04/30_Signposts Along the Way - a podcast by Concord UMC
from 2017-05-03T12:09:52
Signposts Along the Way
Luke 24:13-34
Going "old school" today, but first...
Ø Road signs...
- A lot of funny ones in the world... and on Google
- But some are easily missed...
Ø The disciples on the road missed a few things...
- Jesus walking with them; the necessity of the crucifixion
- Are we any differe-nt?
Ø “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures." - Jesus of Nazareth, 30AD
- We're not the 1st generation to struggle with what was written!
- We have come up with new and ingenious reasons to ignore it.
Ignoring the Signs
Ø The Inevitable March of Progress?
- More of the world explained (and explained away)
- Science has provided us a MUCH better quality of life
- The promise of a new secular age...
- ...which had theologians trying to "insulate" the gospel:
¨ "Not 'fact' but still 'true'"
¨ The "Social Gospel" as a "gospel" for this world only
- ...which in fact has NOT happened:
¨ more people un-churched, but not all that more atheists
¨ most are "spiritual," or superstitious
¨ In March 2016, a temple dedicated to the Norse god Odin & other gods opened in Denmark. Nine Roosters were sacrificed and consumed as a part of the ritual.
¨ After a popular campaign, European Union officials agreed to add the leprechauns as a protected species in the area of the Carlingford mountains. (263 left)
- "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing— they believe in anything." ~ G. K. Chesterton
- Two world wars, multiple genocides, the threat of nuclear war...
- Scientific progress has shown us how to do many things; it has nothing to say about whether doing them is good...
Ø But WE certainly aren't like that, right?
- A little fill-in-the-blank...
- For God so loved the world that _________________
- In the beginning was the _____________________
- And you will see the Son of Man coming __________
- If your eye offends you ____________
- The just shall live _____________
- Yea though I walk through _______________
- For everything there is a season, and _______________
- Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ________ _______ ____
- ..choose you this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, _______________________
- And some other things...
- First 5 books?The 4 gospel writers?
- Who wrote most of the NT letters?
- What makes James and Jude so special of the NT writers?
- Where to look for a coat of many colors?
- Who was safe in the lions' den? In the fiery furnace? Did they know each other?
Ø First order VBS stuff?
- Any teacher should tell you, to perform higher level thinking, you have to have some content.
- How much time have you spent with God's word not just over the past week, but over your life?
- If you were taken to North Korea, could you tell your kids and grandkids the stories of Jesus?
Following the Directions
Ø And in the meantime...
- Jesus invites us to walk with Him and talk with Him, in a concrete way that will challenge our presuppositions, and change our thoughts and desires...
- Every story was given for a reason
- Yes, they are "stories."Yes, they really, factually, happened. But these were recorded intentionally by the authors, and the Author guiding them.
Ø What is the point of this story?
- Jesus is with us! Even when the times are tough.
- Jesus will teach us through our engagement with God's word! That learning experience will challenge us, but also comfort us.
- We will experience His presence as we fellowship with one another, especially in the "breaking of bread" (communion).
- And that is how we receive strength for the journey!
Ø Finally, lets end with some "signs"
- Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 11:28-29; Isaiah 40:29-31
- Romans 8:37-39; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Revelation 3:5
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