If you want to see some progress in your spiritual life, if you would like to know that your prayers are getting through, if you would like to have the help Jesus promised for those who follow him, then you would get a lot of help in worship. The worship that focuses on presenting the story of God in Scripture and an invitation to experience real grace, love and forgiveness at the Table of the Lord.
This Sunday I shared the story of the Road to Emmaus, which is normally read around the Easter season, because it's about Easter afternoon, when Jesus joined up with Cleopas and a second disciple on their walk home to Emmaus, a village about 7 miles away from Jerusalem. It's an awesome story because it helps us to see how and why to worship. The story is found in Luke 24: 13-35. Go read the story and come back to this blog.
The story begins with Jesus joining up with the two who are very down trodden. I don't know if Emmaus is down the hill from Jerusalem or not, but they were down trodden from the grief of seeing Jesus nailed to the cross and the confusing rumor about his rising from the dead. That part had not yet been confirmed. So Jesus asked them what's the matter, why are you so discouraged.
They began to pour our their heart about their concerns, about the grief they felt. They had such high hopes and the death of Jesus really put the squash on their hopes and dreams. I proceeded to invite the congregation to share why they might be discouraged. It became a sharing of concerns and prayer requests, and one of the teaching moments about asking for prayer when we worship. It's very similar to Isaiah 6:1-8, when Isaiah heads for the temple in his grief over the death of King Uzziah. He poured out his heart to God and he felt God's comfort in that place. The reassurance, the touch on his lips declaring him forgiven and his hearing the word to proclaim God's story is powerful too.
Our worship time gives us a chance to put into God's hands the things that discourage us. We shared about a mother in the last stages of cancer, of a woman in our church who lost both father and mother within a very short time. We shared about the challenges of dealing with aging parents and the grief their dementia was giving to their children. Jesus was walking along the road with us there for sure.
Then we began to listen to what Jesus had to say about the events of that Holy Week. He began with Moses and the prophets and the psalms to tell the story. He related the words of God in scripture to the events they were experiencing. That's what scripture can do. Relate the events, concerns, challenges we face with help from God. If there were time travel available, that's my first stop, the road to Emmaus, to hear Jesus put all the events and the scripture together about what he went through. That would be the most awesome opportunity to listen in that I can imagine.
I'll get to the rest of the story real soon.
Our congregation serves a community meal the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month to all who come, there is a free will offering basket available, but you can eat for free. It's a good time to fellowship with others, to sit down and let someone else do the cooking, it's a way to stretch your budget, spend time with family, whatever..... Join us sometime. I need to go, the smell of tonight's soup is pulling me into the fellowship hall. I'll tell you the rest of the story soon, I promise.
Pastor Jeff
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