The document outlines the Christian calendar and focuses on the first week of Advent. It discusses finding peace in a world of chaos through forgiveness, praying for enemies, and loving others as God loves us. It references several Bible passages about bringing peace to the world through courageously forgiving others and reflecting God's authority.

1. The Church Calendar
- Advent
* Hope
* Peace
* Love
* Joy

2. ADVENT ~ Week 1

3. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:
Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. 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.
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7

4. In a world of chaos, in a life of pain,
how can we find peace?
Literal or
metaphor?

6. My Story
STRIFE IN OUR WORLD,
PAIN IN OUR LIVES…

7. Jesus Is The Way, The Truth
and The Life
Way (Greek = a way, a road)
The key to peace = Forgiveness
Recognizing the brokenness of the world
Sin (literally means “missing the mark)

9. “… humans are to be God’s image-bearers, that is,
they are to reflect his sovereign rule into the world.
Humans are the vital ingredient in God’s kingdom
project. When we ask about the way in which God
wants to run the world and then focus this on the
sharper question of how Jesus now runs the world,
we should expect, from the whole of scripture,
that the answer will have
something to do with…”
SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE

10. “…the delegation of God’s authority, of Jesus’s
authority, to human beings. This is why several
of the New Testament writers make a direct
connection between Jesus’s rescue project,
climaxing in his crucifixion, and the renewal
of the human project. Jesus rescues human beings
in order that through them he may
rule his world in the new way
he always intended.” N.T. Wright
SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE, cont.

11. We Are The Way God Chooses
To Bring Peace to The World
Takes courage
Pray for boldness
Forgive like Jesus
- Pray for those who hurt you
- Forgive as you have been forgiven

12. We Are The Way God Chooses
To Bring Peace to The World
“You have heard it was said, ‘Love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44)

13. The Promise: Presently and
In The Age to Come - Advent
“Comfort, comfort ye my people.”
(Isaiah 40:1-11)
“And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28)

14. The Promise: Presently and
In The Age to Come - Advent
“But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a
new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
(2 Peter 3:13)

15. ADVENT ~ Week 1

16. Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’
And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment
greater than these.”
MARK 12