“When God Sounds the Alarm” | Matthew 3:1–12 | Advent Peace

Heritage Fellowship — December 7, 2025**

Our first Christmas as new parents didn’t go as planned. At 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve, the fire alarms went off, smoke filled the house, and we found ourselves standing outside in the pouring rain, terrified and holding a six-month-old baby.

It felt like our peace was ruined.

But sometimes the thing that disrupts your peace

is the very thing that saves your life.

That’s the heart of Advent 2.

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist thunders onto the scene with a message we don’t often associate with peace:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

John is God’s smoke detector — not frightening us, but waking us up.

God’s peace doesn’t begin with silence or sentiment.

God’s peace begins with clarity, conviction, and truth that calls us out of danger and into life.

In this sermon we explore:

🔔 Movement 1 — The Alarm That Wakes Us Up

How a fire alarm on Christmas Eve revealed the difference between false peace and real peace.

🔥 Movement 2 — John the Baptist and the Peace That Disrupts

Why God’s peace sometimes sounds like warning, not whispers.

🌿 Movement 3 — Repentance, Conviction, and Real Change

Why repentance isn’t guilt — it’s growth.

Not punishment — but God’s path to peace.

🌄 Movement 4 — The Gift We Almost Miss

The surprising truth that peace isn’t the absence of trouble,

but the presence of what matters most.

If you’ve ever felt like your life’s alarms were interruptions…

this Advent message may help you hear them as invitations.

Scripture: Matthew 3:1–12

Series: Advent 2025 — “Awakening the Season”

Church: Heritage Fellowship, Canton, GA

Pastor: Justin Bishop

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