Christ beside me, Father guide me, Spirit hide me.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Sermon Notes

April 10, 2005 - Sermon notes
Andy Lees took the service at church today. He rocks. 

The Gospel reading this morning was one of the accounts of the road to Emmaus. Quick rundown of the story, as I don't recall the reference (but I think it's in Matthew, near the end; after the resurrection, before the ascension):

A couple of Jesus' disciples are walking along the road, on their way to Emmaus. Jesus appears and walks with them on the way. They talk, but the disciples don't recognize Him. They eventually come to an Inn, and the disciples start to turn in. Jesus acts as if He's going to keep going, and the disciples basically tell Him that He simply MUST come in with them. So He does, and while they are eating, He takes bread and breaks it, just as He did at the Last Supper. And THAT is when they realize who He is.

Now my actual notes:

Familiarity = loss of power.

We have the same problem as the disciples on the road to Emmaus: Jesus is walking beside us, but we don't recognize Him.

Post-resurrection appearances are important, reassuring for us; they prove that we can be close to Jesus.

How do we get from the road to the Inn, where we recognize Him in the breaking of the bread?

Use our experiences to move from head knowledge to heart knowledge:

    People. We should all know at least one person who epitomizes a close relationship with Christ.
    *Don't become a Christian stalker; you don't have to tell them that you're doing this!
    *Don't get competitive.


    Place. Find or remember a place that is holy to you & return to it (either physically or mentally).

    Event. Remember life events that have a strong sense of the divine.


    Scripture. Find comfort & meaningful passages.


    Eucharist. This is where the reality of Christ is found.
    *Can also have the problem of familiarity.
Liturgical worship is not about comfort, it's about knowing what's going on, so that you can meet God in your worship without worrying about what's going to happen.

Come to the Eucharist expecting:

    Healing

    Transformation;

    Power.
The resurrection is what our faith is based on.

I hope that makes sense...

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