All I Want for Christmas is PEACE
Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
11-30-2025
No Peace
I met her as I had met many addicts before - at the doors of the psychiatric hospital I worked at after seminary. Her drug of choice - crack cocaine. Her husband had brought her in and was desperate to get her help.
It was two days before Christmas.
I did an assessment and determined that she needed to be hospitalized immediately, to which she reluctantly agreed.
When I went back to the unit to check on her a couple of days later, one of the nurses said that she had checked herself out AMA (Against medical advice) and left.
Honestly, I shrugged. It wasn’t the first time that had happened and wouldn’t be the last.
I thought of her on Christmas Eve. We had gone to Memphis and it had actually snowed a little. Joshua was a baby and was sleeping soundly. The lights of the tree illuminated Maxine face and everything seemed peaceful. We would celebrate the hope of Christmas the next morning.
But, as I learned later, that night was not filled with peace for Lisa She was craving peace. Is it possible that she had her radio on as she drove around looking for a dealer? Could she have heard Joy to the World?
She handed the dealer money and then extended her shaking hand to receive what she thought would give her peace. But this time, he didn’t give it to her and told her to get lost.
She argued. He pulled and gun a fired. She stumbled back to her car and got half way down the street before crashing into a pole. That night, in the season of peace, she died without peace for this life or the next.
I think about Lisa every year at this time. She had lost hope. Hope of ever being free of the addiction. Hope of ever dealing with sadness in a way that would have brought her heart healing. She was searching for peace in a place that promised false peace for a price.
Our World
There are so many people in our world today that are searching for peace. Their hearts are restless, souls are empty, and their lives are frantic.
In the midst of a culture torn apart by political divisions and fear of the future, is there any hope of peace?
It just seems hard to find peace in our world.
That’s one of the reasons that people like Lisa look to drugs or alcohol or sex or food or relationships for peace.
As of this morning, there were 28 different wars going on right now in our world, according to the global conflict tracker website.
There’s a lot of people in our society trying to sell us peace. I found a website called “Tiny Buddha” that will give you 8 steps toward inner peace. And if you type in the phrase “world peace” in the Amazon book section, over 50,000 titles come up!
This morning, we are going to find that you can have peace but it is not found in a plan or program but a Person - Jesus!
Turn with me to Luke 2.
Prayer
Their World
Mary and Joseph’s world had been turned upside down by angel announcements and a miracle pregnancy. They had traveled a long way to come to Bethlehem for the census. They are tired, Mary’s back is killing her, and there is no place to stay for the night.
They live in a culture waiting for peace. The Romans had given the world peace from war (Pax Romana) but even the Romans knew that wasn’t real peace.
Epictetus, a first century pagan writer, expressed this:
“While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns for more than even outward peace.”
This is the world that Mary and Joseph live in.
They settled down in basically a cave and the animals starred as Mary went through childbirth.
There were shepherds nearby and suddenly an angel appeared:
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-12)
The term good news is where we get our word “Gospel.”
The angel heralded a:
Savior - remember what Jesus means, “God saves.” He will save us from our sins.
Christ - the anointed one or Messiah in Hebrew
Lord - Adonai refers to Master or Owner. It refers to our total submission to Him.
They had been waiting so long, 400 hundred years, for a revelation.
Then the sky exploded in light and a host of angels appeared and proclaimed:
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:13)
With the sky reverberating with praise, the shepherds left their sheep and started the journey to Bethlehem to see this King for themselves.
Charles Spurgeon called this the “first Christmas Carol.”
Notice the angels started with worship - Glory to God in the highest! In Latin - Gloria in excelsis Deo!
They shout glory to the most high God for this amazing way that He was going to save humans.
Can you imagine how deafening this must have been? Was this million part harmony?
But it is the second part of their message that I want us to look at today.
“…and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”
The Greek literally says, “Peace among men who are recipients of God’s good pleasure.”
The word “peace” appears over 400 times in the Bible but the Hebrew word that we are most familiar with is Shalom. Shalom is a desire to see wholeness and harmony in all of our relationships. It is more than just a wish for an absence of conflict but an inward sense of well being.
Moses uses this word in his blessing in Numbers 6:
“‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
When the shepherds heard these words, they must have immediately thought of 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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:6)
Isaiah, writing seven hundred years before Christ’s birth, wrote that the Messiah would bring peace. The literal reading is “the prince whose coming brings peace.”
As they peered into the wide dark eyes of this little baby, they were looking at the promised Prince of Peace!
But this Christmas peace isn’t for everyone. John Piper wrote:
“…even though God’s offer of peace goes out to all, only his chosen people — the people who receive Christ and trust him as Savior and Messiah and Lord, will experience the peace he brings.”
Some of you are searching for peace. I want to tell you this morning that you can have it. One writer wrote, “Let God have all the Glory. Just please let me have peace.”
This morning, I want to look at three different peaces that Jesus’ coming brought them and to us.
Peace with God
Peace of God
Peace with others
Peace with God - the War is Over
Billy Graham wrote in his classic book, “Peace with God,”
“The greatest warfare going on in the world today is between mankind and God. People may not realize that they are at war with God, but if they don’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior…God considers them to be a war with Him.”
Remember, apart from God, we are objects of wrath:
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:3)
But through Christ’s perfect life, sacrificial death, and life transforming resurrection, the war is declared over:
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
Notice that little word “with.” This is a relational word.
Paul told the Colossians that Jesus reconciled all things “making peace through His blood, shed on a cross.” (Col 1:20)
On the cross, God poured out all of His wrath on Jesus, instead of us. That way we can receive Jesus’ perfect righteousness for our sins and be made right with God. We deserved the punishment. We rightly deserved hell.
But God…
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4)
We couldn’t earn it, we didn’t deserve it. Out of pure love and grace God saved us from certain doom.
The first step toward peace with God is to put your faith and trust in Jesus’s sacrificial substitutionary death on the cross for your sins in your place.
Abner Flerro’s father was a pastor but left his mother and his children for another woman when Abner was 5. Abner was destroyed emotionally and started acting out violently. By 16, he had been kicked out of school and joined a gang. He spent the next ten years in and out of prison more than 30 times.
At 26 years old, he was sentenced to seven years for having a gun, and sent to a maximum security prison. He ended up in solitary confinement because of a fight on his unit.
He was trying to figure out a way to kill himself in that little cell when a guard passed him a Bible.
At first he through it to the side but he kept looking at it day after day and feeling like God wanted him to read it.
As he started reading, he felt emotions like guilt and shame that he had kept hidden for so long. He wondered if God could actually forgive someone like him.
One night, as he read, he saw fire and he got on His knees and he heard God say, “You don’t have to be like your father. I will be your Father.”
When he got out he couldn’t find work so he went back to crime and ended up in prison again for three years.
Again, he found himself on his knees and God freed him and took his anger and hopelessness. He found peace with God that he had always been searching for.
He now shares his story in prisons and schools.
Do you have peace with God?
Peace of God
Once we have peace with God, we can have the peace of God.
In the midst of our brokenness, our pain, our grief, our anxiety, our depression, our compulsiveness, our fear, Paul encourages us to:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6)
When you do that, He then can give us the “peace that passes all understanding that will guard our hearts and minds.” (Phil 4:7)
Let me remind you that the church is called to be a hospital for the broken…and we are all broken.
I love Ann Lemont’s quote:
“It’s okay to realize that you’re crazy and damaged. All the best people are.”
God never promises to take away all our problems, but He did promise to walk with you through them and give you a peace that you can not manufacture on your own.
“But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2)
Jesus promised us this peace when He spoke to His disciples not long before His death:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
It really depends on where our eyes are focused.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
When Maxine and I did youth ministry in Mississippi, one of our high schoolers was killed in a car wreck. At LeAnne’s visitation, one of her good friends completely broke down. He just totally lost it. Several students and I surrounded him laid hands on him and prayed over him.
Something happened during that prayer that I still really do not understand. Several of the students said that they experienced what I did but also had trouble describing it. It is as if the Holy Spirit surrounded us and literally wrapped us in a bubble of peace.
His presence was so real that we were all deeply moved. To this day, I’ve never experienced anything like it.
In the midst of our sorrow, God is not on vacation.
He is “close to the broken-hearted and to those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
Peace with others
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote:
“The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When He called them they found their peace, for He is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it.”
As a baby Christian, I memorized Romans 12:18:
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18)
A couple of chapters later, Paul picks up that theme again:
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.” (Romans 14:19)
Once we have peace with God vertically, we can have the peace of God internally. And those two things leads to living in peace with other horizontally.
Jesus called us to this is in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
As believers, we are not called to be peace breakers or peace fakers. We are called to be peace makers.
But many Christians are absolutely terrible at this. Why? Many people simply have never been taught how to handle conflict. Some are scared of it. I was.
Many years ago, I was about to go into a meeting with a family that was very mad at me and were being very vocal about it with others. I was hurt and mad. I called a friend and asked what I should do. They said for me to sit on my floor of my office for the next hour and look up every verse on peace in the Scriptures and read them out loud and then commit to obey them.
So for the next hour, I read verse after verse out loud. I started angry and wanted to settle the score. By the end of that hour, I had experienced the peace of God that transcends all understanding and knew what I needed to do.
I walked into the meeting and started with, “I was wrong. Will you forgive me?” The entire situation was defused in an instant. Peace was made when there didn’t seem to be a way.
I love my wife. She’s really quite amazing. Her attitude this year has been, “You can either be a rose or a thorn. I chose this day to be a rose.”
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Col 3:5)
If you find that you are constantly in conflict, you need to go back and evaluate if you really have peace with God and the peace of God.
Make peace. Let it go. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
A Celtic Prayer
Ray Pritchard posted this prayer and I want us to spend some time praying this corporately:
Jesus, we kneel before you in silent amazement. Thank you that, because of your birth, we know that our Father is with us. May we welcome you, not in a cold manger of a heart, But in a heart so pure, a heart warm with love for one another.
Jesus, you are—
The tender holy Babe;
The Shepherd of your flock;
The Healing Person;
The Christ of the people;
The world-pervading God;
Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Jesus, you are—
The Glory of eternity who now shines among us;
Son of the High King of the universe;
Splendor of the Father;
Source of life;
Prince of Peace;
Wonderful Counselor;
Son of Mary;
Pattern of goodness;
Friend of all;
Brother of the poor;
Champion of justice;
Joy of angels.
Jesus, in you we see God’s face—
Gentle;
Smiling;
Strong;
Loving;
Obedient.
Jesus, you radiate what the world so needs today—
Gentleness, tenderness, light and hope.
In you, may we find
Gentleness as the answer to violence;
Tenderness as the answer to ill-will;
Light as the answer to lies;
Hope as the answer to despair.
Your mercy brings forgiveness.
Have mercy on us, bring us to true sorrow for our sins,
Give us eternal life.
For your glory fills eternity;
Your glory fills the universe.
Amen.
Ending Video:
Benediction:
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (I Thes 5:3)
