Themes
Peace • Strife • Shalom • Harmony • A peace that passes all understanding • Alienation • Communion • Hostility • Fellowship • Wholeness • Forgiveness • Grace • Unity • Healing • Restoration • Justice • Peacemaking • Love • Ambassadors of reconciliation
We are no longer citizens of the world of strife. We are citizens of the kingdom of peace.
Scripture reading
Isaiah 52:7 Ephesians 2:13–14 Colossians 1:19–20 Romans 14:17 Philippians 4:6–7 John 14:27 Matthew 5:9
This call to worship1 is about peace. It starts with the prophet Isaiah, who prophesies peace, the Apostle Paul, who helps us better understand peace, and finally, Jesus Himself, who speaks of peace.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace. In Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace. In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus Himself said, "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." “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Prayer
Father in heaven, we are in a world torn by strife. And Your kingdom is the counter-narrative. Your kingdom is shalom. Your kingdom is where all things are brought into harmony under Jesus Christ. And we are no longer citizens of the world of strife. We are citizens of Your kingdom, the kingdom of peace— a peace won for us by Jesus Christ, who bore the burden of absolutely everything that has gotten between us and our spouses, between us and our children, between us and our friends, between us and our coworkers, between us here, within this assembly, and most of all, between us and You; for most certainly, all strife is ultimately between us and You. And then, that peace He won for us… You gave it to us —just gave it to us— that peace that passes all understanding. Our alienation has been replaced by communion. Our hostilities have been replaced by fellowship. Our conflicts have been replaced by wholeness. In Christ, You have reconciled the world to Yourself. You have healed every breach caused by every sin. And this is far more than a transaction, far more than accounting, far more than costs tallied in a heavenly spreadsheet and zeroed out with payment made. This is deeply personal and deeply relational, Father, for with this peace has come an invitation into a life of communion with You. And if that is what we are now in, it will inevitably spill over into all our relationships. And You will give us the courage and the humility to forgive and to extend grace and to pursue unity and to break down walls of hostility, and to create spaces of healing and restoration out of which the truth of the Gospel will be experienced and will be enjoyed. And from these experiences, we will proclaim to the world Your peace— and there couldn’t be anything more vital and more inviting to this world— a world longing for reconciliation and longing for justice. Father, make us this beacon of peace. Make us a signpost for Your peaceable kingdom. Make peace visible and palpable here— in our worship, in our relationships, in our outreach. And give us peace that is not fleeting, that is not merely circumstantial, that is not simply a feeling that fades with whatever the next feeling is we have. Your peace is true. It is as inseparable from us as is Jesus Christ Himself. It is as true as his birth and His life and His death and His resurrection and His ascension. It is not a subjective feeling. It is a concrete reality anchored in a finished work, a taken-down cross, and an empty tomb. And it is established by Your faithfulness, not our fluctuating emotions and circumstances. Your peace is perfect. You are the triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are an eternal harmony and communion. You are a perfect relational unity. And so, You are the ground and source of true and perfect relational peace. And by the Spirit of Christ whom You have placed within us, You have brought us into Your very own divine life, into Your perfect communion, and into Your perfect peace. Your peace is active, for You have made us peacemakers. The peace You have given to us is dynamic and transformational and we are full participants. And it is shaping our lives, shaping our relationships, shaping our mission in the world, urging us to forgive and to love and to bring healing, making us ambassadors of reconciliation, and causing us to reshape the world itself through acts of mercy and justice. Your peace is cosmic. It is not confined to our individual selves. It is cosmic in its scope, extending across the vast universe and all that is within it. It encompasses your entire creation. It is reconciling all things, whether on earth or in heaven, whether out there beyond the reach of our most powerful telescopes or in here beyond the reach of our most powerful microscopes. It is grand. It has rewoven the very fabric of creation. And so this same peace that right now, in this moment, calms our hearts will one day transform the entire universe in its entirety. In the name of Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, who brought good news, who proclaimed salvation, who is reconciling to Himself all things, who has left us His peace, who has made us peacemakers, who is Himself our peace, Amen
1
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians that gathered in Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on December 8, 2024.