main passage read aloud by the congregation, the road to Emmaus story
13 Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.
14 They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened.
15 While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things which have happened there in these days?”
19 He said to them, “What things?” They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21 But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
22 Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb;
23 and when they didn’t find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
24 Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
25 He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?”
27 Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 They came near to the village, where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.
29 They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
30 When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them.
31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.
read to show the events at the crucifixion including the torn veil and saints rising from tombs
51 Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Jesus predicting he would raise the temple in three days, his disciples remembered after the resurrection
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?”
21 But he spoke of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
referenced in the closing prayer as Elisha asking God to open his servant's eyes to see the surrounding spiritual armies
1 The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we live and meet with you is too small for us.
2 Please let us go to the Jordan, and each man take a beam from there, and let us make us a place there, where we may live.” He answered, “Go!”
3 One said, “Please be pleased to go with your servants.” He answered, “I will go.”
4 So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. Then he cried, and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float.
7 He said, “Take it.” So he put out his hand and took it.
8 Now the king of Syria was at war against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
9 The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass this place; for the Syrians are coming down there.”
10 The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once or twice.
11 The king of Syria’s heart was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13 He said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” He was told, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14 Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night, and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 He answered, “Don’t be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” He struck them with blindness according to Elishah’s word.
19 Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria.
20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.” Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
21 The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, “My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?”
22 He answered, “You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.”
23 He prepared a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel.
24 After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
25 There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
27 He said, “If Yahweh doesn’t help you, where could I get help for you? From of the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
28 The king said to her, “What is your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29 So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him;’ and she has hidden her son.”
30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his body.
31 Then he said, “God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then the king sent a man from before him; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, “Behold, this evil is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Brian opened 2024 with a message drawn from Luke 24, the walk to Emmaus. The core invitation was simple: stop rehearsing what was and start paying attention to what Jesus is doing right now.
What was said
Two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem toward a village called Emmaus, roughly eleven miles out. They had been there for Passover, stayed three days after the crucifixion holding onto a sliver of hope, and then gave up and left. Brian pointed out that Emmaus was known for its hot springs and mineral baths, a place people went to unwind and decompress. Whether or not the text says that explicitly, the pattern was familiar, he said: when things get complicated and hope runs dry, the human tendency is to retreat toward comfort, to check out, to go back to whatever requires the least from us. Peter did the same thing after the resurrection when he said, "I'm going fishing."
Into that retreat, Jesus appears on the road and walks with them without being recognized. Brian lingered on what he called the "coy" quality of Jesus in this passage, asking "what things?" when he already knew everything, and later acting as if he would walk on past them, knowing they would beg him to stay. The point was that Jesus was looking for hunger. He will walk right on by if there is no invitation. But when they begged him to stay, he went home with them, broke bread, and their eyes were opened.
Before getting to the heart of the sermon, Brian asked the room to recall what had been happening in Jerusalem that week, and the conversation broadened the picture considerably. The triumphal entry, the overnight trial, the crucifixion, and then a detail from Matthew 27 that Brian said people tend to skim over: at the moment Jesus died, tombs broke open, bodies of holy people were raised, and they walked into Jerusalem and appeared to many people. The Roman soldiers at the crucifixion connected the dots and said, "This man truly was the Son of God." The whole city was in an uproar.
Against that backdrop, the two disciples were walking away describing Jesus in the past tense. Brian made the group notice the grammar: "he was a prophet," "he was a mighty teacher," "we had hoped he was the Messiah." Every verb was past tense. Their grief had frozen their picture of Jesus at the tomb. They were talking about a what was instead of a what is.
Jesus called them foolish for it, and Brian paused there. He acknowledged that the word lands hard in English. But the affection behind it, he said, is closer to something like "have you left your brains back in Jerusalem?" It was meant to jolt them out of a pattern and create an opening. Then, patiently, Jesus walked them through Moses and all the prophets, showing how it all pointed to the Messiah. Hours of scripture, right there on the road. Their hearts were burning the whole time, they just did not realize it yet.
Brian landed the message on a single line he asked people to write down: "Don't miss what is because you are stuck in the what was." The two disciples had Jesus walking beside them and could not see him because they were rehearsing a story that had already ended. He said the same thing happens when failures, condemnation, old patterns, or old identities become the lens through which a person tries to see what God is doing today. The invitation of that moment in the service, he said, was the same one Jesus extended at the table in Emmaus: let him break bread with you right now, in this, and let your eyes open to what he is actually doing.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
Pick one moment this week when you are stressed or checked out and sing something to God out loud, even if it is just 'I love you', instead of retreating into comfort.
Write down one thing from 2023 you have been replaying or dragging into the new year, and ask God specifically to free you from that 'what was' so you can receive what he has now.
Read Luke 24:13-31 on your own and sit with the question Brian left the room with: what is the Holy Spirit doing in your heart right now that you might be missing?
If you have been avoiding a hard conversation or disengaging from something that matters, take one concrete step back toward it this week rather than heading for your personal version of Emmaus.
When you worship this week, whether at home or in the car, practice doing it out loud rather than only internally, remembering what was said about declaring who God is rather than keeping it inside your head.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Clay shared that going through cancer treatment may be the best thing that ever happened to him because it strengthened his foundation in Christ. What has the Lord used in your own life, something painful or unwanted, to do that same kind of work in you?
Brian talked about how Cleopas and the other disciple were walking away from Jerusalem toward Emmaus, possibly retreating to a place of comfort after everything fell apart. When things get hard or confusing, what does your personal version of Emmaus look like?
El primer domingo de 2024, Pastor Brian tomó como punto de partida la historia de los dos discípulos que iban camino a Emaús, en Lucas 24:13-31. Después de la crucifixión, esos dos seguidores de Jesús iban huyendo de Jerusalén, probablemente buscando un lugar donde descansar y olvidar todo lo que había salido mal. Pastor Brian señaló que esa tendencia a refugiarse en la comodidad cuando las cosas se ponen difíciles es algo muy humano, y que los dos discípulos casi se pierden el encuentro con el Jesús resucitado por estar demasiado atrapados en lo que había pasado.
Lo que más le importó a Pastor Brian fue el contraste entre el "qué fue" y el "qué es". Los discípulos hablaban de Jesús en pasado, como si todo hubiera terminado, mientras que él caminaba justo a su lado. La congregación fue invitada a considerar si algo parecido les estaba pasando a ellos, es decir, si el peso de fracasos, errores o patrones del pasado les estaba impidiendo ver lo que Dios quiere hacer ahora. Al final del servicio, Pastor Brian invitó a quienes sentían ese peso a ponerse de pie y recibir oración para soltar el pasado y abrirse a lo nuevo que Dios tiene para este año.
La reunión fue muy participativa, con varios miembros compartiendo reflexiones y conexiones a lo largo del mensaje. Entre los momentos que más resonaron estuvo la lectura de Mateo 27:51-54, donde se describe todo lo que ocurrió en Jerusalén en el momento de la muerte de Jesús, incluyendo los cuerpos de personas santas que resucitaron y aparecieron en la ciudad. También hubo una conversación rica sobre el significado de adorar a Dios en voz alta como un acto de guerra espiritual, y sobre cómo el amor y la paciencia de Jesús se muestran en la forma en que guió a esos dos discípulos a través de las Escrituras.
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Pasajes bíblicos utilizados
Lucas 24:13-31
Mateo 27:51-54
Juan 2:19-22
2 Reyes 6 (los ejércitos espirituales alrededor de Eliseo)
Read the full transcript10,013 words
Morning. I'm gonna have Renee pray for us as we get started. Go ahead and stand up together.
Lord, thank you for for bringing us together today to gather together and lift our voices and praise you. And, Lord, when we do that, when we open our mouths and sing, you are lifted high. You are lifted on our praises. So holy spirit, we invite you
into this
time to fill our hearts and our minds with your thoughts and your words. We ask for your presence to fill this place because we need you, God. We are created to be in communion with you, and so
Just close your eyes really quick.
Just talk to him from your
heart today. What's your expectation today of meeting with him? What is your expectation? Did you just kinda stumble in here out of obligation and all of a sudden you're like, oh yeah, wait a minute. If you did, that's okay.
Just take a minute before him and just say, okay, Lord. What do you wanna do in me and through me and in this place today? Just lay everything else aside. Lord, we invite you to come and speak to us today. As we gather here as your bride, just as we sang like a bride on her wedding day, we are your bride.
We are the church, your church. Come and speak to us today by your spirit through pictures and words and encouragement, prophetic words. To us through your word. We like this to be a conversation, not a monologue here at Tribe as the Holy Spirit put something on your heart that's for this group corporately. Sometimes he comes and he speaks to us personally and that's for us.
And sometimes he has a word, a picture, some something that he wants to speak to us as a group. You just slip your hand up. We have a microphone for our livestream family who watches and so that we can hear in the room, and Kat has a microphone. So just be praying. Always come asking the Lord, Lord, what would you have today?
And I think Clay's got his hand in the back. And then we'll continue to worship. We have one more song. Just be asking the Lord what he has for you today.
What I've got is what I read this morning and it falls right in line with what what we're singing about today. The Psalms eleven three, if righteous do? For so many years, I lived a subjective life based on opinions and feelings and somehow avoided the truth. I thought being a big man with my fist, I was, I was ready to take on the world, one person at a time or three or four, whatever. It didn't matter.
Going and having cancer treatment I don't I don't say this half heartedly. It it may be the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've been able to fellowship with god so much. For so many years, my foundation did not have the steer steel rebar in there to to make it strong, and it kept crumbling on me. I don't wanna beg to this morning, but work on your foundation.
You're not standing on the truth. You're not standing with Christ at your side, then you're missing. You're missing out. Be objective. Find the truth, and the truth is in god's word.
And I just pray that people will open their eyes because we're letting we're letting the world dictate. We're putting lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig, and we need to realize that.
Good, Clay. I immediately think of consider it pure joy, my brothers. And sisters, you face trials of many kinds, like what joy in a trial? And we all know God does not cause cancer. Right?
He did not bring that to Clay to strengthen Clay's faith. Right? But God will use it, and he is a healer. So thank you, Lord, for the work that you're doing in Clay through this and Nancy, building their faith. Nothing is better than you.
Yes. And the Lord's put in some kind of your heart to share that
Jesus, you said that those of us who live in the shelter of the most high, we will rest in your covering under the shadow of your wings. And this morning, we declare that you alone are our God. You only, nothing else. You are our God. And we declare that oh, thank you, Jesus, that you will rescue us from every trap, and you'll deliver us from the fatal plague.
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you that your promises are faithful and that your promises will pursue us all the days of our life, and we will live in the house of the Lord forever. Oh, Lord. But until then, this is our house. Time.
We your
time.
Ourselves to you you. And we thank you, Lord, that you're quick to forgive. In fact, we know that you've already forgiven us, Lord. And we just want you to know there's no place else for us. Apart from you, there is nothing.
Apart from you, we have nothing. That's right. You are life itself. That's the truth. And we stand on that word.
And we walk into that where we pursue the truth of that word, the promise of your words, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. We bless your name. We honor you this morning.
Amen.
He loves to hear your worship. The Bible says over a 100 times to lift a new song onto the Lord. That's the song that comes from your spirit to him. Let's practice in this place. Just sing to him.
You don't have yet to even sing loud enough if you're self conscious louder than for your own ears to hear it, but he loves to hear your worship. If you don't know what to sing, just tell him you love him. No powder day, no relationship, no amount of money is better than you, Jesus. And we declare your faithfulness in this place. And as we dig into your word today, speak to us, Lord.
Let us have ears to hear. Let us have ears to hear what you're speaking to each and every one of us so that we can leave here changed. Tell we love you. Thank you that you always need us. We drag ourselves in and here you are with open arms.
We love you. In Jesus' name. And everybody said, amen. Okay. I have to run before I squeal and give some hugs But people that I'm seeing that I haven't seen in so long, go fill up your coffee, greet somebody, say good morning, and get out God's word, and let's dig in.
Amen.
How's that, Isaac? Alright. It's good to see all of you this morning. Pins. Maybe like in the back by the offering.
Mhmm.
I need you I need you to meet all of these new little noonies. Probably, you guys should just start coming to Tuesday again because there's a lot of, like, seasonal little noonies that need needing and loving.
Oh.
Alright. Good morning. You can always tell the visitors because I only have to say good morning once or twice before they're like, oh, wait. I'm supposed to, like, pay attention now. All the people that call tribe home are like, yeah, I've got at least three more good mornings before I actually have to sit down.
Before the yeah. Yeah. There's yes. There's a lot of merriment. Maybe it's the new year.
Maybe it's the snow. Maybe it's the coffee. Maybe it's the holy spirit. So I I am a singer out louder. Right?
Like, I'm I'm not a I'm not a great singer out louder. In fact, all the churches that I've been a part of, which haven't been that many, but all the churches that I've been a part of, whenever I'm mic'd up, they know that if it's time for a singing, that pastor Brian should be muted. But that's okay because the lord hears me and loves it. But when Lissa, this morning, she as you heard her encourage, extol, cajole, invite you to sing your own song to the lord, I just I I won't ever be able to hear this, but it would be so cool someday if I could just just for a moment get the glimpse and the perspective of heaven and be able to hear what the lord hears when you take a risk to open your mouth and sing to the lord. It must thrill his heart to no end.
For you, even if you're even if you're like, la la la la, like, you don't know, like, you know, the words that you wanna like, the lord's like, I'll take it. But maybe there are words, I love you, or or I don't know what words were coming out of your mouth when Lissa invited you to sing your own song to the lord. And if you if you sat there either like, well, I don't have a good voice or I don't have anything to say, or if you sat there spectating, just I want you to know that whenever we do that, which is not all the time, but I would say frequently, when we do that frequently, I I really want to invite you and encourage you to practice that, even if you're not naturally a singer out louder. Think of it less about you, What do I say? How do I sound?
And think of it more like an offering that you're bringing to the lord. I mean, it's not in the Bible, but, like, if a little boy could go visit the new mother Mary and all he had was a drum, like, surely, your voice is going to be more pleasing in the ears of the lord than that drum was to Mary. Thank you, Lizzie, for helping me out there. And I'm not gonna ask you. I, you know, I love to, like, talk to you and hear back from you, and I love to ask you questions, and I love to poll the audience by show of hands.
I'm not gonna ask you this morning if you if you actually stepped out and and practiced, like, using your vocal cords to sing a new song to the lord. But, oh, man, I just wanna tell you. Number one, you're in a safe place where you can do that. Number two, we invite you to do that. And number three, it the, like, the lord's like, that's why I gave her vocal cords.
That's why I gave him a voice so that he could just pour out of his heart to me. I think of it
as building a tool in the tool.
Lisa said, I think of it as as gaining a tool for your tool belt. And what is the work to be done that you might need that tool for? Warfare. Warfare?
A
garment of alright. Yeah. Yeah. A garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness.
Yeah. Just knowing in those moments, like, you can practice that here, if you're not already doing that on your own, just worshiping him when maybe you don't feel like it. Worshiping him freely in your car. Worshiping him in moments. You know, you don't have to put on a song and sing a verse, chorus, bridge.
He wants to just it's just it's a weapon, worship.
That's good. Oh, here we go. So the mic's gonna come all the way back there to you, Nancy. And if you're brand new to Tribe, you're already picking up on the vibe of Tribe. I want this less to be a monologue and more for it to be a dialogue.
I want to hear from you, Hannah Pollard, or anybody else if you have a question, connection, or comment. Let's do this collaboratively. Okay?
And you know, a lot of people have problems with the repetitive worship. And I've tried to explain to them that, you know, when you say over and over, Lord, there's nothing better than you. It gets in your spirit. And then when you really realize it, you don't you don't care if there's anybody standing around you and singing or listening to you sing. It's not about you.
Yeah. And Yeah. And there's there's a reason for it. You know, you can sing a verse and boom, it's gone. But when you really get it in your spirit and you let the Lord minister to you and you worship him, it's like filling your gas tank up.
You know? So Yeah. I say, let her rip.
Let her rip. It blesses the Lord's heart. It blesses the Lord's heart, and it's good for your spirit. It's a win win.
I just wanted to add to the worship is warfare that, you know, the enemy can't hear our thoughts. And so we can pray internally. We can worship internally, but the enemy doesn't hear that nor any of his minions. And when we worship out loud, we declare who God is to the powers of darkness. That's why it's warfare.
You just said amen. Amen. Okay.
This is how I fight my battles.
Believe in an amen. Amen.
Yes. Yes. Yes. You may have an amen and shall receive a hearty amen because it's so true and it's so good. If you have your Bibles with you this morning, would you turn to Luke chapter 24?
Last Sunday that we got together was the last Sunday of twenty twenty three. This is the first Sunday of twenty twenty four. And every year, as we, you know, kinda get into Thanksgiving, Christmas time, I spend some time, some some some dedicated time with the Lord inquiring of him. Hey. Do you have anything that I should know about for 2024?
As as the the lead pastor here at Tribe, what is it that you want us to be aware of, in tune with? Do you have a compass bearing for us? And and and maybe you could think of it as, like, is there a word for us, for tribe, for 2024? And he shared that with me. And today, I am not going to share that with you.
But I will next week. Alright? So next week, make sure that you're here and or that you come back so that so that you can hear what what the lord has put on my heart. I've shared it a little bit in bits and pieces among the staff team and get to get to share it other in other places. But next Sunday, I'll share it with us as as a tribe fam.
And don't worry. It's not like like it's it's just it's it's good. Luke chapter 24, if you're taking notes this morning, you can write at the top of your notes. Leave the past behind you. We're going to read a story about something that happens with with three people, two believers, and Jesus after the resurrection.
And so, what we like to do here is take turns reading. So, we're going to start in verse 13. We're going to read all the way to verse 31 and we'll hand the mic off to somebody and you can start reading and you can read a few verses and hand it off to somebody else and somebody else. We're gonna go Luke chapter 24 verse 13 all the way through 31.
Alright. The same day, two of Jesus's followers were walking to the village of Emmaus seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they had they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things Jesus himself suddenly came began walking with them but God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them what are you discussing so intently as you walk along?
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces and one of them said, then one of them, Cleopas? Yeah. Replied, you must only be you must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days. What things? Jesus asked.
The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth. They said Quick pause.
How coy is he? Can you hear the intonation in his voice? What things? Oh, that little rascal. Come on.
Let's get some. I'm not asking you to read with emotion but when we read the text, we we fill in shading and highlights and colors of the text of the story when we use it with imagination. We don't use our imagination to establish doctrine and theology. That just gets us into the ditch really quick. But when we're reading the text, put yourself in that place.
Put yourself in Jesus' shoes. Why did he say that? What things? Oh, he's being a rascal. Okay.
Alright. Keep going.
He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.
Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing and they had seen angels who told Jesus is alive. Some of our men ran out to see him and sure enough his body was gone just as the woman had said. Then Jesus said to them, you foolish people, you find it hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the scriptures. Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?
Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself. By this time, they were nearing envious and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he was going on, but they begged him, stay stay the night with us.
Quick pause. Quick pause. Again, we can read about we can we can learn about the person of Jesus through his words, through his actions, you know, when he heals people, when he gets into a verbal fisticuff with the Pharisees. But we get to see some beautiful shading and highlights that add extra features to the image of Jesus constructed here in the text when we get to when we take a moment to reread, ponder, consider various things that he says. And in this passage, this is unrelated to what we're talking about.
But, again, one of the things that I love about The Chosen so much how many of you've seen The Chosen? It's so good. And there's definitely, yes, artistic license taken in the creation of that series. But there are stories that come alive in new ways for us because the creators of The Chosen get to add context and and texture to to the story, and we get glimpses of that right here in Luke 21 where he says, oh, what things? Another place, he says, you you you what does he say?
You fools? Are you foolish people? Some something along those lines. We're gonna talk about that if that seems a little out of character. But I want us to to what was the sentence that you just read?
What verse were you in?
I think I was in '29.
Yeah. Yeah. Twenty fives. Oh, yeah. Thank you.
Yes. Thank you. That's where I was going. He once again, he he knew what was gonna happen, but he's like, hey. You guys, like, great talking with you.
Knowing that they're gonna be like, no. No. No. No. No.
You can't just walk on path. Another time, there was a a a storm raging on the sea. Jesus was walking on the water, and the Bible says that he intended to what? Walk right on past him. That Jesus, do not let him walk right on past you.
Because he's looking for hunger. Okay. Okay. Alright. Just keep reading.
Jesus acted as if he was going on, but they begged him, stay the night with us since it is getting late. So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
And at that moment, he disappeared.
Oh, again, that guy. I mean, he was in a mood, wasn't he? He was in a mood that day. I had things to do. Suddenly, their eyes were open and they recognized him and at that moment, he disappeared.
So, let's let's talk really quickly about the background. When the disciples say, have you not heard all that has been going on in Jerusalem? Jesus says, what things? Let so that we're all on the same page here. We'll bring us all get us all up to speed.
What are some of the things and events that these two disciples were referencing when they said all the things? What what what's one of them or a couple of them? We'll just let me hear from you. Miracles. There had been miracles like what specifically?
Don't know. Healings or raise raising from the dead?
Yes. Lazarus had been risen from the dead. There were healings, and and all of these things were occurring throughout the life and ministry of Jesus but the week that he came back to Jerusalem just before he was crucified. Oops, I guess I just telegraphed one of the big events but what else was going on because the Bible says that the entire of Jerusalem was in a swirl. He was this man, Jesus, was on the tip of the tongue of every single person in Jerusalem.
What else was going on? There was a trial. Yep. Yep. But not during normal court hours.
It was like in the middle of the night, which was suspicious. What what else was going on during that week that was causing the whole city to buzz? I'm not looking for anything. I'm just trying to, like you know, we we wanna paint a picture. Phil, what do you got?
I think of the the triumphal entry where everybody was like, it's Jesus. He's come to save us from the Romans. He's come to do all these things. He's gonna conquer the world and all of that. And everybody was like, this is this the time.
This is and this is it. And then the trial happened, and then obviously the crucifixion happened, and everybody's including these disciples are, like, super bummed because that that's just out the door according to their their initial thought. Right?
Yes. You're you're you're really onto it. What they had expected, anticipated was it was it was anticlimactic and antithetical to what they thought or anticipated would happen. In the back with Renee.
I I mean, hope I'm not jumping ahead, but, I mean, there was basically a zombie apocalypse going and, like, people were coming out of their tombs and walking around Jerusalem.
So Oh, man.
I think
that was kind of an event.
I kinda wanna I kinda wanna fold up my notes and just hear you preach about that. Now now you are you are right. Let's go ahead and and let let's for to help scoop the jaws off the floor. Let's find let's find that reference and read it because it is valuable. And we read it, and a lot of people skim right over it.
But the city was literally bananas. Mhmm. There was this expectation that Jesus was going to establish a geopolitical rule and reign, which he did not. The bible in the book of Daniel says that that there will be someone great that comes, but it will seem as though they accomplish nothing.
Okay. You ready?
Oh, yes.
Thanks to Connor. He was quick. It's in Matthew, and I love this part. So I'm going to read the beginning of, verse 51 in chapter 27 of Matthew.
Matthew? Okay. I wanna turn there too.
At that moment
Wait. Wait. Wait. Tell me where it is again. Sorry.
Matthew twenty seven fifty one.
Twenty seven fifty one.
Immediately after Jesus cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Thank you, Jesus. I don't know if that moves me. We finally get to go be with the Lord and be intimate with him because of what Jesus did.
It's so awesome. Anyway, the the curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rock split, and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
That's the perfect reaction. When your hand goes up, then the mic comes, and then we
call just wanna finish I just wanna finish because of what it caused people to realize. The Roman officers and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. And they said, this man truly was the son of God.
How did that Roman officer right there at the crucifixion connect the dots, and the pharisees couldn't.
I think I think the
one other thing that in that similar passage that I always like, that hits me that I think gets skimmed over all the time is the veil was not like those drapes behind Brian. Like, it was it was 30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet. That thing was huge. The thing weighed a ridiculous amount and was so thick. And for that to just be torn, like, probably no amount of people.
Like, you need an an immense amount of people to tear that. Yeah. Let alone, like, it just happened.
And from top to bottom Yeah. You know, how many of you have been Christian long enough to remember the power team? Right? Right? They're like, all right.
You guys pray for me. And then they would, like, rip a oh, all the millennials are like, what? They were like, all right. Everybody in the audience pray. They were all, like, jacked.
They're like, you pray, and then they could, like, rip a phone book. Yeah. Rip a phone book in half and, like, everybody would, like, get saved. Okay. Oh, Yeah.
They'd bin frying pans. They would, like, blow up, like, those hot water bottles of people are getting saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit. Like, their veins are bulging. Oh, dude. Yeah.
The eighties. Pentecostal eighties. Whoo. Nineties, Acquire the Fire events. Whoo.
Alright. Well, you should help us. We gotta go somewhere with this.
I grew up watching reruns of that in my apostolic church, so it's just very funny. My favorite tidbit of this passage that I think is just really good to highlight is, obviously all of what's happening here, they're recording what's happening in Jerusalem. But my favorite little apologetic little fact is all the way over in Asia, the emperor at the time, I cannot pronounce his name, but trust me it's a real fact, he recorded an hour of darkness. And in his recording he was like the son of man has fallen. So the fact that other emperors during the time also recorded the darkness that fell when Jesus was crucified is just so powerful.
So good. Alright. Segue. Ripple effects outside of Jerusalem. Two people, Cleopas and the other person.
Is it is it is it two guys? Is it husband and wife? We're not exactly sure. In this part of the text, it is not clear. But what we do know about them is they are disciples of Jesus, and they are leaving Jerusalem, and they're on their way to where?
Emmaus. It's about it's about 11 miles or so outside of the city of Jerusalem. The the city the the tel, like, the archaeological ruins of the city are there today, but the modern city of Jerusalem, the sprawl has just encompassed that that little the little town of Emmaus. They're they're leaving the city. They've been there for the for Passover.
They were there for the crucifixion. They stuck around for three days because Jesus had already risen but in this particular instance, they're leaving. Why didn't they leave? Why didn't they leave right after Passover? Why didn't they leave right like the the next morning.
They stuck around for three days and I would suggest to you that they had about three days worth of hope. And then the bible says that they went back Emmaus. I was like, where is this? But I was in Matthew with Renee. Let me go back to to Luke.
They're walking to the village of Emmaus. While they're walking to Emmaus, if you put yourself in their shoes, imagine that they that they feel disillusioned. They're flummoxed. They're they're doleful about the events that had just happened. Like, what?
And they the city or the village that they were going to, Emmaus, has some significance. If you were reading this story and you knew about the village of Emmaus, there's a lot of thermal activity in that region, but of all of Judea. But in the village of Emmaus, it was known for these, like, hot springs and mineral baths. Now I'm gonna share something that is not in the text with you. Well, I guess what I just shared is not in the text, but it's historical.
But I'm gonna I'm gonna use a little bit of I'm gonna put some preacher sprinkle on this because it preaches really well, but I don't think it stretches the text too far. After a long day skiing, after a long day of work, when you're ready to just enjoy yourselves and you have one of these in your backyard, it's really fun to go soak in a hot tub or hot spring. Yes. If you have a hot spring in your backyard, or a sauna, or as some people call them saunas. Yeah.
Know. But we're in America. Sauna. But in a but but in the same way that a hot tub is relaxing, and if you've had a long stressful day, if you just want to, like, check out, if you just wanna, like, find a place of comfort, getting into a hot tub is very nice, and it helps make the cares and the stress of the day just melt away. Now here's the preacher sprinkle I'm putting on this.
These two disciples were on their way to Emmaus. They had chosen to disengage with the controversy, and they were on their way to just a place of comfort. I just wanna check out. I just wanna be in a place of comfort. I just need a break from trying to sort all of this stuff out.
Was that not, like, the the macro theme of all of 2023 or maybe even the last three years? I just need a place of comfort wherever I can find it, to retreat from having to engage, a place where I can just take it easy, I can retreat back to a place of comfort. Now I want to lend a little bit of of credence to the stretch that I was just making. The stretch that I was making is Cleopas and the other disciple were retreating away from engaging with the controversy in Jerusalem, and they were just seeking comfort. Like, the text does not say that.
And it's hard admittedly, it's difficult to connect that dots just using the text. However, I will share with you a precedent that lends some credence to what I just said. Remember after the resurrection, Peter was with the disciples, and he said, guys, that's it. I'm going fishing. I'm going fishing.
His prior occupation was to be a fisherman. Even Peter himself retreated to the thing that he had all always known, always done, that place of comfort, that place where he could check out, that place where muscle memory would just take of setting the sails for the boat and throwing out the nets and knowing where to fish and pulling it. He didn't have to think. Just retreat to that place of comfort. Peter did it.
Maybe these two disciples were doing it. Jesus appears to them walking along the road. Maybe he was just sitting down. Maybe he was walking slow and they overtook him as he was as they were engrossed in their conversation. And he's like, hey.
How's it going? I just I I would love I would love to see the game film. Like, if we could just put that up on the on the TV, like, what was that? What was those what were those few hours like? How did they actually encounter him?
Was the road dusty? Was it early in the morning? Was it late in the evening? Was, like was the road busy? Did did he, like like I don't know.
Was he sitting there along the road? Did he trip one o I don't know. I don't know. It's just I love to use my imagination to try to put myself in the shoes of Jesus. John has something.
So agree with that. We just put our our dearest kitty down after fifteen years, and it took me a couple of days of just of just set settle letting that settle in and mourn. But that's also like a great meal. Sometimes you need a you know, some time to really let it settle, those sort of things. But there is a verse I wanna read here real quick about about this in John chapter two.
Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up. Then the Jews said it has taken forty six years to build this temple. You raise it up in three days, but he was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Just to add to yours, brother.
Maybe they were waiting. Yeah. Those three days to just see, like, is the temple gonna fall down? Is it gonna build back? Like, what's going on with that temple?
All eyes have been on the temple for thousands of years and will continue to be. Is that not the tendency that that we fall into when things get complex, when we run out of hope if it's for or if it's for three days, if we don't have that encounter with Jesus, is that not our tendency also to just retreat into that place of comfort? And you can fill in the blank of what your place of comfort is. Is it just checking out with amusement? And you know what the word amusement means.
Right? When you have that word a in front of another word, it means to to negate it or the antithesis of it. Amuse. So you need to figure out what the word muse means, and then amuse is the opposite of it. Anybody know what the word muse means, m u s e, muse?
To
study, to ponder, to think about, to consider. You're exactly right. So amuse, we think of it like an amusement park. What do you do at an amusement park? You check out.
You're not thinking about anything other than the next ride or circus food.
Mhmm.
So amuse means to to to not think. And when we encounter difficult, stressful, complex things, our human tendency is to just retreat and withdraw into comfort, whether it's amusement or anesthetizing our feelings or sinking into a place of comfort, maybe even of rehearsing the past and condemnation and and and failures. That doesn't seem like a comfortable place. But if you have listened to the lies of the enemy trying to beat you up over and over and over and over, when things get tough, it's easy to retreat back to that place of condemnation. And then the devil's like, I don't even need to do my job.
He's doing it for me. Ian.
Yeah. It is. I've I've just been pondering on verse 25 where Jesus says, oh foolish ones and slow of heart. So sometimes it's really good to check out thinking but not to check out.
Yes.
And that brings us back to emotions and I totally agree with your emotions are not a basis of forming theology, but emotions are the way God can connect to us that bypass our thoughts and our brain and all the things of the world. And I think that's why Jesus said, you know, slow of heart, but because God contradicts, you know, man's wisdom is foolishness to him. So in a tricky situation, yeah, we do need to stop thinking and just start that utter all that gut, that that that receiving heart to heart.
Yes. You are you are onto
inform the head.
Yes. You're onto something. Jesus said, you what does he say? You foolish people. Yeah.
Right there in verse 25. You foolish people. Now if you don't know Jesus very well, even if you do know him very well, how for how many of you, when you read that, you feel like he's kinda stepping on their toes? Okay. What if he said that to you?
Would you feel like he's stepping on your toes? Yes. We all would. How many of you did not raise your hand at the last raise your hand question? Okay.
Alex, you get points for being honest. I mean, that's kind of abrasive. I believe Hannah, come on. I like that you interrupt me with your hands.
Just on that note, I can't remember where in scripture recently, though, I saw when he referred to his disciples as he said, you you have little faith. He meant that as a term of endearment. Like, you little like, kind of like you little sheep. Like so I just thought that was interesting.
Yes. Yes. So so you and Ian both have been peeking at my notes Oh, sorry. About about our our brains and about what you just said. But there was on one level, we can read this, and we are intended to be jolted.
When we're when we're jolted, we're out of our you know, if you get startled or something, you know, you're for a moment, if you've been, like, daydreaming or somewhere you've been checked out, you get jolted back. Oh, okay. Wait. What's going on? And you reengage with what's going on.
That's part of why Jesus said that. The other reason that that word sounds offensive to to us, we get into a little bit of a translation and issue. When we read, you foolish people, that, I mean, that steps on our toes. That hurts our heart a little bit. It hurt like, ouch, Jesus.
But what you need to understand, just like what what you're saying, Hannah, is that when Jesus said that you foolish people, what those two disciples would have heard is Jesus saying in a in an in an affectionate manner, have you guys left your brain back in Jerusalem? Now, that's a little more palatable than you foolish people. Right? Well, guys, have you left your brain back in Jerusalem? It's hyperbole meant to grab their attention and then, what does he do?
He he then he then go walks them through the scripture. He's then patient. Now Jesus would be a entirely different character if he said, you foolish people, and then disappeared. Ouch. But he had to disrupt that pattern, their tendency to move towards comfort.
He had to disrupt that pattern that created an opening for him, and then what did he do? He gently and patiently walked them through the scriptures.
Explain the whole of the Torah? Oh my god. They're the
most. Here's
what Ian is saying for all of our families that are watching on the livestream, especially little Micah Shelton who was rocking out during worship this morning. I got a little video of Micah rocking out at worship. But what what Ian is saying, could you imagine what that moment or those hours would be like to walk along the road and have Jesus says, alright, guys. Let's rewind. Now think back to Genesis.
Woah. And then the judges and then the prophets and then the the kings. What? And he's like, it it all pointed to the messiah. Did you see how the messiah filled this and fulfilled this?
And they were and their their minds were just being blown. In verse 30, the conclusion is, finally, their eyes were opened. When we spend time with Jesus, he opens our eyes and causes our heart to burn. Remember when he disappeared? They look at each other, and they were like, I recognize that Jesus.
There was a there was a a young person recently that was over at our house for dinner, and they were sharing a they were sharing a dream that they recently had. And in that dream, there was one of the characters in her dream was Jesus, and he did something with her that that you would never ever read about here in scripture. He took her by the hand, and and and did something really cool. I'll let her tell the dream. But what he did in her dream, I've never ever, ever, like, seen a precedent in the text for.
However, my heart burned because that's exactly like something Jesus would do. They saw him sing the prayer of blessing, Baruch, Gata, Adonai, Elohim, Merkah Olam, As he's, like, praying the blessing over the wine and the bread, and they're all
like, Oh, that's Jesus.
And then he's like, See you. They're like, Oh, he was right there with us. Didn't our hearts burn? Now what was it that took them so long for their eyes to be opened? Consider I won't say examine the text because you kind of have to look at it with a broader view.
I'm not looking for something grammatical. But what was it that caused their hearts not to be able to see until he was poofed?
In verse 16, it says, for God prevented them from recognizing him. And I think a big part of that is that they probably wouldn't have just talked to him like a friend along the way to wherever they were heading. If they knew who he was, they'd be like, oh my gosh. Like, can you do this for me? Can I learn more about you?
It's like that doesn't allow what God wanted them to see without knowing Jesus until they were finally like, oh, he blessed the food. That that was him, and now they're gonna go run and tell everybody that Jesus had to be gone for that.
I bet we could I bet we could do a beautiful bible study out of the correlation between this incident that we're reading and the incident of Jesus' resurrection when he's in the garden, and Mary comes and she mistakes him for the gardener, and then he just says her name, Mary, and she just comes unglued. Was the mic going somewhere? Okay.
I I've just been deeply moved in verse 31 when it said, when their eyes are opened and they knew him. Let's not skip past that because I presume I mean, I'm I'm no scholar, but I presume that new is as in a man knows a woman in husband and wife.
It's Yeah.
Yeah. Complete knowing, oneness. Super Absolute. Intimate. Nothing separating.
Yes.
You know? I mean, oh my gosh. I I've never noticed that before. I love you. Knew him.
I love it. Okay. So at the beginning of the service and every week, you you hear me say, I love to hear this is a team effort. I love to hear your questions, your comments, and then your connections. Could you see and and Ian just happens to have the mic and be vocal this morning.
But did you see the connection in his heart? How the holy spirit was like, ping. Ian's like, oh, that's so cool. And the rest of us I mean, maybe you're on the journey with Ian right now in this moment, or maybe you're just a spectator like, oh, that's good for you. But I love how the holy spirit just just touches our heart, and he can use the text or he can use a comment from somebody else to just whisper that word of of connection and reality that causes our heart to burn.
What he did two thousand years ago in the hearts of those disciples, he does today and is doing in this room, and I love to see it. Lord, may our hearts burn for you. Now, I want to I want to land the I want to begin to land the plane by drawing your attention to verse 19 and this is what's going to get us into sort of our our Monday morning where the rubber meets the road. How do I apply this to my life connection? Verse 19.
What things? Jesus replied coyly. The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth, they said. He was a prophet. Oh, do we have that verse up here?
What things Jesus asked? The things that happened to Jesus, the man from man from Nazareth, they said. He was a prophet who did powerful miracles. He was a mighty teacher in the eyes of god and all the people. But our leading priest and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him.
We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. Okay. Let's correct the text. Let's alter it.
People are like, no, no, no. I don't want to get struck. Phil's dodging the incoming lightning bolts. How how should that read? I do it's a bit of a stretch trying to get you to go where my brain is going in this moment.
Sometimes I do a better job of leading you along than others. I'll give you a hint. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, okay. And then I have one more slide, and I'll give you a hint. Lanisha has the mic.
Sorry, Ella. Sorry.
I I was couldn't see behind like, oh, wow.
Oh, yeah.
Teacher's bad. It's okay. You're not bad. When I was reading it, how their first response is, he was a prophet. And instead of them saying that, they easily could have said, he was our messiah.
And how they flipped prophet and Messiah later in '21. Because with a bunch of other world religions, they view Jesus just as a prophet and not the Messiah, and how their hearts easily reflected that because Jesus didn't do what they wanted to do in the way that he did it.
You are you're onto it. You're you're scratching right there close to the bull's eye of what I'm trying to lead you to. Look carefully, Joy, our English major author editor.
This given that, this is probably not correct. But but I think what, like, caught my eye is the past tense, where it's like he was a prophet, but it's like he is a prophet. You know, just because he died doesn't mean that he isn't still the prophet that we see him today.
Come on. Let's do let's do this together. We're gonna change he was to is. Okay. Let's keep going.
Where else do we see this? He is a mighty teacher in the eyes of god and all the people. But our our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. No. Okay?
He is the messiah. Let let's would you go to that next slide, Kai? Okay. This is worth writing down. As we tie a bow on 2023, I don't know what kind of year that you've had.
Our family has had a year. Tribe has had a year. Like, here we are. But I feel like the holy spirit put it on my heart to share with you the exhortation from the lord this morning is this, don't miss what is because you are stuck in the what was. These two disciples missed the what is of Jesus that was walking on the road with them because they were stuck in the what was.
Don't miss the what is. What is the holy spirit doing in your heart and in your life? What is he wooing you? What is he inviting you into? I and and maybe we don't need to go so big and broad as the whole year of 2024, but, like, just in the tenderness of this moment, what is the holy spirit wanting to do in your heart right now that perhaps he couldn't have done up until this moment because you were stuck in the what was?
Don't miss the what is because you were stuck because you were stuck in the what was. These two disciples just got stuck in the what was. And this is the the ministry moment. We we sing not just about him, but we sing to him. We read about him.
Our hearts make connections. The Holy Spirit begins to to to whisper to us through the text and through the conversation. And right now, in a microcosm, this is the moment where Jesus breaks the bread and blesses the cup, and there's the invitation to encounter the what is of Jesus right here in this moment. And the moment of encounter is the invitation of him to say, my son, my baby girl, I don't want you to miss the what is that I have for you because you are stuck in the what was. Failures, mistake, mindset, ruts, patterns of sin that have held you captive, condemnation that you heap on yourself that would maybe in some cases physically prevent you from encountering the what is of Jesus today.
Now this is when I poof out of the way, and we just invite the Holy Spirit to cause your heart to burn with him. Come, Lord Jesus, speak to us. Help me. Help me. Jesus, open my eyes, position my heart to be able to see the what is of what you're doing and what you want to do in my heart and in my life.
And free me from the what was. In the same way that I've just prayed for myself, I'd like to pray for you, for to whom anyone this message resonates and connects with this morning. Like, you can sense that the Holy Spirit is inviting you. To ask him to pull off the side of the road and and have dinner with you. But he also would walk right on by.
So how do we make the most of this this moment right here? I want I'd like to pray for you, but I need to know who you are. What if your point of contact to release your faith was an acknowledgment of, I need to let go of the what was so that I can embrace the what is of what the Lord would want to do in my heart, begin to do even right now. And so that point of contact to release your faith this morning, we don't always do this, but why not this morning? I'm gonna just invite you to stand up right where you are, and that way I would know who to pray for.
And I'm standing too, but I gotta stay in frame on the livestream. So I'm standing. Let's stand right there, and we'll get you the mic.
So there was a cripple who waited a lifetime because he couldn't get to the pool when the water stirred.
So we're all cripples here. There's stuff in our hearts. There's scars on our hearts they're scars on our hearts
and stop us knowing Jesus.
And there's scars in our head, in our thoughts,
and things that have been said, things that haven't been said, and all all of that stuff. But what if today, Jesus is turning the tables? He's gonna pick that pool up, it's water stir and pour it over us again for all who would want to receive
Jesus.
Let's receive that. Don't let
him walk by. Of course, the Lord can meet you while you're seated right there. Of course. But if you feel like you need to respond by standing up, I would invite you to do that because I'm gonna pray in just a moment. Jesus, take us by the hand and allow your healing power to flow through all of the cripple places in our body and in our heart.
Help us to let go of the what was so that we can fully embrace the what is. Not the identity that the world has spoken over us or being defined by our past failures and mistakes, but that we would, that our hearts would burn with the what is of who you are and what you have for us. Father, I pray for all of my brothers and sisters that are standing here this morning and those that are engaging with the live stream that are responding to this invitation as well. Lord, help us to forget past sins and failures and mistakes. All of 2023 is ashes anyways, and help us to embrace the what is that you have for us in 2024.
For all those people that are standing this morning, touch their hearts. We need an encounter with you. Thank you, Jesus. Now you take just a moment and talk to him from your heart. And you you you make that prayer that I prayed for you just personalized.
As we stay and remain in this attitude of worship just a moment or two longer, we just conclude our services with another act of worship. We've worshiped him through song and through the reading of his word and through our discussion and our wonder, and all of this brings him so much joy. And so we just think of bringing your tithe and your offering to him as just another expression of worship and to say, say and to prove, God, it's all yours anyway. And out of obedience, we bring a portion of our hard earned finances to you because that's sometimes really hard to do. And he's worthy of it, and he doesn't it's not lost on him when it's hard for us to do that.
He honors obedience no matter what. So here at Tribe, we, we don't pass buckets, but if you have cash or check, there's a little box at the exit. You can put it in there. The easiest way you can see on your screen is just to start a new number to 84321, and you can give that way. Whether it's now or later, let's just bow our heads and pray as we finish the service today and as we bring our tithe and our offering to him.
Heavenly father, thank you for a new year. Thank you that we can have a fresh start any day of the year, but this is just an outward way that we often think of as a new year fresh start. And come what may, father, thank you that you remain on the throne and no one and no thing can take you from that spot. We just commit this year to you, our finances and otherwise, father, as we bring our tithe and offering to you, we say thank you that you are the provider. You are the source.
It's you. It's all yours. Help us, father, as we as we think about stewardship. Help us to be good stewards of the things and the people and the relationships that you put in our lap. Lord, I pray that you would just open our eyes to see like we talked about today.
Like the two companions on the road to Emmaus, you open their eyes to who you are. It happened in second Kings two. You opened the eyes of Elisha's servant. Enemy armies were swarming around, and he was getting nervous, and he said, what do we do? And Elisha prayed, father opened his eyes to see what's really going on, and sure enough, his spiritual eyes were open, and he saw that there were many, many, many, many more spiritual armies there to defeat the enemy.
So, Lord, we just ask that you open our spiritual eyes this year. Help us to be attuned to you. Let us not allow Jesus to walk on by. He's such a gentleman. He won't force anything.
We invite him, and so help us to do that with our finances this year as we think about our tithe and offering, but also in every area. We just commit it to you. We love you. We trust you. We thank you for more and more people coming into your kingdom.
And we get to do the work of the ministry whether we work at a church or not. All of us get to do the work of your ministry, and it's a privilege,
and we say thank you. In Jesus' name,
we all say, amen. Brian, come on up.
Okay.
Just before you when we dismiss and you scoot out, I'm gonna invite Lanisha and John and Kate Micas and whoever else she might have on the prayer team today. If there's anything that you need prayer for back here in this booth, the booth of prayer, we shall call it. It's plural. Booths of prayer. If there's anything that you need prayer for, they would love to agree with you in prayer.
If you stand up, would that be alright if I pray a prayer of blessing over you, and then we will get out of here? Lord, first and foremost, thank you for this dust on crust cause it to be abundant, but not too fast because then it'll be dangerous. Just that good old Teton trick o' lord. You got a lot of making up for snow to do. Father, I pray for my tribe fam here this morning.
God, I ask that you would help them as they step into 2024, that they would continually be able to see the what is of who you are and what you've called them to. I command a blessing over each and every person here this morning. Jesus, we love you so very much. We pray these things. In Jesus' name, the strong son of God.
And everybody said, amen. Amen. I love you. Have a great week. And remember, Red, you got this.
