War And Peace Series

Opening Video: Memorial Day

Memorial Day – A day to remember those who gave their lives for the cause of peace in a time of war.

Series: Find Joy in the Journey

Scripture Text: Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Introduction;

Quote from Chuck Swindoll’s book “Laugh Again”: “I know of no greater need today than the need for joy. Unexplainable, contagious joy. Outrageous joy. When that kind of joy comes aboard our ship of life, it brings good things with it-like enthusiasm for life, determination to hang in there, and a strong desire to be of encouragement to others. Such qualities make our voyage bearable when we hit the open seas and encounter high waves of hardship that tend to demoralize and paralyze. There is nothing better than a joyful attitude when we face the challenges life throws at us” (Swindoll, page 19).

Studying about joy in Scripture, looking at verses which speak of joy, helps build an understanding of how to put ourselves in places where it is possible to find and maintain an attitude of joy in our journey of life. This has been our quest for this year!

Sermon; Finding joy in the journey through war and peace!

Thesis: Joy can be discovered and embraced through times or war and peace. We just have to seek the one who brings perfect peace even in the midst of war.

Introduction:

The Personnel Journal reported this incredible statistic: since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than eight percent of the time! In its study, the periodical discovered that of 3530 years of recorded history, only 286 years saw peace. Moreover, in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made--and broken.

Moody Bible Institute, Today In The Word, June, 1988, p.33.

Society of International Law, in London, states the same statistic that during the last 4,000 years there have been only 268 years of peace in spite of good peace treaties. In the last 3 centuries there have been 286 wars on the continent of Europe alone.

J.K. Laney, Marching Orders, p 50.

Ronald Reagan stated, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”

My title today comes from the famous book “War and Peace” written by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. It is regarded as a central work of world literature and one of Tolstoy's finest literary achievements.

The novel chronicles the history of the French invasion of Russia and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society through the stories of five Russian aristocratic families. The novel was first published in its entirety in 1869.

Tolstoy said War and Peace is "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle." Large sections, especially the later chapters, are a philosophical discussion rather than narrative. Tolstoy also said that the best Russian literature does not conform to standards and hence hesitated to call War and Peace a novel. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "It can be argued that no single English novel attains the universality of the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace".

Quotes from War and Peace:

“Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women.” ...

“We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.”

“Everything depends on upbringing. ”

“A battle is won by him who is firmly resolved to win it.”

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.”

“You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.”

“Man cannot possess anything as long as he fears death. But to him who does not fear it, everything belongs. If there was no suffering, man would not know his limits, would not know himself. ”

“It's all God's will: you can die in your sleep, and God can spare you in battle.”

“They say: sufferings are misfortunes," said Pierre. 'But if at once this minute, I was asked, would I remain what I was before I was taken prisoner, or go through it all again, I should say, for God's sake let me rather be a prisoner and eat horseflesh again. We imagine that as soon as we are torn out of our habitual path all is over, but it is only the beginning of something new and good. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a great deal, a great deal before us.”

“Life is everything. Life is God. Everything shifts and moves, and this movement is God. And while there is life, there is delight in the self-awareness of the divinity. To love life is to love God. The hardest and most blissful thing is to love this life in one's suffering, in the guiltlessness of suffering.”