The Gift and Blessing of PEACE | Lynnette Missiuna [November 30, 2025]

Advent invites us into peace, even while December tries to pull us into hurry, worry, and pressure. Peace isn’t wishful thinking; it flows from who God is. From eternity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have lived in other-centered, joy-filled love—a community of perfect peace. Out of that overflow, God created us for love. But sin fractured that peace—in Eden, in Israel’s story, and in our own hearts when we trust other voices above God’s. So God came near. The Triune God gave us a promise in the priestly blessing—his face turned toward us, shining on us with grace, keeping us, and giving us peace. That blessing reveals God’s heart: not distant judgment, but attentive, steadfast love.

The prophets pointed to a day when the “Desire of Nations” would come. In Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory, the angels’ song became flesh: peace on earth. At the cross, Jesus reconciled all things, joining what was torn, making peace by his blood. He invites us into the very fellowship of the Trinity and promises his own peace: not the world’s fragile calm, but the Spirit’s steady presence. Peace begins with reconciliation to God, but it does not stop there.

We long for peace within ourselves. Our inner parts often pull in different directions. I shared my own story of withholding my body from God and the slow freedom that came when I learned to trust his goodness and surrendered all of me to him. The Spirit gathers our scattered selves into wholeness as we rejoice, pray, think on what is true, and practice what we’ve received. This is not a one-and-done; we fall down and get up again, returning our gaze to the shining face of Jesus.

Peace also pushes us toward others. Let the peace of Christ “umpire” your relationships. This is not cheap peace; it is the courageous move toward wholeness, justice, and reconciliation. When conflict drained a workplace friendship, I prayed the Aaronic blessing over my coworker—simple, trusting, without trying to control outcomes. Jesus met us. This Advent, receive God’s blessing, pray it over your own life in daily surrender, and speak it over others—even enemies. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Live under God’s shining face God’s face toward us means attentive, personal presence—not vague goodwill. Living under that light changes how we see ourselves, our fears, and our future. The blessing is not a charm; it’s an invitation into relationship with a God who delights to keep, grace, and guard. [31:27]
• 2. Jesus is peace given and made Peace isn’t a mood; it’s a person who reconciles all things. In Jesus, we finally see the Father’s glory and receive a peace the world cannot give or take. His cross joins what is torn—God to us, and us to one another. [37:36]
• 3. Let Christ gather your scattered self Our inner wars reveal divided loyalties and unhealed wounds. As we bring every part—body, mind, memory, desires—under Jesus’ gentle rule, the Spirit knits us into wholeness. This happens through repentance, new habits, and a steady gaze on Christ’s mercy. [44:31]
• 4. Pray blessing into conflict and injustice Peace must include justice and real reconciliation, not mere quiet. Blessing those who oppose us entrusts the situation to God’s wisdom and timing, refusing control while pursuing the other’s good. It softens our hearts and opens space for God to work. [50:38]
• 5. Return to peace daily with surrender We fall down and get up again, turning our attention back to Jesus. Peace grows where we practice rejoicing, gentleness, prayer, and obedience in small, repeatable ways. Over time, the God of peace forms a steadfast heart within us. [47:34]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:45] - Opening Prayer and Advent Peace
• [03:30] - The Frenzy Before Christmas
• [06:00] - Can We Trust God’s Peace?
• [09:00] - Trinity: Eternal Community of Love
• [12:00] - Eden’s Peace Shattered
• [25:16] - Wrestling with Anxiety and Control
• [27:48] - Listening to the Wrong Voice
• [31:27] - “The Lord Bless You and Keep You”
• [34:10] - When God’s Face Feels Distant
• [37:36] - Jesus, Radiance and Prince of Peace
• [41:10] - Invited into Triune Fellowship
• [44:31] - Peace Within Our Fragmented Selves
• [47:34] - Daily Surrender and Returning to Jesus
• [50:38] - Let Peace Umpire Your Relationships
• [53:58] - Blessing an Enemy at Work
• [56:51] - Receive and Speak the Blessing

1. Read Numbers 6:24–26. What three distinct actions does the blessing name (bless, keep, make his face shine/turn his face) and what picture of God's care do those actions create for the hearer? [31:27]
2. Which words in the blessing point to both individual attention and communal well‑being (personal favor and shared peace)? How do those two sides of the blessing fit together in the text?
3. The sermon connects “the Lord turn his face toward you” with the idea of God’s attentive, gracious presence. What specific images or examples from the talk helped make that connection clearer? [31:27]
4. The blessing concludes with “give you peace.” Based on the sermon and the text, list at least three different dimensions of that peace (examples: reconciliation with God, inner wholeness, peaceable relationships). Which dimension stood out most to you and why?

1. How does the Aaronic blessing reframe God’s posture toward sinners — from distant judge to an attentive, gracious keeper — and what implications does that have for trusting God in anxious seasons? [31:27]
2. How does the claim that Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory” and the one who “makes peace through his blood” function as the fulfillment of the blessing’s promise that God will turn his face toward us? [37:36]
3. In what sense is Christian peace not merely the absence of noise but the joining together of what is torn (reconciliation, justice, wholeness)? How does that fuller definition change the way one should act in situations of conflict or injustice? [50:38]
4. How should the description of our “scattered selves” (parts of mind, body, memory, desire at war) shape the church’s understanding of discipleship and spiritual growth? What does it imply about the practices needed for ongoing wholeness? [44:31]

1. Which part(s) of your life are you still withholding from God (body, memories, sexual desires, reputation, anxieties)? What is one concrete, small step you will take this week to entrust that part to God’s care? (Be specific about time/place/action.) [44:31]
2. Try praying the Aaronic blessing slowly over yourself each morning for the next seven days: “The Lord bless you and keep you…make his face shine…turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Where will you fit that 1–3 minute practice into your day, and what will you notice after a week? [47:34]
3. Name one strained relationship (home, work, church, neighbor). What would it look like to let the peace of Christ “umpire” your next move there — one concrete action you can take that aims at reconciliation and justice rather than merely quick quiet? [50:38]
4. Identify one person you consider difficult or opposed to you. What would it take for you to pray the blessing over them (word for word) and then step back from trying to control the outcome? What fears come up when you imagine doing that? [53:58]
5. Pick one habit from Paul’s list the sermon mentioned (rejoicing, gentleness, prayer with thanksgiving, thinking on what is true, practicing obedience). What specific daily or weekly pattern will you adopt this month to let the Spirit gather your scattered self? How will you measure whether it’s helping? [47:34]
6. When you notice an anxious voice telling you to act out of fear or control, what simple test will you use to decide whether that voice or God’s voice is the one you should follow? (For example: “Does this choice draw me toward God’s shining face?”) Where and when will you practice using that test this week? [27:48]