that cut through hurry, reconciliations made sooner, and community that helps us obey rather than drift.
You’ll leave with language and tools to find traction on slippery days—Ephesians’ picture of feet readied by the gospel of peace—and a renewed vision for how God’s presence steadies your home, work, and inner life. The shepherds’ path becomes ours: notice, move, behold, and carry good news. Ready to trade hurry for wholeness and anxiety for nearness? Press play, lean in, and then tell us where you’re asking for peace to meet you today. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find a steadier way.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Brown (00:00):
Merry Christmas.
I'm gonna try again.
Merry Christmas.
Very good.
Hey, uh, we want to ask thisquestion and talking about this
theme of Christmas for us is areyou walking in peace?
We talk about this nativityscene and looking about the
different characters that arethere connected, and we we see
(00:23):
how each and every one of thembecomes its own narrative, its
own story, and how it's woventogether into this tapestry of
this nativity scene.
And each one of them havingtheir own things that they're
walking through, their ownadventure with God, a journey
that they're on with God.
And each one of us is also on ajourney with God ourselves.
I gotta be transparent that youknow there's been seasons where
(00:46):
I felt that I've put a lot ofeffort, but I hadn't gone
anywhere in my relationship withGod.
You ever been like that?
You ever felt that way?
Feels like you'll be trying alot of things, but you keep
messing up on the same thingover and over.
In fact, I related a lot tothis person.
You guys want to show thatvideo to them?
(01:07):
I gotta give a hand for someeffort, man.
(01:30):
That's pretty crazy.
How do people can relate tothat?
Where you feel like you'regiving a lot of effort, but
maybe not going anywhere.
And I feel that that'ssometimes where we feel we are
in our walk with God is thatwe're we're we're giving a lot
of effort.
We keep messing up on the samepiece and we keep going, keep
going, keep going.
We're not really advancing verymuch.
But in our journey with God,you know, we want to be able to
(01:52):
take those steps where we're notmessing up all the time, we're
not slipping up.
We want to be those who arebecoming more like his
character, and we want to bethose that can ascend to the
next levels of what he has us togo after.
For us, you know, I wasthinking about this story of
what it would be like in thisChristmas season for us in the
winter in this hemisphere to bethose that would go maybe up a
mountain and what that mightlook like in traversing a snowy
(02:15):
mountain and to go up a place.
It reminded me when I was ayoung guy how I went to Nagano
in Japan to go snowboarding forChristmas time and New Year's.
And so a bunch of us, we hadbeen boarding all over the
mountain and having a greattime, and we wanted to go kind
of off piece to go off tothrough the trees and some big
jumps that some people had setup.
And so we had to hike itbecause there was no gondola to
(02:36):
take us that direction.
And so after we got down to theplace, we had to unhook and
start off on our journey.
And what starts off in yourheart is this anticipation.
You're excited about the whatcould happen.
You know, there's like this uhthis kind of energy to it.
And you start off on thisjourney, and pretty quick after
you get there, that thatanticipation feeling, that
excitement that you feel, itstarts to shift.
(02:58):
Because now that beautiful,wonderful winter wonderlandscape
that we would see of all thefrozen trees and all the
brilliant snow that's hanging onthe mountain, suddenly it stops
being so beautiful andpostcard-esque and starts to be
cold and daunting and anobstacle in our direction.
And the further that we get up,that that that anticipation
(03:19):
starts to shift into anxiety.
You start to get a little bitnervous about the things that
are going to happen and thisanxiousness that starts to set
in.
And so soon after that, youknow, that this footfalls by the
way that you're starting to goup the mountain, suddenly it
feels like the snow is thickerand every step is taking more
energy.
And you could imagine what thatmight feel like.
(03:41):
And for many of us, as we'retrying to ascend to this place
in our relationship with God ormaybe trudge to the season that
we're in, it feels like there'slots and lots of effort, but we
feel like maybe there's a lot ofthings that are coming against
us.
And we start to ask thatquestion of can you have peace
when everything is difficult?
And I'll tell you this,friends, peace is not the
(04:03):
absence of difficultcircumstances.
Peace is something that comesfrom the creator God into our
soul.
And so it's not about ourcircumstances that we face, but
instead the very creator of thisworld who has enveloped us by
his presence and doesn't leaveus or forsake us, and that we're
(04:24):
not on that journey alone, buthe's right there with us.
And so the peace that we'relooking for, that we're
searching so hard for, that wetry to trade or buy for, that we
try to earn our way into, isn'tthat at all.
But it's a gift from theAlmighty God attached to his
presence.
See, we have to abandon our ownambitions to think that it's
(04:48):
just us that has done it.
We have to set aside our ownthought process on how we might
be able to attain these thingsand really just align ourselves
with him.
We talk about how we want to bethose that abandon our ideas to
go and abide or stay connectedto the Lord.
And as we walk in step withhim, as we abide in the Lord,
then we are aligned with hisvery purposes for us.
(05:12):
And that makes sense that weare in step with him because
whenever we encounter him, hispresence is peace.
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
And so when we're talking aboutin this Christmas season and
the hustle and bustle of gettingeverything done and trying to
do all the extra traditional,fun, Christmassy things, and
(05:35):
still try to get all of ourdeadlines for work and school
and the plays and holding ourears during recorder practice
and all the things that arehappening.
We ask that question, are youwalking in peace?
We understand that his presenceis the very peace that we're
looking for.
And that we need to be thosethat prioritize his presence
(05:59):
because that is where we'll findthe peace that's gonna help us
move through the season ahead.
It'll help us refocus back tothe very reason for the season
of being Jesus and that nativityscene focusing all the way in
on the Christ child.
Friends, that is what the storyof Christmas is about.
(06:22):
Today we're so glad that you'rewith us because we're focusing
on this idea of peace on earth.
And we know that the only peaceon earth that's lasting is
found in the person of JesusChrist.
Would someone say amen to that?
Amen.
Welcome to Cornerstone.
If we haven't met, my name isJay, and we're so blessed to be
(06:43):
able to worship together withyou today.
Celeste and I get a chance tolead here at Cornerstone an
amazing team of people, all ofus in need of a savior, none of
us perfect, all of us on thatpath of following after Jesus.
We use this imagery of Christwalking with his disciples
because that's how we envisionourselves is to be those on a
journey following Jesus.
Our ambition, both personallyand corporately, is to be more
(07:06):
like Jesus.
And so we do that by beingintentional and connecting,
growing, and serving.
And we do that through our lifegroups, which meet throughout
the week throughout the cityhere in the church.
We have a new season of lifegroups coming up in the new
year.
Let me encourage you that youwould predecide to be a part of
what God wants to do.
In fact, we're starting off thenew year with a fast, and we're
(07:29):
gonna be doing that the secondweek of the year.
So that means that all of yourChristmas goodies, all your
tamales, all of the cookies thatyou're making, need to eat them
by the first week so they won'ttaunt you during the fast.
You guys got it?
So it's a challenge.
Because if not, you'll leavethem on the tray and then
they'll start the fast and it'llbe like, come get a cookie.
(07:49):
You're like, no, no, I won't.
And then you'll walk by atnighttime and it's like, Do you
miss me?
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
So you don't want any of that.
You want to be able to staystrong in your fast, your focus
after God in the new year.
So go ahead and knock that outand make this be a blessing to
you.
Together, we love God.
We make disciples, we reach theworld.
And then looking towards thisnativity season and talking
(08:12):
about that story of Christmas,it's such an interesting thing
to think about the idea of peaceon earth.
We know all the turmoil, weknow all the stress and all the
wars and all the things that areunlovely about our world.
We're reminded of it everysingle day.
Our phones, they alert us ofevery news app we have, and you
can't go on any social mediaplatform without someone talking
(08:33):
about this or that or how theirperspective is being smashed
down.
And so what we look to is apeace that's lasting, not just a
momentary peace or a reprievefrom just some difficult
circumstances, but the verypeace of God that we can
embrace, that we can walk with,that will be with us every day.
And so that's what the story ofChristmas is about that we're
(08:53):
looking at today in asking thatquestion are you walking in
peace?
I'm gonna ask you, if youwould, to open your tablet, your
Bible, your phone today toMatthew 1, 21.
And we're looking to this ideaof scripture and prophecy, the
foretelling of the Messiah.
And we talked about last weekfrom Isaiah's perspective on
some of these things, talkingabout who the Messiah would be
(09:16):
and who Jesus would come to beto fulfill these things.
And as it became envelopedbefore us, we started to see
different perspectives of thisstory.
In Matthew 1, verse 21, itpicks up and says this she will
bear a son, and you shall callhis name Jesus, for he will save
his people from their sins.
All of this took place tofulfill what the Lord had spoken
(09:38):
to the prophet.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his nameEmmanuel, which means God with
us.
And so we we pick up todaywhere we left off last week of
this idea of Joseph and Mary.
We heard the story about a Marygetting the receiving of the
(09:59):
message from the angel andhearing the challenge that she
would say she's available to bethe recipient of God's miracle,
of him coming to earth, ofabandoning all glory and
becoming incarnate.
And we talked about Joseph'sperspective about finding out
that his betrothed, his fiancee,is now with child and what that
(10:19):
might have been like, and thathe had every right to drag her
out in the street and to stoneher to death as was the custom.
But he didn't.
Instead, he he brought her andthought to bring her aside and
send her off to family to dealwith it.
But the Lord brought themessenger to him and said,
Listen, your job is to come andunderstand that this very thing
that's happened with Mary is amiracle of God, and that now you
(10:41):
are charged to take care ofher.
And so they walked together inobedience on this journey, now
having to be charged to go on anunexpected, you know, traveling
to uh to back to Bethlehem fromwhere they were, and to walk in
that obedience is verydifficult.
How many would say obedience isbetter than sacrifice?
That's what the scripture says.
(11:03):
But we have to understand thatobedience many times is as
difficult, if not more, than thesacrifice that we might
otherwise pick for ourselves.
So to be obedient is to be key.
And so that's when we look tothe scripture, we pick up with
the story here in Luke, and youcan turn there in your Bibles
today and highlight here,starting in verse one.
(11:24):
In those days a decree went outfrom Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be registered.
And this was the firstregistration when Quiterius was
governor of Syria, and all wentto be registered, each to his
own town.
And so you see this imagery ofMary and Joseph on their journey
there.
And you could imagine what thatwould might have been like in
(11:45):
trying to take a very, verypregnant wife and put her on a
donkey to travel a long distanceto go back to where you're
forced to go.
And so he has to go in, he hasto go back to Bethlehem, that's
where his family's from.
His family is from the lineageof David.
And so that's where David isfrom, from Bethlehem.
And it literally means thehouse of bread.
(12:05):
It's the place of which thebread of life would come from.
And so it's an amazing thing,this story, this tying together
of these narratives and weavingthem together.
You can think about all thethings that she's going through
in her mind as Mary is theretrying to be the one carrying
the baby and thinking about himand his arrival that's coming
very quickly.
(12:25):
And she's thinking about tryingto get there.
You could only imagine whatJoseph was thinking was as other
people with faster carts arepassing them on the road to
Bethlehem.
And he's thinking, is theregonna be space for us when we
get there?
And we I just gotta get herthere.
I gotta get her there, man.
If we're out on the road whenshe starts to have a baby, we're
in trouble.
And not just that, but this isGod's baby, so I'm gonna be in
(12:45):
big trouble.
I gotta get her somewhere.
And so you can think about allthese pressures, all this
feeling that they had as theystarted to walk and navigate
this story.
It says in Luke 2, in verse 6,it picks up and says, And while
they were there, coming toBethlehem, the time came for her
to give birth.
And she gave birth to herfirstborn son and wrapped him in
(13:08):
clothes, and lied him, and laidhim in a manger, because there
was no place for them in theend.
You know, if we were today,maybe in an old cathedral in
Europe somewhere, we might seestained glass that looks like
this, and depicting that verymoment of them seeing him.
And it's all very beautiful andvery, you know, colorful and
things, awwww.
(13:28):
You know what I mean?
I don't think that's how theyexperienced it.
What do you want to make a bet?
I think that as he was goingplace to place and trying to
find a a place to stay, he'sgoing to, okay, do you have a
room?
Do you have a room I could Icould do?
Or or could you go here and doyou have a room?
And everyone was packed.
Maybe someone moved bycompassion.
Maybe late as the night wasdrawing near, maybe they said,
(13:51):
you know, I don't have that, butyou know, you could I don't
want you to be out here on thestreet.
You could go into here, it'sthis cave right here, right
beside us.
This is where the animals, wekeep them out of the weather.
Maybe you could do something inthere.
And begrudgingly you couldimagine as Joseph's like, okay,
what do I do here?
(14:11):
And he's going over and tryingto make a way for her, and and
he goes and tries to situate herthere, and maybe, maybe spread
some hay out or try to find aplace for Mary to be.
Little did they know that asshe gave birth to Jesus, as they
laid him into a feeding troughfor animals, that he would be
the bread of life for all peoplefor all time, that he would be
(14:33):
the very one that feeds our soulfor eternity, that the
symbolism of all the things thatGod had done was that he closed
the door to a softer place sothat the message of God would be
available for all people.
That even in the lowliest ofways, that the very God of
heaven, the very creator God whobreathed life into us,
(14:54):
abandoned heaven and came downinto the very mortal creation
that he had made.
And as he was birthed into lifehere on earth, they too, in
this humble place, in thelowliest of lowly places, they
looked upon the very face ofGod, who in his very presence is
(15:19):
the peace of the world.
Friends, his presence is peace.
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
So we pick up again here in thestory in Luke, and it talks
about it saying here in Luke2.8, in the same region, there
(15:39):
were shepherds out in the fieldkept keeping watch over their
flock by night.
And this is a pretty normalthing if you've gone to the
Middle East, if you've beenthere outside in the area, you
might have seen some hills, andyou can imagine what it would be
like with the shepherds thatwere out there.
You know, in their day, this isthis is a rough and rowdy crew.
This is the people that Davidcame from, right?
(16:01):
He was the shepherd boy outprotecting the flock.
He's the one where they'relike, hey, do you have any
experience fighting anybody?
He's like, Well, I mean, Ifought a bear and and a lion.
Is that pretty good or what?
You know, these are these areMiddle East cowboys, you know
what I mean?
These are some rough people.
They're out there doing it.
This is the one that would notrun whenever the trouble comes,
but fight to save the sheep.
(16:23):
It's the ones that you wouldimagine that Jesus later he
would himself compare to being agood shepherd, the one that
lays his life down for thesheep.
That's the very ones that hecomes to.
That's the very ones that hebrings the story to, and that's
where this starts to unveil.
How they get to be drawn intothis very story.
(16:45):
Not somebody that's in acastle, not someone that's in a
place of power, but insteadthese outsider fringe people,
these good, down-to-earth,hard-working guys who are out in
the field, they smell likesheep.
They're out in the mix.
And suddenly something divinehappens.
Luke 2, 9 says, And an angel ofthe Lord appeared to them, and
(17:10):
the glory of the Lord shonearound them, and they were
filled with great fear.
We talked about how themessenger of God arrives, and as
you might imagine, themessenger of God being an angel,
they've been in the presence ofGod, and so they're radiating
the presence of the Lord.
And so his divine light, hisdivine essence of what that
would be.
They get to therefore radiatethat back.
(17:32):
So as they appear, it's thisbrilliant white light that
shines everywhere, illuminatesthe whole sky.
And so they're out in the dark,they're out looking up at the
sky, and just like they had anyother night, looking at the
stars.
See, they're seeing it in adifferent way than we would see
it because we have all this citylight and light pollution.
They just see brilliant sky.
(17:55):
They saw the very thing thatwhenever the Lord said, Let
there be light in Genesis 1,that light was there and is
still going out, expanding.
And so they're looking up atthe sky, and suddenly a
brilliant light comes fromnowhere, and it's oh, it's
taking enraptured, and they'rehaving to kind of set their
heels and not run and say, Okay,what are we gonna do in this
(18:17):
circumstance?
I know how to fight a bear, Iknow how to fight a lion, how do
I fight this thing?
You might be motivated to belike, Would you like a sheep?
Here.
Would you like a sheep?
Anybody else?
That's not what happened.
It picks up here in the story,and we hear a little bit more.
It says the angel said to them,Fear not, for behold, I bring
(18:38):
you good news of great joy thatwill be for all people.
For unto you is born this dayin the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for youthat you will find a baby
wrapped in swaddling clothes andlying in a manger.
And so that you can imaginethis depicted scene of these
(18:59):
shepherds that are sitting therestaring at the sky, seeing
these angelic hosts that aretalking to them and they're
trying to take it all in.
They're saying, What?
You've come to our little city,the one that doesn't matter.
This one little place.
It's not the throne room ofDavid, it's where David was
from.
And so this is the house ofDavid, but yeah, we're shepherds
like he was a shepherd.
(19:20):
But they're saying, Listen,something amazing has happened.
You need to take note of what'sgoing on.
And so that's the thing thatcomes, is the story comes not
just to those in high places,but to the very outcast, the
very fringe.
And friends, I'll tell you I'mthankful because that means it
includes me.
That I get to be someone whoalso has the story come to me.
(19:44):
That I get to be included inthat story of redemption, that
story of him coming to earth.
I get to be a part of it also.
Because he's come for allpeople, not just those on the
top, but everyone everywhere forall of us are his creation.
All of us he wants to have arelationship with.
And so it picks up in thisstory here, and it says what the
(20:06):
angels decree.
It says, and suddenly there wasthe angel, a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God andsaying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peaceamong those with whom he is
pleased.
Friends, they're telling them,they're getting to hear this
rejoicing of what the angels aresaying.
The angels are excited.
(20:27):
They're saying, We can'tbelieve that he has done this,
but that he has come all the wayto you.
Do you not understand the peaceof the earth has arrived?
And so these mere humbleshepherds get to hear that his
presence is peace.
(20:48):
Say it with me.
And so they see the symbolsthat are there, the star in the
sky, they hear about the detailsof where he's at.
And so they set out.
And it talks about this inscripture, how they are like,
okay, we got to do somethingabout it.
So in Luke 2, 15, it says, Whenthe angels went away from them
(21:10):
to heaven, the shepherds said toone another, Let's go over to
Bethlehem and see this thingthat's happened, which the Lord
has made known to us.
And so they get to be a part ofthe story.
They get to be a part of ournativity sets that we see as
those little shepherds off tothe side.
They get to come and worshipthe Christ child.
It says, and they went withhaste and found Mary and Joseph
(21:33):
and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they madeknown what had been happened
and told them concerning thischild.
And all who heard it wonderedat what the shepherds told them.
So that depiction of thoseshepherds being there, they get
to come alongside.
And you could only imagine as,you know, they're out in a,
they're they're out there, andthere's, you know, the birthing
(21:54):
pains and all those things, anda crying baby upon his birth,
and and then it's just quiet,and they're there with these
animals.
It's just Mary with Jesus andJoseph there together.
And so they're they're probablywondering, and in they're just
like, wow, does anyone know thatthe peace of the world has
arrived here?
And then suddenly, outside ofthe cave, coming out of the
(22:17):
darkness, are these shepherds,and they start to come up and
looking, looking for the placewhere Jesus is.
And as they come near, theyhave to say, Hey, we're actually
sent here to you.
And let us tell you about youmight not what believe what had
just happened to us.
And I imagine that Mary andJoseph were like, Well, try us.
We've had some pretty crazystuff happen recently.
(22:40):
And they're like, Listen, thevery angels appeared to us and
said the Christ child is here.
And so they got to be a part ofthe very first moments of
Jesus' life.
These guys who are outsidefringe, the wild Middle Eastern
cowboys of the plains, they getto come in, and they get to
(23:03):
experience looking upon the veryface of God.
And they get to experience thepresence of God.
They get to experience hispeace.
Because his presence is peace.
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
Friends, as we're talking aboutpeace on earth, it's only found
(23:27):
in the personhood of JesusChrist.
It's not found in any otherreligion.
It's not found in anything youcan try to earn.
You can't buy your way intopeace.
You can't do any of thosethings because even in the
middle of a crowd, you can feelalone.
You can feel that turmoil.
But I'll tell you somethingelse, friends, is that you can
find the very peace of God thattranscends all understanding as
(23:49):
you embrace the presence of Godin your life.
And as you are one who says,Lord, have your way in my life,
that you will experience peacethat transcends and goes above
and beyond anything that wecould clamor or try to earn or
gather to ourselves, becauseit's divine and it comes from
Him.
It doesn't say in Scripturethat we won't have any more
(24:11):
problems.
It actually says the opposite.
It says that you will havedifficulty, you will have trials
and tribulations, but I willnot leave you or forsake you.
And it says, and with me youare more than a conqueror.
So as we walk with him, we livein the very peace of God that
(24:33):
enables us to do abundantly morethan we could ever do on our
own.
Because we walk in the presenceof the Almighty God.
Three takeaways from today.
The first is this as we walk inpeace, we understand that peace
is a process.
That peace is a process.
(24:53):
It says this, for us to a childis born, for us a son is given.
The government shall be uponhis shoulder, his name shall be
called wonderful counselor,mighty God, everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
The process that we're talkingabout is being those who embrace
the Prince of Peace.
(25:13):
Embracing Jesus in our lives,embracing his character,
embracing what it means to be afollower of Jesus.
And not just on a Sunday or ata church gathering together, but
in our private time, in ourquiet time, in our mind when no
one can see what we're thinking,that the Lord would empower us,
(25:34):
that we would be those abouthis business, that as we're
walking in the ways of God, inthe way of peace, that we would
be those that are focused on himto become more like Jesus.
The second takeaway for ustoday, as we walk in peace, is
that we understand that peace isnot only a process, but peace
is progress.
(25:55):
We talk about this in Matthew 59 as Jesus is speaking to the
crowds, the Beatitudes says,Blessed are the pure at heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they shall be called sons of
God.
And so that progress, thatprocess of what we're doing and
becoming those who are pure inheart, and being those who empty
(26:18):
ourselves and say, Lord,forgive me of when I make
mistakes, like the man runningon the ice, that we would no
longer run in place, but insteadwe would step out of that mess
and progress forward in what Godcalls us to do.
That we would be those thataren't repeating the same thing
over and over, but say, Lord,forgive me.
Not just this, but my habitsthat start me on that path.
(26:41):
I'm no longer the things thatare gonna drive me into the ruts
of my life.
I'm gonna go a new way forwardin what you have for me.
And in doing so, we setourselves in alignment with the
peace of God.
And we get to be those that area part of what he's saying on
our behalf, that we get to bethose that the peace is not just
for me, but the peace starts tobe for those around me.
(27:03):
And I'm someone that's willingto forgive, and I'm also someone
that is willing to acceptforgiveness.
That we become those that arepeacemakers.
That we walk in the peace ofGod.
That means a lot because thatmeans that we're not just
fighting for our own face orfighting to be right or fighting
to get ahead, but we are thosethat are fighting for peace.
(27:24):
And it's the peace of God thatlasts, the peace of God that
transcends, the peace of Godthat doesn't leave us.
That we, as we walk into aplace, we understand what it
means because we have the verypresence of God with us.
And that brings us to our thirdtakeaway from today as we walk
in peace, that peace ispersistence.
We talk about give us today ourdaily bread.
(27:47):
What did it talk about in theOld Testament?
Whenever manna was given fromheaven, whenever the children of
Israel were in the desert, itsays that manna was given every
day.
It only lasted for that day.
And then you had to have newbread for a new day.
And that's why we pray thatprayer, give us today our daily
bread.
So we talk about spending timewith God every day, having that
quiet time and prayer and inreflection in the Word of God,
(28:10):
and being those who start ourday or end our day or both in
the Word of God that abide withHim in His presence.
That as we walk in peace, thatthe peace of God walks not just
with us, but those around us,that affects our family because
we are those who are beingintentional to be a peacemaker.
And not just those, but thepeople at our workplace and the
people in our community andthose we bump into, because the
(28:33):
peace of God is upon us.
And so the peace of God flowsthrough us.
That's why, whenever we put onour armor every day, when we
start putting on the armor ofGod, that's when we're being
intentional, that's when we'rebeing persistent.
It talks about this, and itsays it in Scripture in
Ephesians 6 (28:51):
therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to withstand theevil day, and having done all to
stand firm.
Stand therefore, havingfastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the bloodbreastplate of righteousness,
and as shoes for your feethaving been put on the readiness
given by the gospel of peace.
(29:13):
Some translations say that theywould be shod with the
preparation of the gospel ofpeace.
Friends, that as we walksomewhere, our feet are prepared
because our feet are on solidground, because our feet are in
the peace of God.
And so, just like thoseshepherds that encounter the
angels, we're not running awayfrom the evil one.
(29:36):
And why is that?
Because the person, the Princeof Peace, he's the one that
later took on all of death andhell and the grave.
He overcame all of it.
He has his foot on the devil'sneck, and he is not going to be
victorious over me, over myfamily, over you, over your
family, over this community,over this church, because Jesus
(29:56):
is glorified.
And so we can be those thathave feet of peace.
And as we walk and as we gowherever we are, the presence of
God is lighting the path, as itsays in Scripture.
The presence, the peace of Godis upon us, and that it affects
those around us because it's notour doing, it's his doing
(30:22):
through us.
Because as we walk, maybe likeMary and Joseph, as they went on
their journey, having to trustGod in the process of going on
that journey after God.
Maybe it's the mountain thatyou're ascending, whatever it
is, when you ask that question,are you walking in peace?
You have to understand hispresence is peace.
(30:45):
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
Today, friends, we talk abouthow peace on earth has come to
us.
That we would embrace the verypeace that we're looking for.
That we embrace it because heis the answer.
And the story of Christmas istying that narrative back to us
(31:06):
and how we get to be those thatare recipients of the Almighty.
Today we come back to thatquestion: Are you walking in
peace?
Understanding that his presenceis peace.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made a decision to follow
Jesus.
Today is your opportunity to doso.
Each one of us has to answerthat question of have you
(31:28):
embraced Jesus?
See, for us, that's what makesus a Christ follower, but makes
us a Christian as we've said yesto Jesus.
That we hear this story of himcoming to earth and abandoning
all of heaven and glory,becoming the very way for us to
have the sacrifice of God, theholy sacrifice that we can never
be.
See, Jesus, he comes and livesa sinless life, so he could be
(31:52):
that holy sacrifice.
So he could take on the wrathof the Father against sin, and
he could take it on himself, andhe would take on all of our sin
and all of our mistakes.
He would take on ourbrokenness.
He would do all of that becausehe loves us so much.
So that we could be made inright standing, so we could be
(32:14):
brought and back intorelationship with the Father.
And so Jesus, he takes all ofthe weight of our sin upon
himself, and in doing so, hetakes it to the cross.
And so he dies upon the cross,not for anything he had done,
but for what I have done.
For what you've done.
What all of us have done.
(32:34):
And he becomes the sin for allof us, so that we don't have to
try to be separated from God foreternity.
And he makes that sacrifice forus and wipes away our sin
because our sin is now dead.
But he didn't stay dead, but heis alive.
And because he is alive, we canhave an active relationship
(32:55):
with the living God.
And so when we look upon thiscross, we look upon a symbol not
of torture and not of pain andagony, though Jesus did all
those things for us, we now seeit as freedom.
We now see it as forgiveness.
We now see it as hope.
Because all those things arewhat we've experienced instead.
(33:17):
We couldn't earn our way in, wecan't buy our way into
righteousness.
It's not possible.
But he says, Come to me andaccept my work for your life
upon the cross.
Accept that.
And we'd be making rightstanding with the living God.
And so we come to Jesus saying,Jesus, I believe you are who
(33:37):
you say you are.
Lord, forgive me of my sin.
I want to make you the Lord ofmy life.
Not just mental attributes, butto live for you, to walk in
communication and live this lifeof a Christ follower.
Apostle Paul, he writes to thechurch at Rome, he says it like
this.
Because if you confess withyour mouth that Jesus is Lord,
(34:01):
and believe in your heart thatGod raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, with the
mouth one confesses and issaved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to sayyes to Jesus.
Divide him into your heart andlife to start a new life with
(34:24):
God.
Maybe you're here, you've nevermade that decision before.
Today is your opportunity to doso, to say yes to him.
Or maybe you have made thatdecision in the past, but then
you've walked away from activelyliving it.
Let me challenge you today thatyou would recommit your heart
and life to Christ, that youwouldn't stay separate from him,
but that you would be connectedwith him, that you would
(34:48):
experience the very peace thatyou're looking for.
I'm gonna ask if you're here inthe room, that you would stand
to your feet, bow your heads asChristians are praying and
people are making decisions.
Wherever you are online, youtake a moment to embrace what
God wants to do in and throughyour life today.
We've already had people makingdecisions to follow Jesus.
(35:09):
I've been praying that todayyou as well would make that same
decision to place your faithand trust in Jesus Christ.
As heads are bowed here in theroom, if that's you, you want to
make a decision to follow Jesustoday, say, Pastor, I want to
be included in that prayer.
If you just want to raise yourhand right where you're at, just
to indicate to me that you wantto be one of those people that
(35:30):
ask Christ into your heart andlife today.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, for thosemaking decisions today.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you, God.
Thank you, Lord.
Friends, we see the hands thatare up, friends as well online,
wherever you are, we see yourdecision as well.
Thank you, Jesus.
I'm gonna ask if everyone wouldpray this prayer out loud after
me.
Lord, thank you for loving me.
(35:53):
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you.
(36:14):
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Friends, we rejoice with you,make a decision to follow Jesus
today.
Praise the Lord.
Those that raise their handstoday, praise God.
Hey, that was you.
Take a moment, take a snap ofthis QR code.
It's on our side screens hereif you're online.
Take a snap of that QR code andfollow that.
(36:34):
We want to put resources intoyour hands so that you can live
this life victoriously afterGod.
Today we have this opportunity,and I would challenge every
person that's here, both hereand in the balcony, that you
would come and make an altarwith God, that you would draw
near to God, and you would askfor more of his presence for a
new outpouring of Holy Spirit inyour life, because his presence
(36:58):
is peace.
And we need more of hispresence in our life for what
we're going through for the day,what we're going through in our
own lives, in our own hearts,in our own minds, what we're
going through with our familythat's around us, what we're
going through with our work,what we're going through with
our school, with our friendgroup, whatever is going on.
I want to challenge you to getout of your seat.
Come and make an altar withGod.
(37:18):
Come and pray for more of hispresence, for more of the peace
of God to flow in your life andthrough your life.
Lord, we come to you justthanking you so much for your
scripture today.
Lord, thanking you for speakingto us and giving us such great
examples, Lord, of beingobedient to you, Lord and Mary
and Joseph, Lord, even in yourangels, Lord, even in those
shepherds that responded andthen did something about it.
(37:41):
Lord, thank you for that.
Lord, we thank you for yourpresence and Holy Spirit.
We thank you for pouringyourself out upon us.
Lord, that we get to experiencethe peace of God, which is the
very thing that so many peopleare chasing after, that we get
to experience it here today.
Lord, as we come to your altar,as we come to make a place with
you, we ask for an impartation,a pouring out, Lord, a fresh
(38:04):
wave of anointing of yourpresence.
Because, Lord, we want to walkin the peace of God.
We pray all this in thepowerful name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Two things we need somehousekeeping things with, and I
want to ask your help in advanceis that we have an event
happening this week.
And so if you would help us,those that are willing, we need
to take all the chairs out ofthis middle section, in these
(38:24):
three middle sections, and placethem on this wall.
If you could help us with that,we'd appreciate it.
The second one, it's a littlebit on my heart.
It's at our brother Josh.
It's his last Sundays.
He's moving out of town.
So those who are here deal withhim, we're gonna pray for him
right after this service andjust let him know how much we
appreciate him and how much he'sbeen a part of our family of
faith here and send him out witha blessing today.
Celeste Brown (38:44):
Um, we are gonna be decorating ornaments as you
head out.
So if you have kids, go andgrab them.
There's tables set up outthere, and um, it's just gonna
be a great time to.
There's gonna be some Polaroidcameras out there.
You can take a photo togetherand then put it in the ornament
and um take it and hang it onyour tree today.
Jason Brown (38:59):
Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over
us.
The Lord bless you and keepyou.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
(39:23):
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
Pray all this in the powerfulname that is Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
Merry Christmas.
I'm gonna try again.
Merry Christmas.
Very good.
Hey, uh, we want to ask thisquestion and talking about this
theme of Christmas for us is areyou walking in peace?
We talk about this nativityscene and looking about the
different characters that arethere connected, and we we see
(00:23):
how each and every one of thembecomes its own narrative, its
own story, and how it's woventogether into this tapestry of
this nativity scene.
And each one of them havingtheir own things that they're
walking through, their ownadventure with God, a journey
that they're on with God.
And each one of us is also on ajourney with God ourselves.
I gotta be transparent that youknow there's been seasons where
(00:46):
I felt that I've put a lot ofeffort, but I hadn't gone
anywhere in my relationship withGod.
You ever been like that?
You ever felt that way?
Feels like you'll be trying alot of things, but you keep
messing up on the same thingover and over.
In fact, I related a lot tothis person.
You guys want to show thatvideo to them?
(01:07):
I gotta give a hand for someeffort, man.
(01:30):
That's pretty crazy.
How do people can relate tothat?
Where you feel like you'regiving a lot of effort, but
maybe not going anywhere.
And I feel that that'ssometimes where we feel we are
in our walk with God is thatwe're we're we're giving a lot
of effort.
We keep messing up on the samepiece and we keep going, keep
going, keep going.
We're not really advancing verymuch.
But in our journey with God,you know, we want to be able to
(01:52):
take those steps where we're notmessing up all the time, we're
not slipping up.
We want to be those who arebecoming more like his
character, and we want to bethose that can ascend to the
next levels of what he has us togo after.
For us, you know, I wasthinking about this story of
what it would be like in thisChristmas season for us in the
winter in this hemisphere to bethose that would go maybe up a
mountain and what that mightlook like in traversing a snowy
(02:15):
mountain and to go up a place.
It reminded me when I was ayoung guy how I went to Nagano
in Japan to go snowboarding forChristmas time and New Year's.
And so a bunch of us, we hadbeen boarding all over the
mountain and having a greattime, and we wanted to go kind
of off piece to go off tothrough the trees and some big
jumps that some people had setup.
And so we had to hike itbecause there was no gondola to
(02:36):
take us that direction.
And so after we got down to theplace, we had to unhook and
start off on our journey.
And what starts off in yourheart is this anticipation.
You're excited about the whatcould happen.
You know, there's like this uhthis kind of energy to it.
And you start off on thisjourney, and pretty quick after
you get there, that thatanticipation feeling, that
excitement that you feel, itstarts to shift.
(02:58):
Because now that beautiful,wonderful winter wonderlandscape
that we would see of all thefrozen trees and all the
brilliant snow that's hanging onthe mountain, suddenly it stops
being so beautiful andpostcard-esque and starts to be
cold and daunting and anobstacle in our direction.
And the further that we get up,that that that anticipation
(03:19):
starts to shift into anxiety.
You start to get a little bitnervous about the things that
are going to happen and thisanxiousness that starts to set
in.
And so soon after that, youknow, that this footfalls by the
way that you're starting to goup the mountain, suddenly it
feels like the snow is thickerand every step is taking more
energy.
And you could imagine what thatmight feel like.
(03:41):
And for many of us, as we'retrying to ascend to this place
in our relationship with God ormaybe trudge to the season that
we're in, it feels like there'slots and lots of effort, but we
feel like maybe there's a lot ofthings that are coming against
us.
And we start to ask thatquestion of can you have peace
when everything is difficult?
And I'll tell you this,friends, peace is not the
(04:03):
absence of difficultcircumstances.
Peace is something that comesfrom the creator God into our
soul.
And so it's not about ourcircumstances that we face, but
instead the very creator of thisworld who has enveloped us by
his presence and doesn't leaveus or forsake us, and that we're
(04:24):
not on that journey alone, buthe's right there with us.
And so the peace that we'relooking for, that we're
searching so hard for, that wetry to trade or buy for, that we
try to earn our way into, isn'tthat at all.
But it's a gift from theAlmighty God attached to his
presence.
See, we have to abandon our ownambitions to think that it's
(04:48):
just us that has done it.
We have to set aside our ownthought process on how we might
be able to attain these thingsand really just align ourselves
with him.
We talk about how we want to bethose that abandon our ideas to
go and abide or stay connectedto the Lord.
And as we walk in step withhim, as we abide in the Lord,
then we are aligned with hisvery purposes for us.
(05:12):
And that makes sense that weare in step with him because
whenever we encounter him, hispresence is peace.
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
And so when we're talking aboutin this Christmas season and
the hustle and bustle of gettingeverything done and trying to
do all the extra traditional,fun, Christmassy things, and
(05:35):
still try to get all of ourdeadlines for work and school
and the plays and holding ourears during recorder practice
and all the things that arehappening.
We ask that question, are youwalking in peace?
We understand that his presenceis the very peace that we're
looking for.
And that we need to be thosethat prioritize his presence
(05:59):
because that is where we'll findthe peace that's gonna help us
move through the season ahead.
It'll help us refocus back tothe very reason for the season
of being Jesus and that nativityscene focusing all the way in
on the Christ child.
Friends, that is what the storyof Christmas is about.
(06:22):
Today we're so glad that you'rewith us because we're focusing
on this idea of peace on earth.
And we know that the only peaceon earth that's lasting is
found in the person of JesusChrist.
Would someone say amen to that?
Amen.
Welcome to Cornerstone.
If we haven't met, my name isJay, and we're so blessed to be
(06:43):
able to worship together withyou today.
Celeste and I get a chance tolead here at Cornerstone an
amazing team of people, all ofus in need of a savior, none of
us perfect, all of us on thatpath of following after Jesus.
We use this imagery of Christwalking with his disciples
because that's how we envisionourselves is to be those on a
journey following Jesus.
Our ambition, both personallyand corporately, is to be more
(07:06):
like Jesus.
And so we do that by beingintentional and connecting,
growing, and serving.
And we do that through our lifegroups, which meet throughout
the week throughout the cityhere in the church.
We have a new season of lifegroups coming up in the new
year.
Let me encourage you that youwould predecide to be a part of
what God wants to do.
In fact, we're starting off thenew year with a fast, and we're
(07:29):
gonna be doing that the secondweek of the year.
So that means that all of yourChristmas goodies, all your
tamales, all of the cookies thatyou're making, need to eat them
by the first week so they won'ttaunt you during the fast.
You guys got it?
So it's a challenge.
Because if not, you'll leavethem on the tray and then
they'll start the fast and it'llbe like, come get a cookie.
(07:49):
You're like, no, no, I won't.
And then you'll walk by atnighttime and it's like, Do you
miss me?
You guys know what I'm talkingabout?
So you don't want any of that.
You want to be able to staystrong in your fast, your focus
after God in the new year.
So go ahead and knock that outand make this be a blessing to
you.
Together, we love God.
We make disciples, we reach theworld.
And then looking towards thisnativity season and talking
(08:12):
about that story of Christmas,it's such an interesting thing
to think about the idea of peaceon earth.
We know all the turmoil, weknow all the stress and all the
wars and all the things that areunlovely about our world.
We're reminded of it everysingle day.
Our phones, they alert us ofevery news app we have, and you
can't go on any social mediaplatform without someone talking
(08:33):
about this or that or how theirperspective is being smashed
down.
And so what we look to is apeace that's lasting, not just a
momentary peace or a reprievefrom just some difficult
circumstances, but the verypeace of God that we can
embrace, that we can walk with,that will be with us every day.
And so that's what the story ofChristmas is about that we're
(08:53):
looking at today in asking thatquestion are you walking in
peace?
I'm gonna ask you, if youwould, to open your tablet, your
Bible, your phone today toMatthew 1, 21.
And we're looking to this ideaof scripture and prophecy, the
foretelling of the Messiah.
And we talked about last weekfrom Isaiah's perspective on
some of these things, talkingabout who the Messiah would be
(09:16):
and who Jesus would come to beto fulfill these things.
And as it became envelopedbefore us, we started to see
different perspectives of thisstory.
In Matthew 1, verse 21, itpicks up and says this she will
bear a son, and you shall callhis name Jesus, for he will save
his people from their sins.
All of this took place tofulfill what the Lord had spoken
(09:38):
to the prophet.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his nameEmmanuel, which means God with
us.
And so we we pick up todaywhere we left off last week of
this idea of Joseph and Mary.
We heard the story about a Marygetting the receiving of the
(09:59):
message from the angel andhearing the challenge that she
would say she's available to bethe recipient of God's miracle,
of him coming to earth, ofabandoning all glory and
becoming incarnate.
And we talked about Joseph'sperspective about finding out
that his betrothed, his fiancee,is now with child and what that
(10:19):
might have been like, and thathe had every right to drag her
out in the street and to stoneher to death as was the custom.
But he didn't.
Instead, he he brought her andthought to bring her aside and
send her off to family to dealwith it.
But the Lord brought themessenger to him and said,
Listen, your job is to come andunderstand that this very thing
that's happened with Mary is amiracle of God, and that now you
(10:41):
are charged to take care ofher.
And so they walked together inobedience on this journey, now
having to be charged to go on anunexpected, you know, traveling
to uh to back to Bethlehem fromwhere they were, and to walk in
that obedience is verydifficult.
How many would say obedience isbetter than sacrifice?
That's what the scripture says.
(11:03):
But we have to understand thatobedience many times is as
difficult, if not more, than thesacrifice that we might
otherwise pick for ourselves.
So to be obedient is to be key.
And so that's when we look tothe scripture, we pick up with
the story here in Luke, and youcan turn there in your Bibles
today and highlight here,starting in verse one.
(11:24):
In those days a decree went outfrom Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be registered.
And this was the firstregistration when Quiterius was
governor of Syria, and all wentto be registered, each to his
own town.
And so you see this imagery ofMary and Joseph on their journey
there.
And you could imagine what thatwould might have been like in
(11:45):
trying to take a very, verypregnant wife and put her on a
donkey to travel a long distanceto go back to where you're
forced to go.
And so he has to go in, he hasto go back to Bethlehem, that's
where his family's from.
His family is from the lineageof David.
And so that's where David isfrom, from Bethlehem.
And it literally means thehouse of bread.
(12:05):
It's the place of which thebread of life would come from.
And so it's an amazing thing,this story, this tying together
of these narratives and weavingthem together.
You can think about all thethings that she's going through
in her mind as Mary is theretrying to be the one carrying
the baby and thinking about himand his arrival that's coming
very quickly.
(12:25):
And she's thinking about tryingto get there.
You could only imagine whatJoseph was thinking was as other
people with faster carts arepassing them on the road to
Bethlehem.
And he's thinking, is theregonna be space for us when we
get there?
And we I just gotta get herthere.
I gotta get her there, man.
If we're out on the road whenshe starts to have a baby, we're
in trouble.
And not just that, but this isGod's baby, so I'm gonna be in
(12:45):
big trouble.
I gotta get her somewhere.
And so you can think about allthese pressures, all this
feeling that they had as theystarted to walk and navigate
this story.
It says in Luke 2, in verse 6,it picks up and says, And while
they were there, coming toBethlehem, the time came for her
to give birth.
And she gave birth to herfirstborn son and wrapped him in
(13:08):
clothes, and lied him, and laidhim in a manger, because there
was no place for them in theend.
You know, if we were today,maybe in an old cathedral in
Europe somewhere, we might seestained glass that looks like
this, and depicting that verymoment of them seeing him.
And it's all very beautiful andvery, you know, colorful and
things, awwww.
(13:28):
You know what I mean?
I don't think that's how theyexperienced it.
What do you want to make a bet?
I think that as he was goingplace to place and trying to
find a a place to stay, he'sgoing to, okay, do you have a
room?
Do you have a room I could Icould do?
Or or could you go here and doyou have a room?
And everyone was packed.
Maybe someone moved bycompassion.
Maybe late as the night wasdrawing near, maybe they said,
(13:51):
you know, I don't have that, butyou know, you could I don't
want you to be out here on thestreet.
You could go into here, it'sthis cave right here, right
beside us.
This is where the animals, wekeep them out of the weather.
Maybe you could do something inthere.
And begrudgingly you couldimagine as Joseph's like, okay,
what do I do here?
(14:11):
And he's going over and tryingto make a way for her, and and
he goes and tries to situate herthere, and maybe, maybe spread
some hay out or try to find aplace for Mary to be.
Little did they know that asshe gave birth to Jesus, as they
laid him into a feeding troughfor animals, that he would be
the bread of life for all peoplefor all time, that he would be
(14:33):
the very one that feeds our soulfor eternity, that the
symbolism of all the things thatGod had done was that he closed
the door to a softer place sothat the message of God would be
available for all people.
That even in the lowliest ofways, that the very God of
heaven, the very creator God whobreathed life into us,
(14:54):
abandoned heaven and came downinto the very mortal creation
that he had made.
And as he was birthed into lifehere on earth, they too, in
this humble place, in thelowliest of lowly places, they
looked upon the very face ofGod, who in his very presence is
(15:19):
the peace of the world.
Friends, his presence is peace.
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
So we pick up again here in thestory in Luke, and it talks
about it saying here in Luke2.8, in the same region, there
(15:39):
were shepherds out in the fieldkept keeping watch over their
flock by night.
And this is a pretty normalthing if you've gone to the
Middle East, if you've beenthere outside in the area, you
might have seen some hills, andyou can imagine what it would be
like with the shepherds thatwere out there.
You know, in their day, this isthis is a rough and rowdy crew.
This is the people that Davidcame from, right?
(16:01):
He was the shepherd boy outprotecting the flock.
He's the one where they'relike, hey, do you have any
experience fighting anybody?
He's like, Well, I mean, Ifought a bear and and a lion.
Is that pretty good or what?
You know, these are these areMiddle East cowboys, you know
what I mean?
These are some rough people.
They're out there doing it.
This is the one that would notrun whenever the trouble comes,
but fight to save the sheep.
(16:23):
It's the ones that you wouldimagine that Jesus later he
would himself compare to being agood shepherd, the one that
lays his life down for thesheep.
That's the very ones that hecomes to.
That's the very ones that hebrings the story to, and that's
where this starts to unveil.
How they get to be drawn intothis very story.
(16:45):
Not somebody that's in acastle, not someone that's in a
place of power, but insteadthese outsider fringe people,
these good, down-to-earth,hard-working guys who are out in
the field, they smell likesheep.
They're out in the mix.
And suddenly something divinehappens.
Luke 2, 9 says, And an angel ofthe Lord appeared to them, and
(17:10):
the glory of the Lord shonearound them, and they were
filled with great fear.
We talked about how themessenger of God arrives, and as
you might imagine, themessenger of God being an angel,
they've been in the presence ofGod, and so they're radiating
the presence of the Lord.
And so his divine light, hisdivine essence of what that
would be.
They get to therefore radiatethat back.
(17:32):
So as they appear, it's thisbrilliant white light that
shines everywhere, illuminatesthe whole sky.
And so they're out in the dark,they're out looking up at the
sky, and just like they had anyother night, looking at the
stars.
See, they're seeing it in adifferent way than we would see
it because we have all this citylight and light pollution.
They just see brilliant sky.
(17:55):
They saw the very thing thatwhenever the Lord said, Let
there be light in Genesis 1,that light was there and is
still going out, expanding.
And so they're looking up atthe sky, and suddenly a
brilliant light comes fromnowhere, and it's oh, it's
taking enraptured, and they'rehaving to kind of set their
heels and not run and say, Okay,what are we gonna do in this
(18:17):
circumstance?
I know how to fight a bear, Iknow how to fight a lion, how do
I fight this thing?
You might be motivated to belike, Would you like a sheep?
Here.
Would you like a sheep?
Anybody else?
That's not what happened.
It picks up here in the story,and we hear a little bit more.
It says the angel said to them,Fear not, for behold, I bring
(18:38):
you good news of great joy thatwill be for all people.
For unto you is born this dayin the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for youthat you will find a baby
wrapped in swaddling clothes andlying in a manger.
And so that you can imaginethis depicted scene of these
(18:59):
shepherds that are sitting therestaring at the sky, seeing
these angelic hosts that aretalking to them and they're
trying to take it all in.
They're saying, What?
You've come to our little city,the one that doesn't matter.
This one little place.
It's not the throne room ofDavid, it's where David was
from.
And so this is the house ofDavid, but yeah, we're shepherds
like he was a shepherd.
(19:20):
But they're saying, Listen,something amazing has happened.
You need to take note of what'sgoing on.
And so that's the thing thatcomes, is the story comes not
just to those in high places,but to the very outcast, the
very fringe.
And friends, I'll tell you I'mthankful because that means it
includes me.
That I get to be someone whoalso has the story come to me.
(19:44):
That I get to be included inthat story of redemption, that
story of him coming to earth.
I get to be a part of it also.
Because he's come for allpeople, not just those on the
top, but everyone everywhere forall of us are his creation.
All of us he wants to have arelationship with.
And so it picks up in thisstory here, and it says what the
(20:06):
angels decree.
It says, and suddenly there wasthe angel, a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God andsaying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peaceamong those with whom he is
pleased.
Friends, they're telling them,they're getting to hear this
rejoicing of what the angels aresaying.
The angels are excited.
(20:27):
They're saying, We can'tbelieve that he has done this,
but that he has come all the wayto you.
Do you not understand the peaceof the earth has arrived?
And so these mere humbleshepherds get to hear that his
presence is peace.
(20:48):
Say it with me.
And so they see the symbolsthat are there, the star in the
sky, they hear about the detailsof where he's at.
And so they set out.
And it talks about this inscripture, how they are like,
okay, we got to do somethingabout it.
So in Luke 2, 15, it says, Whenthe angels went away from them
(21:10):
to heaven, the shepherds said toone another, Let's go over to
Bethlehem and see this thingthat's happened, which the Lord
has made known to us.
And so they get to be a part ofthe story.
They get to be a part of ournativity sets that we see as
those little shepherds off tothe side.
They get to come and worshipthe Christ child.
It says, and they went withhaste and found Mary and Joseph
(21:33):
and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they madeknown what had been happened
and told them concerning thischild.
And all who heard it wonderedat what the shepherds told them.
So that depiction of thoseshepherds being there, they get
to come alongside.
And you could only imagine as,you know, they're out in a,
they're they're out there, andthere's, you know, the birthing
(21:54):
pains and all those things, anda crying baby upon his birth,
and and then it's just quiet,and they're there with these
animals.
It's just Mary with Jesus andJoseph there together.
And so they're they're probablywondering, and in they're just
like, wow, does anyone know thatthe peace of the world has
arrived here?
And then suddenly, outside ofthe cave, coming out of the
(22:17):
darkness, are these shepherds,and they start to come up and
looking, looking for the placewhere Jesus is.
And as they come near, theyhave to say, Hey, we're actually
sent here to you.
And let us tell you about youmight not what believe what had
just happened to us.
And I imagine that Mary andJoseph were like, Well, try us.
We've had some pretty crazystuff happen recently.
(22:40):
And they're like, Listen, thevery angels appeared to us and
said the Christ child is here.
And so they got to be a part ofthe very first moments of
Jesus' life.
These guys who are outsidefringe, the wild Middle Eastern
cowboys of the plains, they getto come in, and they get to
(23:03):
experience looking upon the veryface of God.
And they get to experience thepresence of God.
They get to experience hispeace.
Because his presence is peace.
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
Friends, as we're talking aboutpeace on earth, it's only found
(23:27):
in the personhood of JesusChrist.
It's not found in any otherreligion.
It's not found in anything youcan try to earn.
You can't buy your way intopeace.
You can't do any of thosethings because even in the
middle of a crowd, you can feelalone.
You can feel that turmoil.
But I'll tell you somethingelse, friends, is that you can
find the very peace of God thattranscends all understanding as
(23:49):
you embrace the presence of Godin your life.
And as you are one who says,Lord, have your way in my life,
that you will experience peacethat transcends and goes above
and beyond anything that wecould clamor or try to earn or
gather to ourselves, becauseit's divine and it comes from
Him.
It doesn't say in Scripturethat we won't have any more
(24:11):
problems.
It actually says the opposite.
It says that you will havedifficulty, you will have trials
and tribulations, but I willnot leave you or forsake you.
And it says, and with me youare more than a conqueror.
So as we walk with him, we livein the very peace of God that
(24:33):
enables us to do abundantly morethan we could ever do on our
own.
Because we walk in the presenceof the Almighty God.
Three takeaways from today.
The first is this as we walk inpeace, we understand that peace
is a process.
That peace is a process.
(24:53):
It says this, for us to a childis born, for us a son is given.
The government shall be uponhis shoulder, his name shall be
called wonderful counselor,mighty God, everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
The process that we're talkingabout is being those who embrace
the Prince of Peace.
(25:13):
Embracing Jesus in our lives,embracing his character,
embracing what it means to be afollower of Jesus.
And not just on a Sunday or ata church gathering together, but
in our private time, in ourquiet time, in our mind when no
one can see what we're thinking,that the Lord would empower us,
(25:34):
that we would be those abouthis business, that as we're
walking in the ways of God, inthe way of peace, that we would
be those that are focused on himto become more like Jesus.
The second takeaway for ustoday, as we walk in peace, is
that we understand that peace isnot only a process, but peace
is progress.
(25:55):
We talk about this in Matthew 59 as Jesus is speaking to the
crowds, the Beatitudes says,Blessed are the pure at heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they shall be called sons of
God.
And so that progress, thatprocess of what we're doing and
becoming those who are pure inheart, and being those who empty
(26:18):
ourselves and say, Lord,forgive me of when I make
mistakes, like the man runningon the ice, that we would no
longer run in place, but insteadwe would step out of that mess
and progress forward in what Godcalls us to do.
That we would be those thataren't repeating the same thing
over and over, but say, Lord,forgive me.
Not just this, but my habitsthat start me on that path.
(26:41):
I'm no longer the things thatare gonna drive me into the ruts
of my life.
I'm gonna go a new way forwardin what you have for me.
And in doing so, we setourselves in alignment with the
peace of God.
And we get to be those that area part of what he's saying on
our behalf, that we get to bethose that the peace is not just
for me, but the peace starts tobe for those around me.
(27:03):
And I'm someone that's willingto forgive, and I'm also someone
that is willing to acceptforgiveness.
That we become those that arepeacemakers.
That we walk in the peace ofGod.
That means a lot because thatmeans that we're not just
fighting for our own face orfighting to be right or fighting
to get ahead, but we are thosethat are fighting for peace.
(27:24):
And it's the peace of God thatlasts, the peace of God that
transcends, the peace of Godthat doesn't leave us.
That we, as we walk into aplace, we understand what it
means because we have the verypresence of God with us.
And that brings us to our thirdtakeaway from today as we walk
in peace, that peace ispersistence.
We talk about give us today ourdaily bread.
(27:47):
What did it talk about in theOld Testament?
Whenever manna was given fromheaven, whenever the children of
Israel were in the desert, itsays that manna was given every
day.
It only lasted for that day.
And then you had to have newbread for a new day.
And that's why we pray thatprayer, give us today our daily
bread.
So we talk about spending timewith God every day, having that
quiet time and prayer and inreflection in the Word of God,
(28:10):
and being those who start ourday or end our day or both in
the Word of God that abide withHim in His presence.
That as we walk in peace, thatthe peace of God walks not just
with us, but those around us,that affects our family because
we are those who are beingintentional to be a peacemaker.
And not just those, but thepeople at our workplace and the
people in our community andthose we bump into, because the
(28:33):
peace of God is upon us.
And so the peace of God flowsthrough us.
That's why, whenever we put onour armor every day, when we
start putting on the armor ofGod, that's when we're being
intentional, that's when we'rebeing persistent.
It talks about this, and itsays it in Scripture in
Ephesians 6 (28:51):
therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to withstand theevil day, and having done all to
stand firm.
Stand therefore, havingfastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the bloodbreastplate of righteousness,
and as shoes for your feethaving been put on the readiness
given by the gospel of peace.
(29:13):
Some translations say that theywould be shod with the
preparation of the gospel ofpeace.
Friends, that as we walksomewhere, our feet are prepared
because our feet are on solidground, because our feet are in
the peace of God.
And so, just like thoseshepherds that encounter the
angels, we're not running awayfrom the evil one.
(29:36):
And why is that?
Because the person, the Princeof Peace, he's the one that
later took on all of death andhell and the grave.
He overcame all of it.
He has his foot on the devil'sneck, and he is not going to be
victorious over me, over myfamily, over you, over your
family, over this community,over this church, because Jesus
(29:56):
is glorified.
And so we can be those thathave feet of peace.
And as we walk and as we gowherever we are, the presence of
God is lighting the path, as itsays in Scripture.
The presence, the peace of Godis upon us, and that it affects
those around us because it's notour doing, it's his doing
(30:22):
through us.
Because as we walk, maybe likeMary and Joseph, as they went on
their journey, having to trustGod in the process of going on
that journey after God.
Maybe it's the mountain thatyou're ascending, whatever it
is, when you ask that question,are you walking in peace?
You have to understand hispresence is peace.
(30:45):
Say it with me.
His presence is peace.
Today, friends, we talk abouthow peace on earth has come to
us.
That we would embrace the verypeace that we're looking for.
That we embrace it because heis the answer.
And the story of Christmas istying that narrative back to us
(31:06):
and how we get to be those thatare recipients of the Almighty.
Today we come back to thatquestion: Are you walking in
peace?
Understanding that his presenceis peace.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made a decision to follow
Jesus.
Today is your opportunity to doso.
Each one of us has to answerthat question of have you
(31:28):
embraced Jesus?
See, for us, that's what makesus a Christ follower, but makes
us a Christian as we've said yesto Jesus.
That we hear this story of himcoming to earth and abandoning
all of heaven and glory,becoming the very way for us to
have the sacrifice of God, theholy sacrifice that we can never
be.
See, Jesus, he comes and livesa sinless life, so he could be
(31:52):
that holy sacrifice.
So he could take on the wrathof the Father against sin, and
he could take it on himself, andhe would take on all of our sin
and all of our mistakes.
He would take on ourbrokenness.
He would do all of that becausehe loves us so much.
So that we could be made inright standing, so we could be
(32:14):
brought and back intorelationship with the Father.
And so Jesus, he takes all ofthe weight of our sin upon
himself, and in doing so, hetakes it to the cross.
And so he dies upon the cross,not for anything he had done,
but for what I have done.
For what you've done.
What all of us have done.
(32:34):
And he becomes the sin for allof us, so that we don't have to
try to be separated from God foreternity.
And he makes that sacrifice forus and wipes away our sin
because our sin is now dead.
But he didn't stay dead, but heis alive.
And because he is alive, we canhave an active relationship
(32:55):
with the living God.
And so when we look upon thiscross, we look upon a symbol not
of torture and not of pain andagony, though Jesus did all
those things for us, we now seeit as freedom.
We now see it as forgiveness.
We now see it as hope.
Because all those things arewhat we've experienced instead.
(33:17):
We couldn't earn our way in, wecan't buy our way into
righteousness.
It's not possible.
But he says, Come to me andaccept my work for your life
upon the cross.
Accept that.
And we'd be making rightstanding with the living God.
And so we come to Jesus saying,Jesus, I believe you are who
(33:37):
you say you are.
Lord, forgive me of my sin.
I want to make you the Lord ofmy life.
Not just mental attributes, butto live for you, to walk in
communication and live this lifeof a Christ follower.
Apostle Paul, he writes to thechurch at Rome, he says it like
this.
Because if you confess withyour mouth that Jesus is Lord,
(34:01):
and believe in your heart thatGod raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, with the
mouth one confesses and issaved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to sayyes to Jesus.
Divide him into your heart andlife to start a new life with
(34:24):
God.
Maybe you're here, you've nevermade that decision before.
Today is your opportunity to doso, to say yes to him.
Or maybe you have made thatdecision in the past, but then
you've walked away from activelyliving it.
Let me challenge you today thatyou would recommit your heart
and life to Christ, that youwouldn't stay separate from him,
but that you would be connectedwith him, that you would
(34:48):
experience the very peace thatyou're looking for.
I'm gonna ask if you're here inthe room, that you would stand
to your feet, bow your heads asChristians are praying and
people are making decisions.
Wherever you are online, youtake a moment to embrace what
God wants to do in and throughyour life today.
We've already had people makingdecisions to follow Jesus.
(35:09):
I've been praying that todayyou as well would make that same
decision to place your faithand trust in Jesus Christ.
As heads are bowed here in theroom, if that's you, you want to
make a decision to follow Jesustoday, say, Pastor, I want to
be included in that prayer.
If you just want to raise yourhand right where you're at, just
to indicate to me that you wantto be one of those people that
(35:30):
ask Christ into your heart andlife today.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, for thosemaking decisions today.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you, God.
Thank you, Lord.
Friends, we see the hands thatare up, friends as well online,
wherever you are, we see yourdecision as well.
Thank you, Jesus.
I'm gonna ask if everyone wouldpray this prayer out loud after
me.
Lord, thank you for loving me.
(35:53):
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you.
(36:14):
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Friends, we rejoice with you,make a decision to follow Jesus
today.
Praise the Lord.
Those that raise their handstoday, praise God.
Hey, that was you.
Take a moment, take a snap ofthis QR code.
It's on our side screens hereif you're online.
Take a snap of that QR code andfollow that.
(36:34):
We want to put resources intoyour hands so that you can live
this life victoriously afterGod.
Today we have this opportunity,and I would challenge every
person that's here, both hereand in the balcony, that you
would come and make an altarwith God, that you would draw
near to God, and you would askfor more of his presence for a
new outpouring of Holy Spirit inyour life, because his presence
(36:58):
is peace.
And we need more of hispresence in our life for what
we're going through for the day,what we're going through in our
own lives, in our own hearts,in our own minds, what we're
going through with our familythat's around us, what we're
going through with our work,what we're going through with
our school, with our friendgroup, whatever is going on.
I want to challenge you to getout of your seat.
Come and make an altar withGod.
(37:18):
Come and pray for more of hispresence, for more of the peace
of God to flow in your life andthrough your life.
Lord, we come to you justthanking you so much for your
scripture today.
Lord, thanking you for speakingto us and giving us such great
examples, Lord, of beingobedient to you, Lord and Mary
and Joseph, Lord, even in yourangels, Lord, even in those
shepherds that responded andthen did something about it.
(37:41):
Lord, thank you for that.
Lord, we thank you for yourpresence and Holy Spirit.
We thank you for pouringyourself out upon us.
Lord, that we get to experiencethe peace of God, which is the
very thing that so many peopleare chasing after, that we get
to experience it here today.
Lord, as we come to your altar,as we come to make a place with
you, we ask for an impartation,a pouring out, Lord, a fresh
(38:04):
wave of anointing of yourpresence.
Because, Lord, we want to walkin the peace of God.
We pray all this in thepowerful name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Two things we need somehousekeeping things with, and I
want to ask your help in advanceis that we have an event
happening this week.
And so if you would help us,those that are willing, we need
to take all the chairs out ofthis middle section, in these
(38:24):
three middle sections, and placethem on this wall.
If you could help us with that,we'd appreciate it.
The second one, it's a littlebit on my heart.
It's at our brother Josh.
It's his last Sundays.
He's moving out of town.
So those who are here deal withhim, we're gonna pray for him
right after this service andjust let him know how much we
appreciate him and how much he'sbeen a part of our family of
faith here and send him out witha blessing today.
Celeste Brown (38:44):
Um, we are gonna be decorating ornaments as you
head out.
So if you have kids, go andgrab them.
There's tables set up outthere, and um, it's just gonna
be a great time to.
There's gonna be some Polaroidcameras out there.
You can take a photo togetherand then put it in the ornament
and um take it and hang it onyour tree today.
Jason Brown (38:59):
Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over
us.
The Lord bless you and keepyou.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
(39:23):
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
Pray all this in the powerfulname that is Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
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