Leave the Past Behind You

In one paragraph

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. 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...

Read together

1. Psalm 11:3 Clay quoted it at the opening during the prophetic sharing time
2. Luke 24:13-31 main passage read aloud by the congregation, the road to Emmaus story
3. Matthew 27:51-54 read to show the events at the crucifixion including the torn veil and saints rising from tombs
4. John 2:19-22 Jesus predicting he would raise the temple in three days, his disciples remembered after the resurrection
5. 2 Kings 6 referenced in the closing prayer as Elisha asking God to open his servant's eyes to see the surrounding spiritual armies

What was said

• 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.

Talk about it

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. Jesus said to the two disciples, 'You foolish people, you find it hard to believe all that the prophets wrote.' Brian pointed out that in the original language this carried more affection than it reads in English, something closer to 'have you left your brains back in Jerusalem?' How does knowing that change the way you hear Jesus speaking into your own doubts or discouragement?
4. The two disciples only recognized Jesus when he broke the bread, and by then he had already disappeared. Ian pointed out that the word 'knew' in verse 31 suggests a complete and intimate knowing. What does it look like in your daily life to move from knowing about Jesus to that kind of knowing him?
5. Brian's central challenge was this: don't miss the what is because you are stuck in the what was. Where in your life right now do you sense the Lord might be doing something new that you could be missing because you are still focused on a past failure, loss, or disappointment?