Cornerstone Christian Center
Cornerstone Christian Center
Peace On Earth | Advent 2025
What if the peace you’re chasing can’t be scheduled, bought, or forced—and is actually found in a Person who draws near? As the holidays ramp up and our to-do lists grow louder, we step into the Christmas story to recover a peace that holds steady in real life. We talk about the restless feeling of trying hard but not moving forward, then reframe it with a mountain metaphor: excitement fades, the climb gets cold, and each step costs more. That’s when we remember the manger—Bethlehem, the house of bread—where Jesus, the Bread of Life, arrives in a feeding trough and turns a cave into holy ground.
We walk through Mary and Joseph’s obedience in discomfort, the angels’ announcement to rough-around-the-edges shepherds, and the bold claim that peace is not the moment everything gets easy; peace is Emmanuel, God with us. From that center, we unpack three anchors for everyday life: peace as a process (abiding with the Prince of Peace), peace as progress (stepping out of ruts and becoming peacemakers), and peace as persistence (daily bread, daily presence, steady formation). Along the way, we offer simple, honest practices to prioritize presence amid noise—scripture before screens, short prayers that cut through hurry, reconciliations made sooner, and community that helps us obey rather than drift.
You’ll leave with language and tools to find traction on slippery days—Ephesians’ picture of feet readied by the gospel of peace—and a renewed vision for how God’s presence steadies your home, work, and inner life. The shepherds’ path becomes ours: notice, move, behold, and carry good news. Ready to trade hurry for wholeness and anxiety for nearness? Press play, lean in, and then tell us where you’re asking for peace to meet you today. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find a steadier way.
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Merry Christmas. I'm gonna try again. Merry Christmas. Very good. Hey, uh, we want to ask this question and talking about this theme of Christmas for us is are you walking in peace? We talk about this nativity scene and looking about the different characters that are there connected, and we we see how each and every one of them becomes its own narrative, its own story, and how it's woven together into this tapestry of this nativity scene. And each one of them having their own things that they're walking through, their own adventure with God, a journey that they're on with God. And each one of us is also on a journey with God ourselves. I gotta be transparent that you know there's been seasons where I felt that I've put a lot of effort, but I hadn't gone anywhere in my relationship with God. You ever been like that? You ever felt that way? Feels like you'll be trying a lot of things, but you keep messing up on the same thing over and over. In fact, I related a lot to this person. You guys want to show that video to them? I gotta give a hand for some effort, man. That's pretty crazy. How do people can relate to that? Where you feel like you're giving a lot of effort, but maybe not going anywhere. And I feel that that's sometimes where we feel we are in our walk with God is that we're we're we're giving a lot of effort. We keep messing up on the same piece and we keep going, keep going, keep going. We're not really advancing very much. But in our journey with God, you know, we want to be able to take those steps where we're not messing up all the time, we're not slipping up. We want to be those who are becoming more like his character, and we want to be those that can ascend to the next levels of what he has us to go after. For us, you know, I was thinking about this story of what it would be like in this Christmas season for us in the winter in this hemisphere to be those that would go maybe up a mountain and what that might look like in traversing a snowy mountain and to go up a place. It reminded me when I was a young guy how I went to Nagano in Japan to go snowboarding for Christmas time and New Year's. And so a bunch of us, we had been boarding all over the mountain and having a great time, and we wanted to go kind of off piece to go off to through the trees and some big jumps that some people had set up. And so we had to hike it because there was no gondola to take us that direction. And so after we got down to the place, we had to unhook and start off on our journey. And what starts off in your heart is this anticipation. You're excited about the what could happen. You know, there's like this uh this kind of energy to it. And you start off on this journey, and pretty quick after you get there, that that anticipation feeling, that excitement that you feel, it starts to shift. Because now that beautiful, wonderful winter wonderlandscape that we would see of all the frozen trees and all the brilliant snow that's hanging on the mountain, suddenly it stops being so beautiful and postcard-esque and starts to be cold and daunting and an obstacle in our direction. And the further that we get up, that that that anticipation starts to shift into anxiety. You start to get a little bit nervous about the things that are going to happen and this anxiousness that starts to set in. And so soon after that, you know, that this footfalls by the way that you're starting to go up the mountain, suddenly it feels like the snow is thicker and every step is taking more energy. And you could imagine what that might feel like. And for many of us, as we're trying to ascend to this place in our relationship with God or maybe trudge to the season that we're in, it feels like there's lots and lots of effort, but we feel like maybe there's a lot of things that are coming against us. And we start to ask that question of can you have peace when everything is difficult? And I'll tell you this, friends, peace is not the absence of difficult circumstances. Peace is something that comes from the creator God into our soul. And so it's not about our circumstances that we face, but instead the very creator of this world who has enveloped us by his presence and doesn't leave us or forsake us, and that we're not on that journey alone, but he's right there with us. And so the peace that we're looking for, that we're searching so hard for, that we try to trade or buy for, that we try to earn our way into, isn't that at all. But it's a gift from the Almighty God attached to his presence. See, we have to abandon our own ambitions to think that it's just us that has done it. We have to set aside our own thought process on how we might be able to attain these things and really just align ourselves with him. We talk about how we want to be those that abandon our ideas to go and abide or stay connected to the Lord. And as we walk in step with him, as we abide in the Lord, then we are aligned with his very purposes for us. And that makes sense that we are in step with him because whenever we encounter him, his presence is peace. Say it with me. His presence is peace. And so when we're talking about in this Christmas season and the hustle and bustle of getting everything done and trying to do all the extra traditional, fun, Christmassy things, and still try to get all of our deadlines for work and school and the plays and holding our ears during recorder practice and all the things that are happening. We ask that question, are you walking in peace? We understand that his presence is the very peace that we're looking for. And that we need to be those that prioritize his presence because that is where we'll find the peace that's gonna help us move through the season ahead. It'll help us refocus back to the very reason for the season of being Jesus and that nativity scene focusing all the way in on the Christ child. Friends, that is what the story of Christmas is about. Today we're so glad that you're with us because we're focusing on this idea of peace on earth. And we know that the only peace on earth that's lasting is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Would someone say amen to that? Amen. Welcome to Cornerstone. If we haven't met, my name is Jay, and we're so blessed to be able to worship together with you today. Celeste and I get a chance to lead here at Cornerstone an amazing team of people, all of us in need of a savior, none of us perfect, all of us on that path of following after Jesus. We use this imagery of Christ walking with his disciples because that's how we envision ourselves is to be those on a journey following Jesus. Our ambition, both personally and corporately, is to be more like Jesus. And so we do that by being intentional and connecting, growing, and serving. And we do that through our life groups, which meet throughout the week throughout the city here in the church. We have a new season of life groups coming up in the new year. Let me encourage you that you would predecide to be a part of what God wants to do. In fact, we're starting off the new year with a fast, and we're gonna be doing that the second week of the year. So that means that all of your Christmas goodies, all your tamales, all of the cookies that you're making, need to eat them by the first week so they won't taunt you during the fast. You guys got it? So it's a challenge. Because if not, you'll leave them on the tray and then they'll start the fast and it'll be like, come get a cookie. You're like, no, no, I won't. And then you'll walk by at nighttime and it's like, Do you miss me? You guys know what I'm talking about? So you don't want any of that. You want to be able to stay strong in your fast, your focus after God in the new year. So go ahead and knock that out and make this be a blessing to you. Together, we love God. We make disciples, we reach the world. And then looking towards this nativity season and talking about that story of Christmas, it's such an interesting thing to think about the idea of peace on earth. We know all the turmoil, we know all the stress and all the wars and all the things that are unlovely about our world. We're reminded of it every single day. Our phones, they alert us of every news app we have, and you can't go on any social media platform without someone talking about this or that or how their perspective is being smashed down. And so what we look to is a peace that's lasting, not just a momentary peace or a reprieve from just some difficult circumstances, but the very peace of God that we can embrace, that we can walk with, that will be with us every day. And so that's what the story of Christmas is about that we're looking at today in asking that question are you walking in peace? I'm gonna ask you, if you would, to open your tablet, your Bible, your phone today to Matthew 1, 21. And we're looking to this idea of scripture and prophecy, the foretelling of the Messiah. And we talked about last week from Isaiah's perspective on some of these things, talking about who the Messiah would be and who Jesus would come to be to fulfill these things. And as it became enveloped before us, we started to see different perspectives of this story. In Matthew 1, verse 21, it picks up and says this she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All of this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken to the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. And so we we pick up today where we left off last week of this idea of Joseph and Mary. We heard the story about a Mary getting the receiving of the message from the angel and hearing the challenge that she would say she's available to be the recipient of God's miracle, of him coming to earth, of abandoning all glory and becoming incarnate. And we talked about Joseph's perspective about finding out that his betrothed, his fiancee, is now with child and what that might have been like, and that he had every right to drag her out in the street and to stone her to death as was the custom. But he didn't. Instead, he he brought her and thought to bring her aside and send her off to family to deal with it. But the Lord brought the messenger to him and said, Listen, your job is to come and understand that this very thing that's happened with Mary is a miracle of God, and that now you are charged to take care of her. And so they walked together in obedience on this journey, now having to be charged to go on an unexpected, you know, traveling to uh to back to Bethlehem from where they were, and to walk in that obedience is very difficult. How many would say obedience is better than sacrifice? That's what the scripture says. But we have to understand that obedience many times is as difficult, if not more, than the sacrifice that we might otherwise pick for ourselves. So to be obedient is to be key. And so that's when we look to the scripture, we pick up with the story here in Luke, and you can turn there in your Bibles today and highlight here, starting in verse one. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. And this was the first registration when Quiterius was governor of Syria, and all went to be registered, each to his own town. And so you see this imagery of Mary and Joseph on their journey there. And you could imagine what that would might have been like in trying to take a very, very pregnant wife and put her on a donkey to travel a long distance to go back to where you're forced to go. And so he has to go in, he has to go back to Bethlehem, that's where his family's from. His family is from the lineage of David. And so that's where David is from, from Bethlehem. And it literally means the house of bread. It's the place of which the bread of life would come from. And so it's an amazing thing, this story, this tying together of these narratives and weaving them together. You can think about all the things that she's going through in her mind as Mary is there trying to be the one carrying the baby and thinking about him and his arrival that's coming very quickly. And she's thinking about trying to get there. You could only imagine what Joseph was thinking was as other people with faster carts are passing them on the road to Bethlehem. And he's thinking, is there gonna be space for us when we get there? And we I just gotta get her there. I gotta get her there, man. If we're out on the road when she starts to have a baby, we're in trouble. And not just that, but this is God's baby, so I'm gonna be in big trouble. I gotta get her somewhere. And so you can think about all these pressures, all this feeling that they had as they started to walk and navigate this story. It says in Luke 2, in verse 6, it picks up and says, And while they were there, coming to Bethlehem, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in clothes, and lied him, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the end. You know, if we were today, maybe in an old cathedral in Europe somewhere, we might see stained glass that looks like this, and depicting that very moment of them seeing him. And it's all very beautiful and very, you know, colorful and things, awwww. You know what I mean? I don't think that's how they experienced it. What do you want to make a bet? I think that as he was going place to place and trying to find a a place to stay, he's going to, okay, do you have a room? Do you have a room I could I could do? Or or could you go here and do you have a room? And everyone was packed. Maybe someone moved by compassion. Maybe late as the night was drawing near, maybe they said, you know, I don't have that, but you know, you could I don't want you to be out here on the street. You could go into here, it's this cave right here, right beside us. This is where the animals, we keep them out of the weather. Maybe you could do something in there. And begrudgingly you could imagine as Joseph's like, okay, what do I do here? And he's going over and trying to make a way for her, and and he goes and tries to situate her there, and maybe, maybe spread some hay out or try to find a place for Mary to be. Little did they know that as she gave birth to Jesus, as they laid him into a feeding trough for animals, that he would be the bread of life for all people for all time, that he would be the very one that feeds our soul for eternity, that the symbolism of all the things that God had done was that he closed the door to a softer place so that the message of God would be available for all people. That even in the lowliest of ways, that the very God of heaven, the very creator God who breathed life into us, abandoned heaven and came down into the very mortal creation that he had made. And as he was birthed into life here on earth, they too, in this humble place, in the lowliest of lowly places, they looked upon the very face of God, who in his very presence is the peace of the world. Friends, his presence is peace. Say it with me. His presence is peace. So we pick up again here in the story in Luke, and it talks about it saying here in Luke 2.8, in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field kept keeping watch over their flock by night. And this is a pretty normal thing if you've gone to the Middle East, if you've been there outside in the area, you might have seen some hills, and you can imagine what it would be like with the shepherds that were out there. You know, in their day, this is this is a rough and rowdy crew. This is the people that David came from, right? He was the shepherd boy out protecting the flock. He's the one where they're like, hey, do you have any experience fighting anybody? He's like, Well, I mean, I fought a bear and and a lion. Is that pretty good or what? You know, these are these are Middle East cowboys, you know what I mean? These are some rough people. They're out there doing it. This is the one that would not run whenever the trouble comes, but fight to save the sheep. It's the ones that you would imagine that Jesus later he would himself compare to being a good shepherd, the one that lays his life down for the sheep. That's the very ones that he comes to. That's the very ones that he brings the story to, and that's where this starts to unveil. How they get to be drawn into this very story. Not somebody that's in a castle, not someone that's in a place of power, but instead these outsider fringe people, these good, down-to-earth, hard-working guys who are out in the field, they smell like sheep. They're out in the mix. And suddenly something divine happens. Luke 2, 9 says, And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. We talked about how the messenger of God arrives, and as you might imagine, the messenger of God being an angel, they've been in the presence of God, and so they're radiating the presence of the Lord. And so his divine light, his divine essence of what that would be. They get to therefore radiate that back. So as they appear, it's this brilliant white light that shines everywhere, illuminates the whole sky. And so they're out in the dark, they're out looking up at the sky, and just like they had any other night, looking at the stars. See, they're seeing it in a different way than we would see it because we have all this city light and light pollution. They just see brilliant sky. They saw the very thing that whenever the Lord said, Let there be light in Genesis 1, that light was there and is still going out, expanding. And so they're looking up at the sky, and suddenly a brilliant light comes from nowhere, and it's oh, it's taking enraptured, and they're having to kind of set their heels and not run and say, Okay, what are we gonna do in this circumstance? I know how to fight a bear, I know how to fight a lion, how do I fight this thing? You might be motivated to be like, Would you like a sheep? Here. Would you like a sheep? Anybody else? That's not what happened. It picks up here in the story, and we hear a little bit more. It says the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you that you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And so that you can imagine this depicted scene of these shepherds that are sitting there staring at the sky, seeing these angelic hosts that are talking to them and they're trying to take it all in. They're saying, What? You've come to our little city, the one that doesn't matter. This one little place. It's not the throne room of David, it's where David was from. And so this is the house of David, but yeah, we're shepherds like he was a shepherd. But they're saying, Listen, something amazing has happened. You need to take note of what's going on. And so that's the thing that comes, is the story comes not just to those in high places, but to the very outcast, the very fringe. And friends, I'll tell you I'm thankful because that means it includes me. That I get to be someone who also has the story come to me. That I get to be included in that story of redemption, that story of him coming to earth. I get to be a part of it also. Because he's come for all people, not just those on the top, but everyone everywhere for all of us are his creation. All of us he wants to have a relationship with. And so it picks up in this story here, and it says what the angels decree. It says, and suddenly there was the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Friends, they're telling them, they're getting to hear this rejoicing of what the angels are saying. The angels are excited. They're saying, We can't believe that he has done this, but that he has come all the way to you. Do you not understand the peace of the earth has arrived? And so these mere humble shepherds get to hear that his presence is peace. Say it with me. And so they see the symbols that are there, the star in the sky, they hear about the details of where he's at. And so they set out. And it talks about this in scripture, how they are like, okay, we got to do something about it. So in Luke 2, 15, it says, When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let's go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that's happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And so they get to be a part of the story. They get to be a part of our nativity sets that we see as those little shepherds off to the side. They get to come and worship the Christ child. It says, and they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known what had been happened and told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. So that depiction of those shepherds being there, they get to come alongside. And you could only imagine as, you know, they're out in a, they're they're out there, and there's, you know, the birthing pains and all those things, and a crying baby upon his birth, and and then it's just quiet, and they're there with these animals. It's just Mary with Jesus and Joseph there together. And so they're they're probably wondering, and in they're just like, wow, does anyone know that the peace of the world has arrived here? And then suddenly, outside of the cave, coming out of the darkness, are these shepherds, and they start to come up and looking, looking for the place where Jesus is. And as they come near, they have to say, Hey, we're actually sent here to you. And let us tell you about you might not what believe what had just happened to us. And I imagine that Mary and Joseph were like, Well, try us. We've had some pretty crazy stuff happen recently. And they're like, Listen, the very angels appeared to us and said the Christ child is here. And so they got to be a part of the very first moments of Jesus' life. These guys who are outside fringe, the wild Middle Eastern cowboys of the plains, they get to come in, and they get to experience looking upon the very face of God. And they get to experience the presence of God. They get to experience his peace. Because his presence is peace. Say it with me. His presence is peace. Friends, as we're talking about peace on earth, it's only found in the personhood of Jesus Christ. It's not found in any other religion. It's not found in anything you can try to earn. You can't buy your way into peace. You can't do any of those things because even in the middle of a crowd, you can feel alone. You can feel that turmoil. But I'll tell you something else, friends, is that you can find the very peace of God that transcends all understanding as you embrace the presence of God in your life. And as you are one who says, Lord, have your way in my life, that you will experience peace that transcends and goes above and beyond anything that we could clamor or try to earn or gather to ourselves, because it's divine and it comes from Him. It doesn't say in Scripture that we won't have any more problems. It actually says the opposite. It says that you will have difficulty, you will have trials and tribulations, but I will not leave you or forsake you. And it says, and with me you are more than a conqueror. So as we walk with him, we live in the very peace of God that enables us to do abundantly more than we could ever do on our own. Because we walk in the presence of the Almighty God. Three takeaways from today. The first is this as we walk in peace, we understand that peace is a process. That peace is a process. It says this, for us to a child is born, for us a son is given. The government shall be upon his shoulder, his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The process that we're talking about is being those who embrace the Prince of Peace. Embracing Jesus in our lives, embracing his character, embracing what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And not just on a Sunday or at a church gathering together, but in our private time, in our quiet time, in our mind when no one can see what we're thinking, that the Lord would empower us, that we would be those about his business, that as we're walking in the ways of God, in the way of peace, that we would be those that are focused on him to become more like Jesus. The second takeaway for us today, as we walk in peace, is that we understand that peace is not only a process, but peace is progress. We talk about this in Matthew 5 9 as Jesus is speaking to the crowds, the Beatitudes says, Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. And so that progress, that process of what we're doing and becoming those who are pure in heart, and being those who empty ourselves and say, Lord, forgive me of when I make mistakes, like the man running on the ice, that we would no longer run in place, but instead we would step out of that mess and progress forward in what God calls us to do. That we would be those that aren't repeating the same thing over and over, but say, Lord, forgive me. Not just this, but my habits that start me on that path. I'm no longer the things that are gonna drive me into the ruts of my life. I'm gonna go a new way forward in what you have for me. And in doing so, we set ourselves in alignment with the peace of God. And we get to be those that are a part of what he's saying on our behalf, that we get to be those that the peace is not just for me, but the peace starts to be for those around me. And I'm someone that's willing to forgive, and I'm also someone that is willing to accept forgiveness. That we become those that are peacemakers. That we walk in the peace of God. That means a lot because that means that we're not just fighting for our own face or fighting to be right or fighting to get ahead, but we are those that are fighting for peace. And it's the peace of God that lasts, the peace of God that transcends, the peace of God that doesn't leave us. That we, as we walk into a place, we understand what it means because we have the very presence of God with us. And that brings us to our third takeaway from today as we walk in peace, that peace is persistence. We talk about give us today our daily bread. What did it talk about in the Old Testament? Whenever manna was given from heaven, whenever the children of Israel were in the desert, it says that manna was given every day. It only lasted for that day. And then you had to have new bread for a new day. And that's why we pray that prayer, give us today our daily bread. So we talk about spending time with God every day, having that quiet time and prayer and in reflection in the Word of God, and being those who start our day or end our day or both in the Word of God that abide with Him in His presence. That as we walk in peace, that the peace of God walks not just with us, but those around us, that affects our family because we are those who are being intentional to be a peacemaker. And not just those, but the people at our workplace and the people in our community and those we bump into, because the peace of God is upon us. And so the peace of God flows through us. That's why, whenever we put on our armor every day, when we start putting on the armor of God, that's when we're being intentional, that's when we're being persistent. It talks about this, and it says it in Scripture in Ephesians 6: therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the blood breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet having been put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Some translations say that they would be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Friends, that as we walk somewhere, our feet are prepared because our feet are on solid ground, because our feet are in the peace of God. And so, just like those shepherds that encounter the angels, we're not running away from the evil one. And why is that? Because the person, the Prince of Peace, he's the one that later took on all of death and hell and the grave. He overcame all of it. He has his foot on the devil's neck, and he is not going to be victorious over me, over my family, over you, over your family, over this community, over this church, because Jesus is glorified. And so we can be those that have feet of peace. And as we walk and as we go wherever we are, the presence of God is lighting the path, as it says in Scripture. The presence, the peace of God is upon us, and that it affects those around us because it's not our doing, it's his doing through us. Because as we walk, maybe like Mary and Joseph, as they went on their journey, having to trust God in the process of going on that journey after God. Maybe it's the mountain that you're ascending, whatever it is, when you ask that question, are you walking in peace? You have to understand his presence is peace. Say it with me. His presence is peace. Today, friends, we talk about how peace on earth has come to us. That we would embrace the very peace that we're looking for. That we embrace it because he is the answer. And the story of Christmas is tying that narrative back to us and how we get to be those that are recipients of the Almighty. Today we come back to that question: Are you walking in peace? Understanding that his presence is peace. Maybe you're here and you've never made a decision to follow Jesus. Today is your opportunity to do so. Each one of us has to answer that question of have you embraced Jesus? See, for us, that's what makes us a Christ follower, but makes us a Christian as we've said yes to Jesus. That we hear this story of him coming to earth and abandoning all of heaven and glory, becoming the very way for us to have the sacrifice of God, the holy sacrifice that we can never be. See, Jesus, he comes and lives a sinless life, so he could be that holy sacrifice. So he could take on the wrath of the Father against sin, and he could take it on himself, and he would take on all of our sin and all of our mistakes. He would take on our brokenness. He would do all of that because he loves us so much. So that we could be made in right standing, so we could be brought and back into relationship with the Father. And so Jesus, he takes all of the weight of our sin upon himself, and in doing so, he takes it to the cross. And so he dies upon the cross, not for anything he had done, but for what I have done. For what you've done. What all of us have done. And he becomes the sin for all of us, so that we don't have to try to be separated from God for eternity. And he makes that sacrifice for us and wipes away our sin because our sin is now dead. But he didn't stay dead, but he is alive. And because he is alive, we can have an active relationship with the living God. And so when we look upon this cross, we look upon a symbol not of torture and not of pain and agony, though Jesus did all those things for us, we now see it as freedom. We now see it as forgiveness. We now see it as hope. Because all those things are what we've experienced instead. We couldn't earn our way in, we can't buy our way into righteousness. It's not possible. But he says, Come to me and accept my work for your life upon the cross. Accept that. And we'd be making right standing with the living God. And so we come to Jesus saying, Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. Lord, forgive me of my sin. I want to make you the Lord of my life. Not just mental attributes, but to live for you, to walk in communication and live this life of a Christ follower. Apostle Paul, he writes to the church at Rome, he says it like this. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Friends, today is your day. It's your opportunity to say yes to Jesus. Divide him into your heart and life to start a new life with God. Maybe you're here, you've never made that decision before. Today is your opportunity to do so, to say yes to him. Or maybe you have made that decision in the past, but then you've walked away from actively living it. Let me challenge you today that you would recommit your heart and life to Christ, that you wouldn't stay separate from him, but that you would be connected with him, that you would experience the very peace that you're looking for. I'm gonna ask if you're here in the room, that you would stand to your feet, bow your heads as Christians are praying and people are making decisions. Wherever you are online, you take a moment to embrace what God wants to do in and through your life today. We've already had people making decisions to follow Jesus. I've been praying that today you as well would make that same decision to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. As heads are bowed here in the room, if that's you, you want to make a decision to follow Jesus today, say, Pastor, I want to be included in that prayer. If you just want to raise your hand right where you're at, just to indicate to me that you want to be one of those people that ask Christ into your heart and life today. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for those making decisions today. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Friends, we see the hands that are up, friends as well online, wherever you are, we see your decision as well. Thank you, Jesus. I'm gonna ask if everyone would pray this prayer out loud after me. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Amen. Friends, we rejoice with you, make a decision to follow Jesus today. Praise the Lord. Those that raise their hands today, praise God. Hey, that was you. Take a moment, take a snap of this QR code. It's on our side screens here if you're online. Take a snap of that QR code and follow that. We want to put resources into your hands so that you can live this life victoriously after God. Today we have this opportunity, and I would challenge every person that's here, both here and in the balcony, that you would come and make an altar with God, that you would draw near to God, and you would ask for more of his presence for a new outpouring of Holy Spirit in your life, because his presence is peace. And we need more of his presence in our life for what we're going through for the day, what we're going through in our own lives, in our own hearts, in our own minds, what we're going through with our family that's around us, what we're going through with our work, what we're going through with our school, with our friend group, whatever is going on. I want to challenge you to get out of your seat. Come and make an altar with God. Come and pray for more of his presence, for more of the peace of God to flow in your life and through your life. Lord, we come to you just thanking you so much for your scripture today. Lord, thanking you for speaking to us and giving us such great examples, Lord, of being obedient to you, Lord and Mary and Joseph, Lord, even in your angels, Lord, even in those shepherds that responded and then did something about it. Lord, thank you for that. Lord, we thank you for your presence and Holy Spirit. We thank you for pouring yourself out upon us. Lord, that we get to experience the peace of God, which is the very thing that so many people are chasing after, that we get to experience it here today. Lord, as we come to your altar, as we come to make a place with you, we ask for an impartation, a pouring out, Lord, a fresh wave of anointing of your presence. Because, Lord, we want to walk in the peace of God. We pray all this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Two things we need some housekeeping things with, and I want to ask your help in advance is that we have an event happening this week. And so if you would help us, those that are willing, we need to take all the chairs out of this middle section, in these three middle sections, and place them on this wall. If you could help us with that, we'd appreciate it. The second one, it's a little bit on my heart. It's at our brother Josh. It's his last Sundays. He's moving out of town. So those who are here deal with him, we're gonna pray for him right after this service and just let him know how much we appreciate him and how much he's been a part of our family of faith here and send him out with a blessing today.
Celeste Brown:Um, we are gonna be decorating ornaments as you head out. So if you have kids, go and grab them. There's tables set up out there, and um, it's just gonna be a great time to. There's gonna be some Polaroid cameras out there. You can take a photo together and then put it in the ornament and um take it and hang it on your tree today.
Jason Brown:Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Lord, you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. Pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.