The con\u00adcept of peace stron\u00adgly cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adri\u00adses the Advent and Christ\u00admas sea\u00adson. But what do we mean by peace? A gui\u00adde to Jesus Christ, the brin\u00adger of peace, for a peaceful start to the new year.<\/p>\n
\tTry to descri\u00adbe the peace of God as well as possible? The con\u00adcept of peace stron\u00adgly cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adri\u00adses the Advent and Christ\u00admas sea\u00adson. But what do we mean by peace? A gui\u00adde to Jesus Christ, the brin\u00adger of peace, for a peaceful start to the new year I am dedi\u00adca\u00adting this ser\u00admon for the 2nd Advent to a tru\u00adly Christ\u00admas\u00adsy con\u00adcept! It is not cal\u00adled a gift, nor a cand\u00adle, nor a fon\u00addue chi\u00adnoi\u00adse, but sim\u00adply peace! That was a\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[35],"wpfc_sermon_series":[72],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_preacher-bernhard-hohl","wpfc_sermon_series-metamorphose","wpfc-sermon-single","post-3780","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nI dedi\u00adca\u00adte this ser\u00admon for the 2nd Advent to a tru\u00adly Christ\u00admas\u00adsy con\u00adcept! It is not cal\u00adled a gift; nor is it cal\u00adled a cand\u00adle or fon\u00addue chi\u00adnoi\u00adse, but sim\u00adply peace! It was a night when an angel announ\u00adced the birth of the Saviour to the she\u00adp\u00adherds in the field. Sud\u00adden\u00adly the night was as bright as day and they were sur\u00adroun\u00added by the hea\u00adven\u00adly hosts who prai\u00adsed God and said:
\n\u00abGlo\u00adry to God in the hig\u00adhest hea\u00adven and peace on earth to all peo\u00adp\u00adle in whom God is well plea\u00adsed\u00bb (Luke 2:14 NLB<\/span>). What a mes\u00adsa\u00adge: God is still plea\u00adsed with his peo\u00adp\u00adle. He is not giving up on them yet! Peace from God, sal\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon, has come to earth to us humans!
\nThe pro\u00adphet Isai\u00adah spo\u00adke about this brin\u00adger of peace on behalf of God more than 700 years befo\u00adre the event: \u00abFor the peo\u00adp\u00adle who live in dark\u00adness see a bright light. And over the peo\u00adp\u00adle in a land overs\u00adha\u00addowed by death shi\u00adnes a bright light. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. On his should\u00aders rests domi\u00adni\u00adon. He is cal\u00adled: Won\u00adderful Coun\u00adsell\u00ador, Strong God, Ever\u00adlas\u00adting Father, Prin\u00adce of Peace. His domi\u00adni\u00adon is gre\u00adat, and peace in his king\u00addom will be end\u00adless\u00bb (Isai\u00adah 9:1, 5\u20136a NLB<\/span>).
\nIt was a dark time back then, when Isai\u00adah was still a pro\u00adphet. The two king\u00addoms of Judah and Isra\u00adel were brea\u00adking apart. The peo\u00adp\u00adle were taken into exi\u00adle. At the time of Jesus\u00bb birth, it was just as dark in this world. Jesus was not born into a land of milk and honey, on the con\u00adtra\u00adry. Com\u00adple\u00adte cha\u00ados among the rulers, ego\u00adi\u00adstic kings, bru\u00adtal rulers with much blood on their hands. And is it not just as dark in this world today? Whe\u00adre is the\u00adre still a coun\u00adtry in this world that is not overs\u00adha\u00addowed by death, Coro\u00adna deaths (world\u00adwi\u00adde the\u00adre are well over 5 mil\u00adli\u00adon regis\u00adtered Covid deaths); refu\u00adgees who drown on the flight across the sea up to the many war deaths?
\n\u00abFor the peo\u00adp\u00adle who live in dark\u00adness see a bright light\u2026\u00bb We may know the brin\u00adger of peace, Jesus \u2013 the light of the world! Peace from God invol\u00adves first of all recon\u00adci\u00adlia\u00adti\u00adon with God. Jesus Christ ope\u00adned the door back to God for us human beings through his death on the cross. Through his grace and mer\u00adcy our lives can be made who\u00adle! This is a very spe\u00adcial gift from God that he still offers us humans today! Wit\u00adhout this peace from God, man is wit\u00adhout peace. In this regard, the pro\u00adphet Isai\u00adah does not min\u00adce his words: \u00abBut the wicked, says the LORD<\/span>, have no peace\u00bb (Isai\u00adah 48:22 LUT<\/span>).
\nIn the secu\u00adlar sphe\u00adre, the word peace is known almost exclu\u00adsi\u00adve\u00adly for the sett\u00adling of a dis\u00adpu\u00adte. One hangs up the hat\u00adchet for a short or lon\u00adger time. The\u00adre are a bunch of com\u00adpound words with peace! Peace agree\u00adment, peace efforts, peace move\u00adment, Nobel Peace Pri\u00adze, breach of the peace, peace rese\u00adarch, peace talk, peace con\u00adfe\u00adrence, peace plan, peace judge, pea\u00adce\u00adma\u00adker, peace dove, peace troop, peace nego\u00adtia\u00adti\u00adons, all the way to the peace pipe that is smo\u00adked! Unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, all the\u00adse efforts are often not crow\u00adned with success.
\neir\u00e8\u00adne the Greek term for peace in the New Tes\u00adta\u00adment bor\u00adrows hea\u00advi\u00adly from the Hebrew term shalom in the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment. shalom has a stron\u00adger mate\u00adri\u00adal mea\u00adning, while peace in the New Tes\u00adta\u00adment is stron\u00adgly spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal and ori\u00aden\u00adted towards what Jesus Christ has done and con\u00adti\u00adnues to do for us humans. The peace of God has a deep\u00adly exis\u00adten\u00adti\u00adal mea\u00adning. It is a spe\u00adcial gift of God and a fruit of the Holy Spi\u00adrit who dwells in belie\u00advers. It gives sere\u00adni\u00adty, secu\u00adri\u00adty and pro\u00adtec\u00adtion. Peace means that which sus\u00adta\u00adins us in moments of dark\u00adness, when the path leads through a dark val\u00adley or even: When sud\u00adden\u00adly the shadow of death falls on us. The peace of God is like a pro\u00adtec\u00adti\u00adve cloak from ano\u00adther world. A super\u00adna\u00adtu\u00adral sup\u00adport when the waves rise high. I can be calm becau\u00adse God is clo\u00adse to me.
\nIn our ser\u00advices we pray again and again for our per\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adted brot\u00adhers and sis\u00adters. When we read reports about what they have to go through and suf\u00adfer, it is almost unbe\u00adara\u00adble. Ter\u00adri\u00adble con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adons in pri\u00adsons. Forced labour to the point of no return\u2026 hun\u00adger, cold, tor\u00adtu\u00adre. How do our brot\u00adhers and sis\u00adters in faith mana\u00adge to hold on to God under such cir\u00adcum\u00ads\u00adtances, not to throw their faith over\u00adboard? I have only one expl\u00adana\u00adti\u00adon: becau\u00adse they expe\u00adri\u00adence the peace that God gives them as Paul wri\u00adtes in Phil\u00adip\u00adpians: \u00abYou will expe\u00adri\u00adence God\u2019s peace, which is grea\u00adter than our human mind can ever com\u00adpre\u00adhend. His peace will keep your hearts and minds in faith in Jesus Christ\u00bb (Phil\u00adip\u00adpians 4:7 NLB<\/span>). God\u2019s peace is so gre\u00adat that it sur\u00adpas\u00adses our human understanding.
\nI won\u00adder what the good Lord thinks when he looks down on us humans at pre\u00adsent. Omi\u00adkron \u2013 again a new virus vari\u00adant is spre\u00ada\u00adding! What kind of mea\u00adsu\u00adres will be pre\u00adscri\u00adbed? Are you also glad that you are not a Fede\u00adral Coun\u00adcil\u00adlor?! At the moment it is again very important that we pray a lot and talk to God (Aben\u00adt\u00fc\u00fcr Geb\u00e4t on Tues\u00adday). What do you think, dear God, about all the things that are not going well in this world? What do you have in mind for us people?
\nI don\u2019t know whe\u00adther the pro\u00adphet Jere\u00admi\u00adah once asked like that. In any case, he once recei\u00adved a remar\u00adkab\u00adle ans\u00adwer from God. \u00abFor I know the thoughts that I have toward you, saith the LORD<\/span>; thoughts of peace, and not of grief; that I may give you a future and a hope\u00bb (Jere\u00admi\u00adah 29:11 LUT<\/span>). The ans\u00adwer from God was a lift then and is still a ray of hope for our dark\u00adness today! God lets us look into his heart and reve\u00adals his thoughts. Are we not pri\u00advi\u00adle\u00adged to live with such pro\u00admi\u00adses? No mat\u00adter how dark it still gets in this world, we have a bril\u00adli\u00adant hope! We have a future!
\nIt hap\u00adpen\u00aded on Mon\u00adday 15 Novem\u00adber. Back from a tre\u00adat\u00adment in the can\u00adto\u00adnal hos\u00adpi\u00adtal in Aar\u00adau, I said to Ros\u00adma\u00adrie: \u00abYou, I feel sick!\u00bb I had aching lim\u00adbs, a rai\u00adsed tem\u00adpe\u00adra\u00adtu\u00adre and was dog-tired! My first thought was imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly: Covid! Quick test at home: nega\u00adti\u00adve! After all, we are vac\u00adci\u00adna\u00adted. The test docu\u00adments said that if the result was nega\u00adti\u00adve and the sym\u00adptoms were still the\u00adre, we should go to the fami\u00adly doc\u00adtor and have a PCR<\/span> test done. No soo\u00adner said than done. On Tues\u00adday evening I got the result from the fami\u00adly doc\u00adtor: Posi\u00adti\u00adve! I don\u2019t belie\u00adve it! That meant 10 days of house arrest! We live in a nice flat, but if you are not allo\u00adwed to lea\u00adve it for 10 days, it loses a cer\u00adtain charm! Sin\u00adce 24 Novem\u00adber at 23.59 I am a free man again! The ser\u00admon topic was alre\u00ada\u00addy fixed at that time. I had the impres\u00adsi\u00adon that God was test\u00ading me right away to see if it would work with his peace! Who does not expe\u00adri\u00adence such moments: Ros\u00adma\u00adrie remain\u00aded healt\u00adhy all the time, but then the oph\u00adthal\u00admo\u00adlo\u00adgist told her that she had to have cata\u00adract sur\u00adgery on her eyes.
\nSud\u00adden\u00adly you lose a loved one; or you are lying in a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal bed out\u00adside the ope\u00adra\u00adting theat\u00adre. You mess up an exam. You have a finan\u00adcial shorta\u00adge. An unex\u00adpec\u00adted dis\u00admis\u00adsal. We are all chal\u00adlen\u00adged with tur\u00adbu\u00adlent times from time to time.
\nBut the brin\u00adger of peace is here! God\u2019s peace fills his child\u00adren and crea\u00adtes sere\u00adni\u00adty and con\u00adfi\u00addence in our hearts! Who then is to radia\u00adte sere\u00adni\u00adty and con\u00adfi\u00addence if not us?
\nRecent\u00adly someone in the house group told us the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing remar\u00adkab\u00adle tes\u00adtim\u00ado\u00adny. A com\u00adpa\u00adny mana\u00adger noti\u00adced that when\u00adever a cus\u00adto\u00admer is the\u00adre, he radia\u00adtes con\u00adtent\u00adment and calm\u00adness. One day the com\u00adpa\u00adny mana\u00adger approa\u00adches him: \u00abThey are always so balan\u00adced and con\u00adtent when they meet us and radia\u00adte joy and vigour! Whe\u00adre does this posi\u00adti\u00adve atti\u00adtu\u00adde come from? How do you do it?\u00bb The client\u2019s ans\u00adwer was, \u00abI thank God every mor\u00adning for the new day; I thank Him that I could get up healt\u00adhy and that He accom\u00adpa\u00adnies me through this day.\u00bb The boss of the com\u00adpa\u00adny looks at him big and then says: \u00abI\u2019ll try that out now and do it like you do!\u00bb
\nIsn\u2019t that what we all want: to be impres\u00adsi\u00adve examp\u00adles that make peo\u00adp\u00adle want to imi\u00adta\u00adte us! We are the\u00adse examp\u00adles becau\u00adse Jesus lives in us and we are instru\u00adments in the hand of our Mas\u00adter Jesus Christ!
\nNow that Fran\u00adcis of Assi\u00adsi has dril\u00adled his pray\u00ader into us for a year, God has a peace tool\u00adbox in the see\u00adtal chi\u00adle that is some\u00adthing to behold! You make God\u2019s love come ali\u00adve whe\u00adre\u00adver and when\u00adever spi\u00adteful\u00adness spreads. You gene\u00adrous\u00adly for\u00adgi\u00adve all tho\u00adse who offend you, wit\u00adhout put\u00adting them down first! With all your strength you avo\u00adid get\u00adting invol\u00adved in a quar\u00adrel, but try to unite! When someone is strugg\u00adling with doubts, you fight with them for a strong faith. You do not search fran\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly for who or what could com\u00adfort you, but rather ask yours\u00adelf who might app\u00adre\u00adcia\u00adte your com\u00adfort right now!
\nHave you some\u00adti\u00admes felt cram\u00adped with this pray\u00ader? \u00abI can\u2019t do it, I just can\u2019t do it, I\u2019m over\u00adwhel\u00admed!\u00bb Won\u00adderful, that is good! We must not for\u00adget the first sen\u00adtence of the pray\u00ader: Make me an instru\u00adment of your peace! A tool is never inde\u00adpen\u00addent, or has a screw\u00addri\u00adver at home alre\u00ada\u00addy beco\u00adme acti\u00adve com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly inde\u00adpendent\u00adly? The God of peace takes you in his hand and makes you his tool! When Jesus spo\u00adke to his disci\u00adples about his going back to the Father, he com\u00adfor\u00adted them with the words: \u00abI lea\u00adve you a gift \u2013 my peace. And the peace I give is not like the peace the world gives. The\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre do not worry and do not be afraid\u00bb (John 14:27 NLB<\/span>).
\nThis gift of Jesus dwel\u00adling in us, if we are God\u2019s child\u00adren, is the big\u00adgest and best Christ\u00admas gift we can ima\u00adgi\u00adne, even in view of a total\u00adly unknown year ahead.
\nAmen
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\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead tog\u00ade\u00adther about Jesus\u00bb ser\u00admon in Nazareth
\nLuke 4:16\u201330<\/p>\n
\n\tJohn 14:27 men\u00adti\u00adons the peace that the world gives? Descri\u00adbe it too. Also read Jere\u00admi\u00adah 12:1.
\n\tHow have you expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced God\u2019s peace in dif\u00adfi\u00adcult or dark situa\u00adtions? Tell each other.
\n\tJesus is the brin\u00adger of peace. Is Matthew 10:34 a con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adtion? Look for an explanation.
\n\tHave any of you expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced this year how Jesus has made you an instru\u00adment of his peace.
\n\tHow does the peace of God remain acti\u00adve in you and not grow mould?
\n\tWhat would you miss if God\u2019s peace were unknown to you?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"