Good morning: I came up with a rule last week I want to implement. The rule is, “you must greet the pastor either before service starts or when the service is over. I want to make sure I shake your hand or give you a hug and thank you for worshipping with us. I’m going to have minister Morris give the benediction allowing me to be in the foyer as you leave.

Last week I preached on forgiveness verses unforgiveness. We had a good discussion on the zoom call on Wednesday evening. Many of the storms we face in our lives, not the rain, thunder, and lightening kind of storms, but storms of disagreement and unrepented sin are the result of a root of bitterness that is growing in us because of unforgiveness. If we are not forgiving others, God is not forgiving us. The result of our disobedience are the storms we face.

Hillview Family and Friends!

 Ushers and greeters. We can create an alternate schedule. If anyone is interested, please see LaTanya Dunn.

Sis. Debbie will be having Children’s ministry 1st through 4th Sundays.  On the 1st Sunday the children will  do special projects. Please text Sis. Debbie if your child will not be in attendance. 5th Sunday no children’s ministry. 

Dec 14th Third Sunday of Advent- Joy

Hillview will be adopting a family from Stony Point North. The list of the family and their needs is located at the events table. Gifts need to be delivered to the school by Dec. 18th..  In a spirit of giving, Hillview has Angel Ornaments available for a $5.00 donation. All proceeds will go towards our Adoptive family of Stony Point North.

We  would like to extend a heartfelt Thank you for the gifts we have received for the adoptive family at Stony Point North. 

Hillview will be contributing to The  McKinney Vento efforts to support homeless children  and their families in our area. The goal is to collect personal items for both girls and boys (i.e.: deodorant , shampoo’s, body lotion etc.). There is a box in the foyer for you to drop off your donations. The deadline is Sun  Nov 16th, so we can present  our “gift  of love”  for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Dec 21st 4th Sunday of Advent- Peace.

Dec 21st Christ Birthday Offering.

Dec 24th Christmas Eve.

Dec 24th Candlelight Service 6pm at Hillview. A chili dinner will be served after service.

Dec 25th Christmas Day.

Dec 31st New Years Eve.

Jan 1 New Years Day.

Offering Envelopes are located on the wall outside of the sound booth.

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“The Peace of God in scripture involves far more than the absence of conflict. It is a deep-seated sense of well-being rooted in God’s nature and promises.”¹

In the OT, shalom/peace was promised to those who put their trust in God.

Isaiah 26:3

3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

The New Testament presents this peace as fulfilled in Christ.

Ephesians 2:14

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

“Through Jesus’ sacrificial work, believers experience reconciliation with God and unity with one another.”²

Philippians 4:7 also affirms, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This verse highlights the fact that God’s peace exceeds human understanding. It is divinely given, not self-generated. This peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, this peace provides us with a sense of calm and rest regardless of what we are experiencing in the world. As we look at the topics of the candles that have been lit on the Advent wreath, hope, love, joy, and peace all have a connection to the Spirit of God and equip us to possess an ability to represent Jesus in a positive way regardless of what is happening to us from a worldly perspective.

Since we want the peace of God alive in us, praying right is essential. Many people have made poor choices due to pressure to decide on issues immediately. Verse 6 of today’s text tells us not to be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. When we do that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

“The Greek word translated “anxious” in Philippians 4:6 means to be pulled in different directions. Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears pull us the opposite direction.”³

We would typically say, “I’m worried about something, not I’m anxious about something.”

“From a spiritual point of view, worry is wrong thinking (mind) and wrong feeling (the heart) about circumstances, people, and things. Worry is the greatest thief of joy. (What do we usually tell people about worrying, stop.) The antidote to worry is the secure mind. When you have a secure mind, the peace of God guards you, and the God of peace guides you.”⁴

If we are to conquer worry and experience a secure mind, our prayers and petitions must be right. Proper praying consists of three phases, adoration (to worship with deep love and respect), supplication or petition (humbly asking God to meet your need or the need of someone else), and thanksgiving (the expression of gratitude to God).

If we want the peace of God, we need to pray right. God already knows what you need before you ask. The tricky part for us is we forget that fact about God. Many times, before we make a request to God, He has already dispatched an answer to our prayer so the answer to our prayer will arrive on time. So, we should start our prayers with adoration or the praise of God, because it gives us access to Him. I want to drive home the importance of our praise of God. I found seven reasons to praise God, by Todd Gaddis through Lifeway research.

1. The Bible commands it – Ps 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
2. Praise facilitates access to God. Ps 100:4 – Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
3. Praise is where God lives. Ps 22:3 (Amplified) But you are holy, O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel are offered.
4. Praise promotes productivity – Jack Taylor’s commentary – “When we praise, productivity is maximized, fulfillment is realized, and frustration is neutralized.”
5. Praise chases away despair. – By changing our focus from self to God we produce the oil of gladness instead of mourning.
6. Praise is an effective weapon against the devil. It is through praising God that the mouth of the devil is shut. If you are struggling shutting the mouth of the devil in your life or at home, its because you’re not praising God.
7. God is worthy of our praise. He purchased our freedom through His shed blood to forgive our sins and give us salvation.

Adoration/praising God as the first part of our prayer life is key to us receiving the peace of God. After praising God, we can make our supplication or petition to God. In its simplest form a prayer of petition is asking God for something.

What is the usual reason our prayers aren’t answered?

James 4:1-3

1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?

2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

The Bible provides us with several examples of acceptable prayers of petition.

Nehemiah 1:11

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah prayed for favor when he met with the king so the king would grant his request, to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem.

Ps 51:1-7

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

David prayed this prayer after being confronted by Nathan the prophet, after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

John 17:13-15

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

Jesus prayed to his Father that He would protect His disciples from the devil. Three petitions that not only would God hear but also answer. The motives behind the prayers were acceptable to God.

We are to praise God before we ask for anything, then we are to make petitions or supplications with the right motive, then we are to express our thankfulness to God for answering our prayers.

Psalms 100:1-5

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

When we pray right, we receive the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I found where Philippians 4:7 was re-written so we could better understand what was being said.

“And the peace of God – a peace so wonderful that it cannot be compared to any other type of peace; a peace that stands in a category by itself and rises far above and goes beyond anything the human mind could ever think, reason, imagine, or produce by itself – will stand at the entrance of your heart and mind, working like a guard to control, monitor, and screen everything that tries to access your mind, heart, and emotions.” (Rick Renner Ministries)

“Talking to God about everything that concerns us and Him is the first step toward victory over worry. The result is that the “peace of God” guards the heart and mind. You will remember that Paul was chained to a Roman soldier, guarded day and night. In like manner, “the peace of God” stands guard over the two areas that create worry – the heart (wrong feelings) and the mind (wrong thinking). When we give our hearts to Christ in salvation, we experience “peace with God”, but the peace of God takes us a step further into His blessings. This does not mean the absence of trials on the outside, but it does mean a quiet confidence within, regardless of circumstances, people, or things.”⁵

We need to make sure we are praying right, so we will all experience the peace of God.

We’ve learned that when Jesus is Lord, regardless of our circumstances, we will have hope in the Lord, a reason to get up tomorrow, we will experience the love of the Lord, we will have value, we will have the joy of the Lord, we will remember all the Lord has done for us, and we will know the peace of the Lord, we’ll have that spiritual bond with God. Our perspective on life will be grounded in the Lord. Regardless of what happens to us or to the ones we love, we will know that God knows what is best for us. We’ll be able to say, “God’s will be done.”

Study Questions on the sermon

The Peace of God

1. The Peace of God in scripture involves what?
2. What was the requirement in the Old Testament to receive the Peace of God?
3. What is the fulfillment of this peace in the New Testament?
4. What did Philippians 4:7 affirm about the Peace of God?
5. How do we receive the Peace of God?
6. On a scale of 1 – 10, 1 being not at all and 10 being a serious problem, how big of a problem is worrying in your life?
7. What are the three phases of proper praying?
8. How does motive affect your prayers?
9. What does the peace of God do for us?

Continue to pray for the sick and shut-ins and their caregivers. Prayer is needed for our entire congregation as we are all dealing with spoken and unspoken needs and requests.

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