“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” [John 14:27]
I like to think of them as those peaceful moments in life—When all seems right with the world. When a sense of calm fills your heart and mind. When you’re not stressed about everything you have to do or everything going on in your life. Peaceful moments that sometimes come at odd times and odd places. Maybe it’s watching a child playing cheerfully with a toy. Maybe it’s watching the clouds float by in the sky.
The words of our text were spoken on the night before Jesus’ death on the cross. Talk about demands—God’s plan of salvation demanded that Jesus live a perfect life as our substitute. Talk about stress—God’s plan of salvation demanded that Jesus carry the sins of the world on his shoulders. Yet even on the eve of the most difficult day of his life, we don’t see Jesus thinking about himself, we see Jesus thinking about others, we see him thinking about us. “Peace I leave with you. . .”
The peace of Jesus is yours as a totally free gift. It doesn’t depend on how well world powers or earthly families and friends are getting along. It cannot be dampened by hurtful words or deceitful actions. It isn’t affected when things don’t always go the way you want them to. That’s what makes the peace of Jesus Christ so amazing, so divine, so worthy of our time and attention. Join us this week at Sedona United Methodist Church as the Rev. Fred Mast offers a message entitled “Finding Our Peace”.
Sunday mornings we enter the spirit of worship at 9:30 am featuring uplifting music, special times of prayer and passionate life changing messages designed to move you closer in your relationship with Jesus Christ and others. Immediately following worship, you are encouraged and invited to stay and join us in our Fellowship Hall for the friendliest and best fellowship time anywhere featuring delicious snacks and great coffee and always friendship.
Join us on Tuesday’s for an inspirational study based on Max Lucado’s book entitled “Grace: More Than We Deserve—Greater Than We Imagine” continuing through June 18th. We are offering two times and locations—10:30am at the Church (110 Indian Cliffs Rd.) & 2pm at “The Gathering Place” (1835 W. State Rte. 89A) in West Sedona. The entire community is encouraged and welcomed to attend—Please Call the church office for more details (928)282-1780.
Sedona UMC offers several weekly book and bible studies: Wednesday’s our Men’s Bible Study at 9am; and Thursday’s our Women’s Bible Study at 9:45am. So many great missions, ministries and events happening at Sedona UMC—Visit our website at us on www.sedonaumc.org and “Like” us on Facebook. We would love to pray for you! —Prayer requests may be submitted online or by calling us at 928-282-1780. We are conveniently located at 110 Indian Cliffs Road off the Back O’Beyond roundabout on Route 179 in Sedona. All are welcome at Sedona UMC—Come and grow with us!
