Week 2: "Sleep in Heavenly Peace"

Bridge Community Fellowship Sunday 12-07-25 Worship Service Tis the Season: A Journey Through Advent Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Isaiah 11:1-7) Big Idea for This Week: In Jesus, we can have peace despite our circumstances because we trust in God's sovereign plan, obey God's just rule, and anticipate God's future peace. Sermon Outline 1. Peace in God’s Sovereign Plan (11:1–2) A shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. • Action: Stop trying to decode the "Why" of your struggles and rest your head on the "Who" above the uncertainties of life, the Sovereign God. 2. Peace in God’s Just Rule (11:3–5) He shall not judge by what His eyes see but with righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with equity. • Action: Drop the gavel. Resign from the position of judge and trust that God will handle the ultimate justice in eternity. 3. Peace in God’s Future Kingdom (11:6–10) The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. • Promise: We don't have to panic about the middle of the story because the Author has written a just ending where wrong will fail and right will prevail. Study Questions for Reflection 1. What are the specific things making you anxious or afraid today (financial, political, relational), and how does that affect your peace? 2. Anxiety is often a "gaze problem." In what areas are you looking horizontally at the chaos instead of vertically at the King? 3. Are you currently carrying a "gavel" by holding a grudge or demanding justice against someone? What would it look like to hand that case file over to God? 4. When you "doom-scroll" through bad news, how can the promise of God's future Kingdom (where the wolf dwells with the lamb) restore your hope? 5. How can you practically trade your demand for an explanation (the "Why") for a revelation of God's nature (the "Who") this week? Practical Challenges • Pray First. Identify your fears and pray to trust God’s sovereign plans, confessing your anxiety to Him. • Shift Your Gaze. When you feel stressed, stop looking at the horizontal chaos and meditate on a specific attribute of God (His wisdom, power, or love). • Drop the Gavel. Identify one person you are judging or refusing to forgive, and consciously decide to "retire from the bench" and leave it to God's wrath or grace. • Anticipate the Kingdom. Pray specifically that God’s Kingdom would come on Earth as it is in Heaven, bringing peace to the broken areas of your life and world.