Perfect Peace | Sunday, November 30, 2025

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end... The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6–7)

The Prince of Peace came into the world's longest darkness—and He still brings a peace the world's treaties never could.

The Season of Advent

It's a trip to already be singing Christmas songs, but here we are at what I think is the most wonderful time of the year. As the Christmas season comes upon us, we shift gears here at Cross Connection to prepare our hearts by revisiting some important themes—the very themes the church has focused on for centuries.

This time of year has traditionally been called Advent, from the Latin word meaning a coming, an approach, an arrival. We are drawing near to the remembrance of the arrival of the King of Kings, when Jesus came 2,000 years ago as a little baby in Bethlehem. Almost every year someone reliably informs me that we don't know for certain Jesus was born on December 25th—and you're right, we don't. But it is a good time to remember, especially since it falls near the solstice, the longest dark day of the year. And yes, someone will tell me, "Don't you know this was a pagan holiday?" You know what? We now own it. We took it over on purpose. It's good to remember, at the time when darkness is longest, that the Light came into the world.

The four Sundays leading up to Christmas have been referred to as Advent. The church, especially within the Protestant tradition, focuses on themes like the fullness of joy, the abundance of hope, and the fullness of love. When we celebrate the arrival of Jesus, we're not only celebrating that a baby was born in Bethlehem—we're celebrating what His birth means and what it brings. We return to these same themes every year, even though it can seem repetitive. That's by design. Peter said, "It is good that I stir you up by reminding you. I'll not be negligent as long as I am in this tent." So I will keep doing the work of reminding you.

The Birth of Christ Brings the Blessing of Peace

Point number one: the birth of Christ brings the blessing of peace. I'm convinced this subject is important because we live in an anxiety-producing culture, in a time where anxiety seems to be at an all-time high. A lot of research has been done into the cause, and many of the data points indicate it has to do with the advent of the smartphone.

In the dark days of flip phones, when the workday ended you probably didn't know much about work until you got back to your computer the next morning. Now you're notified instantly by text and email—and if you don't check your email, you get a text asking if you checked your email. (I'm sorry if you've emailed me; I've been terrible at email for the last year, somewhat on purpose.) We feel incessantly on call, and more than that, we are notified about things happening half a world away constantly. Not long ago, a terrible thing in another country or state wouldn't reach you the same way. Now you know instantly about relatively small things, and as a result, we find ourselves experiencing anxiety.

Since 2009 I've had the privilege of serving as a chaplain with the fire department here in Escondido. As part of that, I went through training on cumulative stress and post-traumatic stress to do peer support. You see people in law enforcement, emergency medical services, and the ICU experience secondhand trauma from what others go through, and the cumulative stress affects them in a big way. There are actual physiological responses—your body releases hormones like cortisol, which has devastating effects on your arterial walls and digestive tract. We see this across our culture, not just among first responders, but in anyone receiving secondhand trauma through news and social media. It's no wonder we live in a time of heightened anxiety, from very young children to senior adults.

How the Culture Robs Us of Peace

One sad reality you may not realize: the content delivered through your news apps and social media feeds is curated by advanced machine learning. These companies have used algorithms for decades to keep you attached, because their product is you—they sell your attention to advertisers. Their systems, trained on human psychology, have discovered that the number one thing that keeps people locked in is anger and outrage. The well-known NYU cognitive psychologist Jonathan Haidt has done a lot of research on this, finding that outrage and anger keep you attached. We wonder why so many people are on edge, outraged, and angry—it has a lot to do with social media.

As a result, when we talk about peace, I don't think there's a single person, Christian or not, who doesn't recognize within themselves a desire for it. The peace the Bible talks about is better than the peace of this world. The world's peace is good—when we speak of peace in our culture, we usually mean the cessation of hostility, the end of conflict, a ceasefire, a reprieve. We're grateful for it, but we recognize it's momentary. Every peace accord, treaty, and plan we've witnessed—Oslo, Camp David, the Abraham Accords—is provisional and partial. They don't last forever, and they don't cover everything.

We're thankful for the recent ceasefire agreement between Gaza and Israel within the last two months, and we hope it extends. We're prayerful we might see something similar in Ukraine after years of war, and in Nigeria, and in many other places. But every peace agreement the world offers is provisional and partial.

Shalom: The Way Things Ought to Be

The peace the Bible introduces is so much greater than the cessation of hostility. One of the best descriptions comes from the theologian and philosopher Cornelius Plantinga, who wrote Not the Way It's Supposed to Be. Describing the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, he writes:

In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens the doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.

Every person, whether they go to church or not, looks at the world and says, "Things are not as they ought to be." You'll probably have a conversation this week with someone who complains about the same thing they always complain about, and you'll be looking for the exit. Let me encourage you: encourage their complaining. Say, "Yeah, it's terrible, isn't it? If only there were an answer." Then plant a seed: "You know, I think there is an answer—because things are not as they ought to be." Every heart recognizes this. Shalom is the way things are supposed to be, what every heart longs for. And the birth of Christ brings the blessing of peace, because Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

The Prince of Peace and the Longing for Justice

Seven hundred years before Jesus arrived, the prophet Isaiah predicted His coming. In the context of Israel going through a dark period and looking for light, he says, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." When He comes, He ushers in a new kingdom: "The government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." In Hebrew a name is connected to a nature—so this is the very nature of Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. And "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end."

The peace the world gives is provisional and partial. The peace Jesus brings is increasing and everlasting. Who does not want a peace like that? Notice it says He will "order and establish it with judgment and justice." Our culture is so longing for these things. In the last twenty years the concept of justice—especially social justice—has been twisted, and people get spun up over it. But understand: justice is a deeply Christian concept. The term social justice actually came from a Baptist theologian in the 19th century.

How many of you are bothered that there seems to be an unequal balance of justice in our culture, that some people get away with things they shouldn't? You have a problem with injustice—and that's not a bad thing. God, who made you in His image, is perfectly just, and He has imprinted His desire for justice upon you. The other night I spent time with seven firefighters and four police officers because there was a hit-and-run that killed an eleven-year-old in our town. What were they upset about? The man got away; they hadn't found him. They wanted justice. That's what we all want. He will establish His kingdom with right justice—what heart doesn't want that? Much of our anxiety comes from seeing a world that seems unjust, but He promises a government of peace and justice that increases forever.

Called to Be Peacemakers

Point number two: the peace that Christ brings is everlasting and increasing. I'll keep saying this until the Lord says He no longer wants me to pastor this church, because it's true and we need to be reminded. Our Prince of Peace has dispatched you and me to be His ambassadors, carrying peace into this world. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." That's tough—this holiday season you may be around a family member or friend who robs you of your peace. You'll have to pray, "God, give me Your peace; help me be an ambassador of peace in this situation."

This is the peace we need because we live after the fall. Through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all humanity—bringing all the hostility, wickedness, division, and death we see fed to us through notifications. The Prince of Peace came to deal with those things. We should never be okay with wickedness and evil, never reach the point where we just accept "this is the way things are." It is not the way things ought to be.

This is a real challenge, because people are calling evil good and good evil. In Isaiah 5 he says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." That word "woe"—in Hebrew, oi—is a term of exasperation connected with the idea that judgment is coming. We're living in a culture like that right now, and we should never capitulate to it. When we feel that this is not the way things ought to be, we are yearning and praying for the coming of the Prince of Peace.

Grace and Peace Linked Together

How does this peace come? It comes by His grace. Grace and peace are constantly linked together, especially in the New Testament. Probably the most closely connected word to grace is peace—it appears that way seventeen times in the letters of Paul, Peter, and John. Paul opens nearly all his letters identically: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3, and on through Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, and Titus). God has given us the gift of His grace, and connected with it is peace. When we celebrate Christmas, we refocus on the grace and peace of Christ.

Point number three: in and by Christ, we are blessed with peace from God, resulting in peace with God and one another. Because of sin, we are separated from God—at enmity with Him—but we're also divided from one another. Jesus came in His first coming to restore us to God and to one another. This is the ministry of reconciliation pictured in Ephesians 2.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works... (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Four verses later, Paul writes:

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation... so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. (Ephesians 2:14–15)

Where the Peace Treaty Was Signed

Jesus doesn't just do peaceful things—He is by nature the Prince of Peace. We were separated from one another by sin all the way back to Genesis 3. All the tribal warfare, conflict, and family feuding throughout history goes back to sin. Jesus comes to reconcile warring parties back together as one in Christ Jesus. Look around this room—this is the body of Christ. You've been united with people you probably never would have associated with apart from Jesus. Fifteen years ago you might have crossed to the other side of the street—because that guy's a Dodger fan, just look at his microphone over there. But in Christ, He breaks down the middle wall of partition.

Where was the peace treaty signed? On the cross at Calvary. His last words were, "It is finished." We were reconciled to God in one body through the cross, putting to death the enmity. "He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." Some of you remember clearly what it was like to be far off from God, without hope, alienated from His covenants and promises. He preached peace to you. By Him we have peace with God, and through Him we have peace with one another.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... (Romans 5:1)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us... For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:8, 10)

The advent of Christ makes all of this available to us. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Ephesians 1)—all by His grace, His love, His redemptive forgiveness. And then this ministry of reconciliation, which Jesus came to preach, He commits to you. The greatest gift you can give this Christmas is to bring the reconciliation of the gospel to those who are far off, as you once were.

Experiencing the Peace of God

Many of you have received the grace of God and been made new creations—"if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new." Yet you may still be anxious, weighed down by many things. How then do you experience release? Paul says in Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts." We have to allow God's peace to be at work.

Point number four: peace from God brings peace with God, resulting in the blessing of the peace of God in our lives. From, with, and of. God wants you to experience this universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight.

There are two practical considerations. First, perhaps you have not yet received the grace of God. How do you receive grace and peace from Him? You must be justified by God. Paul gives the simple answer in Romans 10:9: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." That word whoever is so important. The picture that comes to my mind is Jesus walking on the water, inviting Peter out, and when Peter begins to sink he cries, "Lord, help!" That's it—a simple and effective prayer. You might need to pray that today. Does Jesus say, "Sink or swim"? No—He reaches out and grabs him. You can call on Him right now in your own heart.

Prayer: How the Peace of God Rules

The second consideration: having received salvation by grace through faith, how do you let the peace of God rule in your heart? I return to a text I come to frequently—Philippians 4.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

"Be anxious for nothing"—easy, Paul. Except remember, he wrote this from prison facing execution. The peace of God "surpasses all understanding"—it has no earthly explanation. And it will guard your hearts and your minds, the very part of you where you experience anxiety, what the Bible calls your soul. You cannot experience shalom while being filled with anxiety and fear, so Paul tells us how to let the peace of God rule: in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Point number five: the peace of God is available to you as you come to God in faith and prayer. That sounds too simple, and in one sense it is—simple to comprehend, hard to apply. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." A thousand years before Jesus, King David wrote in Psalm 55, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you."

Hezekiah Lays It Before the Lord

There's a great story illustrating this. King Hezekiah had seen 42 of his cities destroyed by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Now the Assyrian armies surrounded Jerusalem, and the commander brought a letter with horrendous terms of peace: come out, sign your lives over as my slaves, and you can have peace. That's no good deal. So what did Hezekiah do? He took the letter up to the temple, laid it out before the Lord, and said, "God, I don't know what to do. You have to take care of this."

God took care of it in a miraculous and powerful way, still unexplainable in earthly terms. Sennacherib's army—185,000 of them—were killed in one night by what the Bible calls an angel. You might say that sounds like Bible folklore, except Sennacherib kept very clear histories. You can see the annals of Sennacherib in the British Museum. He boasts of every king and city he destroyed—until he gets to Jerusalem, where all he says is, "We shut up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage and put a tax upon him." Why the change of tune? Because God defended and protected His people. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." God cares for you and wants you to bring your cares to Him.

Meditate on These Things

Is it as simple as prayer? Prayer is a big part, but there's one more important key. Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Prayer and meditation are the keys to experiencing the peace of God guarding your heart and mind. When I say meditation, biblical meditation is totally different from Eastern meditation that some of you were into decades ago. Here's the key: if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. How many of you know how to worry? You're doing it right now—"When is he going to be done?"

What is worry? It's consuming your thoughts with all the troubles of your life and this world—many of which will never come to pass, and most of which we couldn't fix even if we had the chance. We hear every commentator talk about them. I don't know who you choose to listen to—maybe Megyn Kelly, or Shapiro, or Walsh, or someone else—but they tell you all the problems all the time, and you find yourself anxious without knowing why. You listen to the Bible for 45 minutes on a Sunday and to all that for 70 hours a week, and you wonder why you're anxious. Worry is a form of meditation.

So I want to encourage you to "worry" about what is true and good and lovely and praiseworthy and virtuous. How might that affect you if you spent even 10% of your worrying time on those things instead of the Fed, the stock market, your retirement account, that business deal, or this week's finals? Paul says, "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." How many of you would like the God of peace to be with you this week?

One of the greatest evangelistic tools you have is to show peace to an anxious world. There's not a single family member, coworker, neighbor, or friend who doesn't deeply desire peace. They look at the world and say, "This is not the way it should be." You and I should say, "You're right—it's not. And there's only one answer. His name is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Closing Prayer

God, thank You for these reminders. None of the things I've shared today are novel—I've shared them before and will share them again. And Lord, we need to hear them, because we are so given to anxiety and worry and fear. Jesus, You commanded us not to worry, and it's so hard for us. We confess our anxieties and bring them right now. You see the deepest areas of our hearts where those cares and worries are. We hold them out to You. Maybe you need to do that right now—just lift your hands to the Lord. Lord, we give You our concerns, our fears, our cares. We don't know what to do with these things, but they weigh us down, and You said, "Come to Me, all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." We want to know Your rest and live in Your rest, and to display that peace to the world, because You've called us as Your ambassadors to be peacemakers. Help us to be that. We rejoice in You, and we thank You that You came 2,000 years ago as the Prince of Peace, and that You've promised to come again to bring peace one day. Of the increase of Your government and peace there will be no end—and we rejoice in that. It's in Your name we pray. Amen.