Sermon Archive

Growing in the peace Christ brings

The familiar old translation from Luke’s Christmas story, “Peace on earth, goodwill too men,” misses the point. “On earth peace to those on whom his favor rests,” is better. Peace to those whom God blesses, and God blesses us through Jesus Christ. For six weeks we look at some of the dimensions of the peace of Christ.

This summer, we learned about wisdom from Proverbs, and in 1 Corinthians wecontinue on that theme, but from a new perspective. The gospel turns the world’s wisdom on its ear. “The message of the cross,” wrote Paul, “is foolishness to those who are perishing.” And later he says, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom…” Our common bond in the church is this “foolishness of God”—the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Our church is constantly changing. There are always new people becoming part of our congregation. These sermons and the worship services that enfold them will remind us of the gospel center that binds us together as believers, and of how crucial it is for us to love and serve one another.