In the name of Christ Jesus, dear Christian friends,

Did you happen to see that fight at the Pistons game? It was almost hard to miss it. For days, some television stations showed it over and over again. Most people were shocked that a player would leave the court, and go up into the stands looking to punch a spectator. Apparently, he punched the wrong person. Pretty soon, it was an ugly brawl. The NBA suspended some players, one for the whole season. Some wondered what was going on. Then, there was a college football game with a brawl. So some said it was just all those spoiled athletes. While many athletes are very spoiled, they are not the only ones guilty of fighting.

It’s been about a month since the election. That became pretty ugly too. Even people who like history and politics became sick of all the fighting. And of course, there is a war in Iraq. There are terrorists who want to kill us. And we could go on and on. And as we think about all the fighting and warfare, we might begin to think that we don’t have peace. But we do.

But, first we must admit that it isn’t just people out there who are having problems with fighting.

We have problems: We don’t live at peace either. We don’t live at peace with others. There are quarrels and fights within homes. Family members don’t get along with each other. People who seem to be calm church members go home and bicker and argue and fight with family members. Are you like that? Look at your own home, your own family, your own life. Do you always get along with your family members? Not everybody likes their neighbors and co-workers. Do you? Do you get along with everybody? Even if you did, you would have people problems. Jesus was perfect, but he was constantly persecuted by unbelievers and hypocrites. We lack peace with others.

We lack peace with God too. Sometimes, we complain. We complain about the weather. We complain about our creaky joints. We complain about our job. We complain about how much we have to do. But think about this: what are we saying when we complain? When the Israelites complained about their food, God corrected them sharply. They were complaining about him! Do you ever complain about God, perhaps not even realizing it? We complain when we have problems, but I have some news for you. We have one really big problem. And because of that one problem, we have no right to complain.

Our real PROBLEM is this: We are sinners who deserve God’s punishment. We do not deserve better things. We do not deserve to have good things from God. We deserve to perish eternally in hell! In adult Bible Class, we studied what it’s like in hell. That’s what we deserve from God! That’s what we have earned! In the Bible, God has said, “There is no peace for the wicked.” God is at war with the wicked.

Now, these words are talking about unbelievers, but we can see from these words what we deserve from God all by ourselves. By our works and actions, we do not deserve to live at peace with God! We deserve his wrath and punishment. So, repent of your sins! True repentance includes sorrowing over sin. It’s not enough to just say, “Sorry, God” and think that ends it. No, true repentance includes the idea that we should rightly be afraid of facing God apart from Jesus. If it were not for Jesus, we could say, “I’m sorry” a million times with tears in our eyes and it would not pay for one sin. We could make all the promises in the world, promises to serve God or give money to church, and still, it would not pay for one single sin. And we have millions of sins! This is a big problem. It is our real problem. We have all of these sins. We deserve God’s punishment. And there is nothing that we can do about it! We cannot pay for one single sin – no matter what we do or say. Nothing we do is good enough! But, there is a solution. It is...

God’s SOLUTION: Jesus came to bring peace with God for us. Right after that first fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, God promised a Savior from sin. He promised a Savior who would defeat the devil and bring us back to God. This Savior would bring peace with God for sinners. God continued to repeat and clarify that promise of a Savior all through the Old Testament Scriptures. We have one of those prophecies before us today. Seven hundred years before that first Christmas, the prophet Isaiah was inspired to write about the coming Savior. (Isaiah 9:6) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Savior would have many names, but just for today, focus on the last one. He would be called the Prince of Peace. God’s Son would be born of virgin to bring peace with God.

Those famous words “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” are often misunderstood. Jesus said that he did not come bringing peace between nations. He came to bring peace with God. He had to live a perfect life and die on the cross to pay for all of our sins. He did this, and satisfied God’s just demands. He received our sins, and our punishment. He paid our debt in full and took our sins away. So, he rose from death, because he had won peace with God for all. But, only believers receive that peace. Only believers benefit from that peace with God. Whoever believes in Jesus has peace with God right now, and for all eternity. Romans 5:1 puts it this way, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It says that we believers have “peace with God.” And that means something! It means that we are going to heaven, by faith in Jesus. And, it means that...

We have solutions from God for our problems... We don’t have to wonder about what God thinks of us. Jesus removed our sin. His righteousness covers us. We are saints in God’s sight, thanks to Jesus! And since we are at peace with God, he hears and answers our prayers. And since we are at peace with God, we can have a peaceful conscience. We don’t have to walk around feeling guilty all the time. Don’t let anyone lay a guilt trip on you anymore! We are forgiven through Christ! Our record is clean!

Now that Jesus has given us peace with God, we want to live at peace with God. We want to live in harmony with God’s will. We want to follow our Good Shepherd. We want to hear his Word. We want to do his will. We believers want to fear, love and trust in God above all things! We want to keep him first in our hearts. We want to praise and thank our Savior. We want to gladly hear and learn his Word.

Knowing that we are at peace with God makes us want to live at peace with others too. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.” We want to live in harmony with one another. We want to keep peace in our homes, schools and places of work. We want to live at peace with our neighbors. Romans 12:18 puts it this way, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Sometimes, it is not possible to live at peace. Terrorists will hate us. Persecutors will attack us. False teachers will afflict us. These are crosses we must bear. One day, Jesus will deliver us from every evil attack and bring us safely to his heavenly kingdom. But, what if someone doesn’t like you because you are guilty of hurtful words or harmful actions? In that case, repent! Confess your sin to God and to that person. Then, hear the Word of the Lord: You are forgiven through Christ. Depart in peace. When we say, “Depart in peace,” that means, “at peace with God.” It is good to know that we are at peace with God through the Prince of Peace. It means that God is no longer angry with us. It means that we will go to heaven.

That makes us want to try all the more to live at peace with everyone. Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Live in harmony with your family, with your neighbors, with your fellow members at church, with your co-workers, and with other drivers on the road. We want to live at peace with God and others, because we have peace with God through Jesus. Amen.