Making The Prince of Peace the Center of Our Gravity | Learning Guide

December 4th, 2022

10:15m I Facebook Live & Zoom

Watch last week's message here

Worship Lyrics

Title

Making The Prince of Peace the Center of Our Gravity

Text

Luke 1:26-56​

Introduction:

“Peace” is the one Fruit of the Spirit that I don’t think I have ever been able to wrap my mind around enough to feel like I could embody it on any level. This is perhaps why I read Luke 1:26 with very big and mixed emotions. I feel very deeply how disturbing, stressful, and alarming the angel’s visit to Mary must have been, so I am in complete awe of her response and beautiful song (The Magnificat). Her response is a complete contradiction from that which we saw of Zechariah just a few verses earlier–a response that I confess I would have had, as well. I believe this story was retold for us, not so that we could just sit in awe of Mary, but so that we can emulate her actions of embodied peace. In our second week of Advent, we look at what it means to put our hope in God’s past, present, and future plans, and receive divine peace in return.

Grace and peace y’all,

Jennifer Acuff and the teaching team

Prayer/Practice:

To quiet your mind and contemplate accepting divine peace, slowly breathe in and breathe out to the repetition of John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

Big Idea:

With the chaos of our lives, particularly during the holiday season, we can fall into the idea that peace is earned, achieved, or only attained when things are under control. Mary’s reaction to the announcement of her upcoming maternal role depicts the most beneficial and holy response we can have in the midst of chaos.

Take Away:

Inviting Jesus to the center of our hearts and mind is the first step toward establishing a peace-filled community and finding our place in God’s plans.

How does this fit with Belong, Become, Believe?

We can seek both vulnerability and safety within our community. This allows us the space for reflection to identify, trust, and be satisfied with our place in God’s plan.

What's Next?

John leads us into what it means to love in this Advent season.

Resources:

• “God, Our Mother” by Allison Woodard

• “The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas” by Ann Voskamp

• Honest Advent

• The Advent Project

• Watch for the Light

• Resources from Seminary Now

• Spotify Advent Playlist

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