Greater Glory—Second Sunday of Advent I Will Grant Peace

Published September 4, 2026

Updated September 4, 2026

By Benjamin P. Snoek

This is part of the worship series, 
"Greater Glory”

Series Introduction 
 Advent 1  | Advent 2 | Advent 3 | Advent 4  
 Christmas Eve/Day | Christmas 1 

Second Sunday of Advent (Peace)

Text: Haggai 1:16–2:9; Matthew 2:1–15

Theme: I Will Grant Peace

Key Idea: The birth of Jesus shakes our expectations for peace.

 

Have you had a dream where you’ve tried to run, but end up moving through molasses? Life can feel like that while awake. As we work for the kingdom, it can feel like we are not making any progress. It can even feel like things are getting worse around us. As the remnant rebuilt the temple, they faced external opposition (see Ezra 4; Nehemiah 4, 6). And they faced internal disappointment: Those who remembered the former temple were disheartened that the new temple “[seems] like nothing” (Haggai 2:3 NIV).

We know how it feels to do everything right, but no matter how hard we try, we can’t seem to get ahead. We want to seek God’s voice, but the doors keep closing. We want to work for God’s justice, but nothing seems to change. Like the remnant Jews, we might wish to see a family, church, country, or world “in its former glory” (Haggai 2:3 NIV). Diagnose the disillusionment and disappointment that your congregation feels when progress for the kingdom feels disrupted by internal and external hostilities.

The holiday season—a time that should be marked by “peace and quiet”—is always celebrated against seasons of overwhelming conflict, embarrassing unemployment, and frightening diagnoses. Flip the channels on your TV and notice the contradiction between Hallmark specials and apocalyptic news clips. Scroll through your Facebook feed, and notice the contradiction between family Christmas cards and meal train sign ups. In your prayers and preaching, there are ample opportunities to speak prophetically to the personal frustrations, local controversies, and global crises that dishearten your people. Where does your congregation lack peace? Why does this peace feel impossible?

This service focuses on the promise that God makes at the end of the passage: “In this place, I will grant peace” (Haggai 2:9 NIV). (We will revisit this text on the First Sunday of Christmas with another focus). The Son of God entered a time of tremendous socio-political unrest. The remnant had long finished the temple, yet Jerusalem, the “city of peace,” had become far from peaceful under Roman occupation. Consider where you might see contemporary expressions of Herod’s paranoia and attempts to create peace through power (Matthew 2:3).

In the presence of Jesus, God brings peace to a disturbed world. He shows a “greater glory” (Haggai 2:9) that “shakes all nations” (Haggai 2:7) into a proper re-ordering. As we work for God’s kingdom, we are working for this peace in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22–27). But the destabilizing forces of this world want us to believe that peace is unattainable or that it will always be disrupted by something new. Consider this in light of the text’s “shaking” imagery: How does Jesus’ birth disrupt or “shake” this status quo? What does it take for us to believe in Christ’s peace in the face of real evils that want to dishearten and dismiss our work? How can your congregation’s everyday work participate in “shaking the nations” back into God’s order? How can Haggai’s words—“my Spirit remains among you” (Haggai 2:5 NIV)—keep our hearts encouraged when progress toward this peace feels smaller, slower, or harder?

 

Service Outline

God Gathers Us

Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship & Lighting of the Advent Candle

[If the congregation is unfamiliar with the participants and/or purpose of Advent wreaths, the following introduction can be included:]

Good morning. I am/we are __________,
and we have been worshiping at __________ for __________ years.

Each Sunday in Advent,
we light one candle.
These candles represent the growing light
that Jesus brings to our dark world.

[As one person lights a blue/purple candle, another reads:]
On the second Sunday of Advent,
we light this candle in peace.
When our world feels unstable,
God’s peace is wider.

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it. 
—John 1:5 NIV

*Opening Song        

“Everlasting God” Brown and Riley

*God’s Greeting & Greeting One Another

As we wait upon the Lord,
God strengthens our hearts and minds,
guarding them in Christ Jesus.
The Everlasting God is in our midst,
and he greets us with these words:

Grace, mercy, and peace be yours
from the God who is with you
and for you! Amen.

*Song

“Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” Wesley

Prayer of Lament

[If desired, the language of this prayer can be adapted into a confession of sin.]

Long-expected Jesus,
our strength and consolation,

We long to taste your goodness.
We long to see your glory.
We long to live in your kingdom.
But when will that day come?

Though we long to experience your promise of peace,
our lives constantly feel shaken up;
we are moving backward, not forward.

Why does it seem
that we only know a world
without your glory?

We lament a country where injustice and selfishness
disrupt progress for your kingdom.
We lament a church where division and distraction
turn us away from your plans.
We lament a family where uncertainty and crisis
trouble our hearts beyond comprehension.

[Other laments can be added based on pastoral needs.]

Why does it seem
that we only know a world
without your glory?

When peace feels impossible, O Lord,
prove us wrong.
Break through our disappointments.
Shine brighter than our disillusionments.
Release us from our fears and sins
so that we might serve you
with all our hearts. Amen.

Assurance of Hope: John 14:27

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 NIV

Offering and/or Children’s Message

God Speaks to Us

Prayer of Illumination
Scripture Reading

Haggai 1:16–2:9; Matthew 2:1–15

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

Sermon 

“I Will Grant Peace”

God Receives Our Dedication

Bidding Prayers of the People

[In a bidding prayer, the congregation makes petitions (“bids”)—whether verbal or silent—to God. The people then respond with a repeated refrain. During an invitation to prayer, you could project images of various situations and screengrabs of news headlines for which you will invite your congregation to pray.]

The Lord spoke to the exiles in Babylon:

“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.
Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 
—Jeremiah 29:7 NIV

With confidence in the Lord’s provision,
we pray for peace and prosperity
in our difficult, restless world
that God so loves.
Let us lift our voices with one accord, saying:
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

[This alternative refrain could be used, fitting to Haggai 2]

Shake the nations, O Lord—
shake our world back into order.

[silence kept]

We pray for our friends and neighbors
who long for peace:
disrupted by unending conflicts,
agonizing over unsettling news,
wrestling with unspeakable struggles.
We lift these names to you in silence 

[OR out loud]. 
[silent or verbal bids]

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

[silence kept]

We pray for the leaders of this church
who long for peace:
Guide our pastor[s] [elders, deacons, leaders, volunteers, etc.],
for only your Spirit can heal our disunity.
Only your Spirit can turn us from distractions.
Only your Spirit can guide us in power.
We lift these names to you in silence 

[OR out loud]. 
[silent or verbal bids]

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

[silence kept]

We pray for the places in our country and world
that long for peace:
neighborhoods where inequalities are evident,
cities where the powerful exploit the weak,
nations where conflict never ends.
We lift these places to you in silence.

[OR out loud]. 
[silent or verbal bids]

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

[silence kept]

[Additional petitions can be made based on pastoral needs, closing with this summary prayer:]

Be near us, Lord Jesus;
we ask you to stay close by us forever.
Accept these prayers that we offer to you,
and send your Spirit to strengthen us
as we work for peace and prosperity
under your gracious rule.
We pray in your mighty name,
with the words that you taught your disciples to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven…

*Song 

“O Holy Night” Cappeau, trans. Dwight 

or 

“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” Sears

God Sends Us

*Benediction & Charge

In this world, you will have trouble.
But take heart!
Christ has overcome the world! 
—John 16:33 NIV

As you go,
may the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
which surpasses all human powers,
which enters all circumstances,
guard your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. 
—Philippians 4:7, adapt.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

*Sending Song 

[Christ’s work of “shaking the nations” back into order is both local and cosmic. Based on your direction in the sermon, choose a song based on the dimension of Christ’s peace you would like to emphasize in the sending.]

Confessions and Testimonies