Advent: Peace

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:2) as you meet together this week. 

1. This week, we lit the second Advent candle, the candle of peace. What images come to your mind when you hear the word peace? Can you talk about a time or place that made you feel a strong sense of peace? How would you define peace? 

2. 1 Corinthians 13  groups Faith, Hope, and Love together (the other candles in the Advent Wreath). How does peace fit into the set? Or does it?

3. Read John 14:25-27. 

a. Jesus both "leaves" and "gives" his peace with/to the disciples. Is there any significance in the fact that Jesus bestows peace in two different ways?

b. If Jesus peace is a gift, how does that affect our relationship to the idea of peace? 

4. The word "peace" shows up in every book of the New Testament except for 1 John. It could be seen as one of the threads that holds the Christian faith together. How does the idea of peace show up in your life? In our life as a Church community? Is it a thread, a common denominator, a non-negotiable?