Second Sunday of Advent: PEACE | Pastor Bob Webster
Second Sunday of Advent: PEACE | Special Guest Speaker: Pastor Bob Webster
Sunday, December 4th, 2022 - Bethel Pentecostal Church, Barrhead, Alberta, Canada
How can we stay Peaceful in these times?
1- Let us pursue the things that lead to PEACE - Seek and ye shall find.
- Set your mind and thoughts on good things (stay away from the news and social media- designed to elevate fear and anxiety!)
What do we get anxious about?
- All the things we can't control!
What shouldn't we get anxious about??
- All the things we can't control!!
- Because there's nothing we can do about it!
Remember, God is in control and He has good plans for your life - you can trust Him - He loves you and promises to work all things together for good!
Sow PEACE ---> Do Good for others!
2- Root out the things that destroy Peace -
- the chaos on the inside
- confront it with the Holy Spirit (anger, rage, jealousy etc...)
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
*God is not dead - He does not sleep! The right will prevail in the end!
Communion:
- Christianity is about a Promise!
- It's about a Saviour who died to bring PEACE on Earth, Good will to men!
- Jesus ---> Free Gift of Salvation - Eternity in Heaven with our Saviour!
"Beneath the Cross of Jesus"
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock
Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
And the burden of the day.
O safe and happy shelter!
O refuge tried and sweet!
O trysting place where heaven's love
And heaven's justice meet!
As to the holy patriarch
That wondrous dream was given,
So seems my Saviour's cross to me
A ladder up to heaven.
There lies, beneath its shadow,
But on the farther side,
The darkness of an awful grave
That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross,
Two arms outstretched to save;
Like a watchman set to guard the way
From that eternal grave.
Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
Two wonders I confess-
The wonders of His glorious love,
And my own worthlessness.
I take, O cross, thy shadow,
For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain nor loss-
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross. ......
WE should all think about the cross until it breaks our hearts... the wonder of redeeming love... thank you, Jesus!