Dec 7, 2025

Dr. “Joey” Alan Le

Peace

Today, for Advent, we are talking about the peace of God. What is peace? 

What is the opposite of peace? Fighting. Arguing. Bickering. Being mean to others. Maybe, even beating them up.

Peace is most certainly the absence of fighting. 

But people in the Bible wrote about the peace of God as something even greater than the absence of fighting.

For the people of God, peace means wholeness, health, having all your needs met, being saved, and even friendship. 

It is God’s dream to create a world where his people and all living things live in peace with one another. 

Would you like that kind of peace? Well, the peace of God starts with you.

Angel's Foretelling

The priest ZECHARIAH WAS PRAYING for his people, and an ANGEL of the Lord APPEARED to him, foretelling that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a SON named John.

I want you to listen carefully to how the angel DESCRIBES THE KIND OF PERSON JOHN WOULD BECOME.

Luke 1:15 

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Greatness

“[John] will be great in the sight of the Lord.

The angel does not say that John would grow up to be GREAT IN THE EYES OF PEOPLE. 

In fact, on the surface, John doesn’t look great at all.

John DID NOT HAVE BIG FANCY HOUSES; he lived in the WILDERNESS and all he owned was a TUNIC made of CAMEL’S HAIR and a LEATHER BELT, and his diet was LOCUSTS and WILD HONEY (Mt 3:4).

John walked all over the place telling people to REPENT of their sins, and BAPTIZED them in the Jordan River (Mt 3:5–6). I DON’T THINK THAT MADE HIM LOTS OF MONEY.

John definitely couldn't be THE LIFE OF THE PARTY; he DIDN’T DRINK alcohol.

So, by normal human standards, John wasn’t great. 

But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that John would be great in the sight of the Lord.

Whose opinion matters more to you? Your opinion of yourself? Your friends’ opinion of you? Your parents’?

The only opinion that truly matters is God’s opinion of you. 

Be great in the sight of the Lord.

So, let’s see what will make John great in the sight of the Lord, yeah? 

Filled with the Spirit

He must never drink wine or strong drink; 

JOHN WILL NOT BE MISLED or be UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SUBSTANCES. 

Substances can be anything that controls us. 

For example, I’ve got a problem with snacks and junk food. I love junk food. I know it’s bad for me. I tell myself, “Oooh, just a little.” Next thing I know, I finished a box of Oreos. More often than not, junk food controls me; I don’t control junk food.

For others, it could be TV, VIDEO GAMES, PHONE TIME, SHOPPING, SELF-IMAGE, or whatever.

Such things will not control John. Instead, 

15 even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

John will not be controlled by things; he will be led by, and under the influence of, the Holy Spirit.

Can I tell you a secret?

If John could be filled with the Spirit before his birth, then that means that even the youngest, littlest person here could be filled with the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that just awesome?

And we know that the Holy Spirit always leads us towards what is best for us, towards God himself.

Turn People to God

16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 

So often, we TURN AWAY from the Lord our Creator, our Father, our Savior. It’s so easy for us to get WRAPPED up in our own EGOS and INTERESTS. We try with all our might to INCREASE OUR GREATNESS. It’s all about me, me, me. 

When our HEARTS CURVE or TURN INWARDS, we end up HURTING OURSELVES AND OTHERS.

We try to USE GOD AND OTHERS to make us HAPPY, but that SELFISHNESS ONLY DIVIDES US FURTHER.

John will spend his life HELPING PEOPLE REMEMBER how much the Lord their GOD LOVES THEM, encouraging them to LET GO OF THEIR SELF-HURTING HABITS and to TURN BACK to the ABUNDANT LIFE God has in mind for them.

Turn Parents to Children

The angel says something so strange. 

John will “turn the hearts of parents to their children” (1:17).

As a parent myself, I would have thought that John’s job would be to turn my child’s heart toward me, right? 

I mean, come on! I’m the grown-up! I’m older. I’m wiser. I know what’s best for my kid, right?

But that’s not what the Bible says.

Luke specifically says that parents will change their minds and hearts; not the children. Huh.

I think Luke is talking about how PEOPLE WITH POWER relate to the people they are in charge of. INSTEAD OF using their higher position to STEP ON the people below them, they use their power to LIFT OTHERS UP. They will be KIND, CARING, AND GENEROUS with the people they look after.

This is most definitely the case for parents and children. But it could be the relationship between

• An older SIBLING and a younger sibling

• A TEACHER and student

• A BOSS and employee

Instead of making the lesser person change suit the greater person’s needs and wants, the greater person voluntarily changes themselves to suit the lesser person’s needs and wants.

Isn’t that actually what God in Christ has done for us? 

God didn’t wait for us to change and to go to heaven to find God. God changed himself and came down to earth to find us.

What would it mean for me to turn towards my daughter, Evie? And it’s affected how I parent. 

• I want to be more present with my daughter. 

• I want to learn to listen, really listen, to her. 

• I want to validate her feelings. 

• And I want to be her greatest cheerleader. That’s where I am starting. 

I’m curious to hear what this verse means to other parents.

Parents, can you turn your hearts towards your children with the same gentle, compassionate, and forgiving care that your Heavenly Father shows you?

SuperKitties

Can I give you an example of peacemaking?

My daughter, Evelyn — she’s four years old, now — started watching a show called SUPERKITTIES.

It’s about four super cute kittens, each with UNIQUE STRENGTHS:

1. Ginny’s strength is leadership

2. Sparks is the tech whiz

3. Buddy is strong

4. Bitsy is fast

The Great Yarn Caper

In the first episode, The Great Yarn Caper, various citizens of Kittydale discover that their sweaters, hats, and mittens have gone missing.

A mysterious thief with a claw would hook the item and pull on it until the clothing unraveled completely. 

The SuperKitties put on their superhero costumes and discovered that the mysterious thief was none other than Cat Burglar!

He had stolen a bunch of clothes and rolled them all up into a great big, giant ball of yarn.

There was a spectacular chase, and when the SuperKitties finally caught the Cat Burglar, and asked him why he had collected so much yarn.

He sheepishly admits that he had LOST HIS FAVORITE-FAVORITE RAINBOW-COLORED BABY BLANKIE that he had had since he was a kitten. And so he figured he had to STEAL all those items to knit a new rainbow blankie.

Bitsy knew how much Cat Burglar must have MISSED his favorite item. So, she ran back and got the rainbow blanket from the lost-and-found and gave it back to him.

The Cat Burglar then knits new hats, sweaters, and mittens to replace the ones he had stolen. But he’s happy to have his favorite-favorite blankie once again.

SuperKitties Lesson

When you see someone doing something wrong, it’s easy — normal, even — to CHASE them down, BEAT them up, and be MEAN to them. After all, they deserve to be punished, right?

But that’s not what the SuperKitties are about.

The GREATEST SUPERPOWER the SuperKitties have isn’t technology, strength, or speed; it’s EMPATHY.

Most of the bad guys in the show — Cat Burglar, Mr. Puppypaws, Lab Rat, and Zsa-Zsa — do bad things because they just WANTED ATTENTION, OR BECAUSE THEY FELT LEFT OUT, or, as in this case, had LOST SOMETHING THEY CHERISHED.

And the SuperKitties find a way to stop the bad guys 

• without hurting them 

• or being mean. 

• They listen to the Cat Burglar’s story, 

• feel what he feels, 

• show kindness, 

• do something tangible to meet his need, 

• and they help him turn his negative behavior into something positive. 

• The SuperKitties even befriend him.

So, you see, this SuperKitties episode TEACHES US HOW TO BRING PEACE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

Conclusion

So, to wrap it up, all I want to say is that GOD ALREADY THINKS THAT YOU’RE GREAT. And God’s opinion of you is what matters most in the world. 

So, for this Advent Sunday, remember: GOD CREATED YOU, just like he created John the Baptist and the SuperKitties, TO BE PEACEMAKERS.

Creating peace by being peaceful…that’s real greatness.

Benediction

May each person here be filled with the Holy Spirit. And may we turn our hearts back to the Lord, turn our hearts over to the people in our care, and turn towards what is wise and right.