Read: Luke 24 Walk to Emmaus
Take a walk with Jesus. Visit with Jesus about the days events. Discuss the high and low points. Listen as he offers the story of life once more. Feel peace in our soul as never before. Walk and talk, share and listen.
Only you did not know it was Jesus while you were walking. You assumed it was another traveler, searching for the better part, just like you. You had not considered the person, only your personal feelings of despair, weariness, and frustration. You did not look in the face of the man, only listened, as he shared the stories of hope and courage. How could you have been so blind, so self-consumed? And yet, it was the Christ who had been walking with you all along.
The reason this story pulls at our hearts is that it is also our story. We have been the one walking toward home, full of self-pity and complaints. We have missed the presence of the risen Lord. And for what? You see, I believe God has more waiting for us than we could ever imagine if we only dared to look. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.
Consider the story differently. What if the traveler noticed the face, recognized the voice, and remembered the stories? What if he understood this was God, rejoiced, and worshiped. What if the travelers’ spirit was renewed in the full presence of Jesus? How might the story have taken on even more meaning and power? Perhaps that is the point. We have the opportunity of a lifetime right before us, which can move us just a little closer to home.
Sunday Worship
Scripture: Luke 24:13-35
Sermon Title: “Opportunity of a Lifetime”
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Readings Leading to Sunday March 30, 2008
Read: John 20 Doubting Thomas
Proof; we want proof before we get involved. We want proof of purchase, proof of identity, proof of ownership, and proof of investment. We want proof that we are not going to be ripped off, proof that we are going to have it our way, and proof that our voice is heard and our interests considered.
A fearful and anxious generation cannot trust; simply will not trust. The capacity to trust is not within our power. There are no second options, like, “Please, you go first.” The bottom line is the only line and we are living with our heads just above that line. All because we are taught, we cannot and should not trust “the man.” Who is the man anyway, if not we ourselves? By the way, isn’t the proof always in the pudding?
That is what Thomas thought. Show me the scars, show me the face of Christ, only then will I believe. He is like our Patron Saint because he nails our unwillingness to believe in the small things of Christ, and thus miss out on the big things. Thomas knows what we all know, that seeing prompts our believing.
But here is the funny thing about that. It is not true. Believing almost always comes as a pure faith response, rather than an experience of encounter. We are saved by grace through faith, not through revelation. We go forward in hope and trusting God, not because of what we have seen and experienced, but rather by what we have yet to see and hope to someday experience. It is in this Holy Spirit power that we step forward into the unknown through faith in love and grace for those around us. What will it take to move you just a little closer to home?
Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Sermon Title: “In Search of Proof”
Proof; we want proof before we get involved. We want proof of purchase, proof of identity, proof of ownership, and proof of investment. We want proof that we are not going to be ripped off, proof that we are going to have it our way, and proof that our voice is heard and our interests considered.
A fearful and anxious generation cannot trust; simply will not trust. The capacity to trust is not within our power. There are no second options, like, “Please, you go first.” The bottom line is the only line and we are living with our heads just above that line. All because we are taught, we cannot and should not trust “the man.” Who is the man anyway, if not we ourselves? By the way, isn’t the proof always in the pudding?
That is what Thomas thought. Show me the scars, show me the face of Christ, only then will I believe. He is like our Patron Saint because he nails our unwillingness to believe in the small things of Christ, and thus miss out on the big things. Thomas knows what we all know, that seeing prompts our believing.
But here is the funny thing about that. It is not true. Believing almost always comes as a pure faith response, rather than an experience of encounter. We are saved by grace through faith, not through revelation. We go forward in hope and trusting God, not because of what we have seen and experienced, but rather by what we have yet to see and hope to someday experience. It is in this Holy Spirit power that we step forward into the unknown through faith in love and grace for those around us. What will it take to move you just a little closer to home?
Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Sermon Title: “In Search of Proof”
Friday, March 14, 2008
For Easter Sunday March 23, 2008
Read: Matthew 27 & 28
Seventh of Seven Sermons in the Series: Investigating Jesus
Jesus did not play sand volleyball. He did not talk on a cell phone. He did not drive a Hummer. Jesus did not play Texas Hold-Em and gamble for entertainment. Jesus did not hang around with church people. Jesus did not raise hell. Jesus did not fill out a March madness bracket. Jesus did not drink bottled water. He did not eat pizza, ice cream, or hotdogs. Jesus did not listen to iTunes on his iPod. Jesus did not … well you fill in the blank.
A list of what Jesus did not do can go on and on. Our lives are very different from his. However, every difference carries similarities. Jesus was playful, ate the food of the day, traveled in the style of the culture, and sang songs.
Easter is the celebration that Jesus did not stay dead. This is the only thing Jesus did not do which matters. Our task is to believe, accept in faith what Jesus did not do.
To believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a daily event. To say faith is a one-time event and requires we never again question or even feel intimidated by the daily news in relation to life is not our claim as Christians. Weakness is our claim. Confusion is our lot. Daily reaching beyond ourselves is greatness.
Anyone can claim a breakthrough and live his or her whole life based on the “glorious past” of one event. However, the individual of faith is willing to get out of bed every morning and reframe those days’ events within the power of something beyond self. This Easter faith, in what Jesus did not do moves us just a little closer to home.
Sunday Worship
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10
Sermon Title: “What Jesus Did Not Do”
Seventh of Seven Sermons in the Series: Investigating Jesus
Jesus did not play sand volleyball. He did not talk on a cell phone. He did not drive a Hummer. Jesus did not play Texas Hold-Em and gamble for entertainment. Jesus did not hang around with church people. Jesus did not raise hell. Jesus did not fill out a March madness bracket. Jesus did not drink bottled water. He did not eat pizza, ice cream, or hotdogs. Jesus did not listen to iTunes on his iPod. Jesus did not … well you fill in the blank.
A list of what Jesus did not do can go on and on. Our lives are very different from his. However, every difference carries similarities. Jesus was playful, ate the food of the day, traveled in the style of the culture, and sang songs.
Easter is the celebration that Jesus did not stay dead. This is the only thing Jesus did not do which matters. Our task is to believe, accept in faith what Jesus did not do.
To believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a daily event. To say faith is a one-time event and requires we never again question or even feel intimidated by the daily news in relation to life is not our claim as Christians. Weakness is our claim. Confusion is our lot. Daily reaching beyond ourselves is greatness.
Anyone can claim a breakthrough and live his or her whole life based on the “glorious past” of one event. However, the individual of faith is willing to get out of bed every morning and reframe those days’ events within the power of something beyond self. This Easter faith, in what Jesus did not do moves us just a little closer to home.
Sunday Worship
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10
Sermon Title: “What Jesus Did Not Do”
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