Sermon 4-3-05 Road to Emmaus
The Queen of England often visits a certain Castle as a get away.. On one occasion when she was walking by herself in the early morning, it started to rain so she rushed to the shelter of the nearest cottage and knocked on the door. A lady came to the door who was obviously very upset that someone would bother her at this time of the morning. She opened the door a few inches and barked, "What do you want?" The queen didn't introduce herself. She merely asked, "May I borrow an umbrella?" "Just a minute," grumbled the woman. She slammed the door, was gone for a moment, and returned bringing the rattiest umbrella she could find...it had several broken ribs and was peppered with lots of small holes. She pushed it through the door and said, "HERE!" The Queen of England thanked her and went on her way with the ragged umbrella.
The next morning, the queen's entire escort, dressed in full dress uniform, pulled up in front of the cottage. One of the escorts knocked on the door and returned the umbrella to the woman saying, "Madam, the Queen of England thanks you." As he walked away he heard her mutter, in obvious deep embarrassment, "If I'd only known who she was......"
Tell the scripture story
We don’t recognize him
When he gives us air
When he gives us love
When he comforts us in sorrow
Then in a moment of need in our life we wonder where he is?
why we don’t recognize him
why we don’t recognize him 1. we get distracted - one day upon a farmer had just rescued a lost sheep. When asked how the sheep got lost, the farmer replied, "They just nibble themselves lost." They go, he explained, from one tuft of grass to another, until at last they've lost their way.That's what happens in life, isn't it? we nibble away at life until it's gone and we have no idea where it went.
why we don’t recognize him 2. we are afraid of what we might see We don’t want to feel the pain…..Two men were riding through the slum section of Chicago. One leaned over and pulled down the curtain on the window, saying: "Since I can't do anything about that mess, at least I don't have to look at it."The other man reached over and raised the curtain and said to his companion: "You can do something. You can look."
why we don’t recognize him 3. we don’t want to put in the effort We assume it will work without the commitment on our part to make it work.
Once upon a time, a group of men from Chicago left their jobs in the high-rise office buildings, moved to the prairie, and bought some farmland. "We're farmers!" They all declared to each other. And all summer long they would go to the field to watch their crop grow up. However, when September rolled in, their fields were filled with goldenrod and all kinds of wildflowers and weeds. "Where's the corn?" they asked each other. And they wondered what they could have possibly done wrong.
What we can do to recognize him..we can plant seeds of growth
Although the apostle Paul was seized upon in a moment, it is not what happens to most of us. If we want to experience the risen Christ, we need to put ourselves on the road with Jesus.
Fellowship-spending time with Christian friends
Study-reading a good devotional book or reading from the scriptures
Prayer-not to ask for, but to give ourselves unto him
Fasting-24 hours with only water…when ever you feel a pang, seek him
Solitude- time alone….time to think, to meditate, to pray to slow down
Service…friends spend an hour doing something for someone else….someone commented….oh, I would hate doing that…best thing
Worship-not just attending service, pouring out your heart
A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain. This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines--they are a way of sowing to the Spirit.
We can not make it happen but we can set the stage
When God breaks in
It is beyond human thinking or experience
God acts, it is amazing
He speaks to us in insights that are bigger than I am
Provides sense of awe and reverence
Epiphanies that God gives
The disc were present
They believed
They were yearning for god
What am I currently not doing that, if I were doing, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?
_______________________________________________
2) What am I currently doing that, if eliminated, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?
_______________________________________________
Christ "walks through the centuries alongside each generation, alongside every generation, alongside every person. He walks alongside each person as a friend. An important day in a young person's life is the day on which he becomes convinced that this is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on whom he can always count." -- Pope John Paul II,
Holy Communion
As you come to the table today, I invite you to spend some time seeking that friend, who wants to make himself known to you.
The Queen of England often visits a certain Castle as a get away.. On one occasion when she was walking by herself in the early morning, it started to rain so she rushed to the shelter of the nearest cottage and knocked on the door. A lady came to the door who was obviously very upset that someone would bother her at this time of the morning. She opened the door a few inches and barked, "What do you want?" The queen didn't introduce herself. She merely asked, "May I borrow an umbrella?" "Just a minute," grumbled the woman. She slammed the door, was gone for a moment, and returned bringing the rattiest umbrella she could find...it had several broken ribs and was peppered with lots of small holes. She pushed it through the door and said, "HERE!" The Queen of England thanked her and went on her way with the ragged umbrella.
The next morning, the queen's entire escort, dressed in full dress uniform, pulled up in front of the cottage. One of the escorts knocked on the door and returned the umbrella to the woman saying, "Madam, the Queen of England thanks you." As he walked away he heard her mutter, in obvious deep embarrassment, "If I'd only known who she was......"
Tell the scripture story
We don’t recognize him
When he gives us air
When he gives us love
When he comforts us in sorrow
Then in a moment of need in our life we wonder where he is?
why we don’t recognize him
why we don’t recognize him 1. we get distracted - one day upon a farmer had just rescued a lost sheep. When asked how the sheep got lost, the farmer replied, "They just nibble themselves lost." They go, he explained, from one tuft of grass to another, until at last they've lost their way.That's what happens in life, isn't it? we nibble away at life until it's gone and we have no idea where it went.
why we don’t recognize him 2. we are afraid of what we might see We don’t want to feel the pain…..Two men were riding through the slum section of Chicago. One leaned over and pulled down the curtain on the window, saying: "Since I can't do anything about that mess, at least I don't have to look at it."The other man reached over and raised the curtain and said to his companion: "You can do something. You can look."
why we don’t recognize him 3. we don’t want to put in the effort We assume it will work without the commitment on our part to make it work.
Once upon a time, a group of men from Chicago left their jobs in the high-rise office buildings, moved to the prairie, and bought some farmland. "We're farmers!" They all declared to each other. And all summer long they would go to the field to watch their crop grow up. However, when September rolled in, their fields were filled with goldenrod and all kinds of wildflowers and weeds. "Where's the corn?" they asked each other. And they wondered what they could have possibly done wrong.
What we can do to recognize him..we can plant seeds of growth
Although the apostle Paul was seized upon in a moment, it is not what happens to most of us. If we want to experience the risen Christ, we need to put ourselves on the road with Jesus.
Fellowship-spending time with Christian friends
Study-reading a good devotional book or reading from the scriptures
Prayer-not to ask for, but to give ourselves unto him
Fasting-24 hours with only water…when ever you feel a pang, seek him
Solitude- time alone….time to think, to meditate, to pray to slow down
Service…friends spend an hour doing something for someone else….someone commented….oh, I would hate doing that…best thing
Worship-not just attending service, pouring out your heart
A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain. This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines--they are a way of sowing to the Spirit.
We can not make it happen but we can set the stage
When God breaks in
It is beyond human thinking or experience
God acts, it is amazing
He speaks to us in insights that are bigger than I am
Provides sense of awe and reverence
Epiphanies that God gives
The disc were present
They believed
They were yearning for god
What am I currently not doing that, if I were doing, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?
_______________________________________________
2) What am I currently doing that, if eliminated, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?
_______________________________________________
Christ "walks through the centuries alongside each generation, alongside every generation, alongside every person. He walks alongside each person as a friend. An important day in a young person's life is the day on which he becomes convinced that this is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on whom he can always count." -- Pope John Paul II,
Holy Communion
As you come to the table today, I invite you to spend some time seeking that friend, who wants to make himself known to you.
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