"The Road to Emmaus: Hospitality" Sermon: Luke 24:13-35

“The Road to Emmaus:  Hospitality”

[Luke 24:13-35]

March 15, 2015 Second Reformed Church

            A fourth principle of Church and Christian growth is hospitality and fellowship.  We are distinguishing the two in this way:  we ought to share hospitality with all people, and we also ought to share fellowship – based on our mutual belief in the Gospel – with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

            We have said:  First, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, the Word of God must be central to our life and worship. Second, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must obey Jesus and evangelize. Third, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must engage in regular hospitality and fellowship with non-Christians and our fellow Christians. Fourth, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must pray rightly, privately, and corporately. Fifth, if want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must receive the Lord's Supper frequently, properly and worthily.

            And we have in this one history of the Emmaus Road encounter the centrality of the Word of God with Jesus as the Center and Theme of the Word – as Jesus revealed to the disciples that all of the Scripture points to Him.  And we have seen that the Lord’s Supper comes along side of the reading and preaching of the Word as a “help meet” – as one of the two visual displays of the Gospel that God allows and commands us to use – so it was that the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread – in the blessing, breaking, and giving of the elements of the Lord’s Supper.

            Hear the account once more:

            “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.’ And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

            “So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them.”

            Here, we have an example of fellowship – Cleopas and his friend – as well as Jesus – were believers – well-versed in the Scriptures.  They had met Jesus along the road and discussed the Scriptures with Him – and they didn’t want the time to end, so they invited Him to stay at their home.

            They were gathering together as Christians to be together as Christians to enjoy Christian company and talk. 

            If we want to grow in faith and obedience, we ought to spend time with other Christians outside of formal worship.  Now, we live in different times – in first century Israel, it was common for Christians to gather in each other’s homes – in twenty-first century New Jersey – for many of us – our home is a sanctuary, an escape, or something else, which makes us not want to have people over – or at least not often.  We don’t have to have each other into our homes; still we ought to get together now and then.  That’s one reason we try different Bible studies and topical studies on different days and nights and times – that we would come together in this building to talk about things as Christians.

            We also ought to gather with non-Christians now and then to talk with them and take interest in their lives.  I know some of you gather at the Senior Center and have a group of friends there – some of whom are not Christians – and you share your lives with each other in support of each other and to uphold each other and so that you grow together.

            Even brief encounters:  Do we talk to service people?  Mail carriers?  Shop keepers?  Wait staff?  Do we take any time to get to know them – however briefly?  How many of us know anything about the lives of the people who take care of us during the week?

            We are a private culture!  And a certain amount of privacy is alright, but we also are called to care for each other – and that involves knowing something about each other, sharing our lives together, and sharing in the study of God’s Word together.

            We are knit together in Christ as His Body, as Christians.  The Church is not merely a group of people in a volunteer organization, but we – together – make up this living thing called the Church.  And as we share in each other’s lives more and share the Scripture together more – we grow stronger together in the One Body that we are, with Christ as our Head.

            Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, and “Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31, ESV).

            The core principle in sharing hospitality and fellowship is loving our neighbor as ourself.  And that means everyone, as we are told:  “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him” (Exodus 23:5, ESV).

            If we see someone with a need that we are able to fill – from simple needs to proclaiming the Gospel to lifting each other up as we grow in faith and obedience together – we ought to show love by doing whatever it is that we are able to do.  And it makes no difference whether it is someone we like or not.

            Remember that does not mean that we have to be a doormat – it can be easy to think that we must be at everyone’s beck and call just because we have an ability to do something.  That is not the case.  We must be wise in all that we do – and do all to the glory of God.

            We may remember another question that was put to Jesus was, “Who is my neighbor?”
“Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, “Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.” Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise’” (Luke 10:30-37, ESV).

            In our Heidelberg Catechism, we are told that part of what it means what God commands us not to steal is:  “Q. 111. But what doth God require in this commandment?  A. That I promote the advantage of my neighbor in every instance I can or may, and deal with him as I desire to be dealt with by others; further also that I faithfully labor, so that I may be able to relieve the needy.”

            Hospitality and fellowship include getting to know others – both outside the Church and inside the Church – and learning how we might be able to help each other to grow by using those gifts and abilities that God has given each of us so we can give.  And, we are also to work – not merely to provide for our own needs – but so we will have enough to give generously to the Church and then to others who are in need.

            Our text continues:  “When he was at table with them,”

            Jesus ate dinner with the disciples He met on the road.

            In the first century, it was common to share hospitality and fellowship over a meal.  In fact, in the book, Eating Your Way Through Luke’s Gospel (http://smile.amazon.com/Eating-Your-Through-Lukes-Gospel/dp/081462121X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426342957&sr=8-1&keywords=eating+your+way+through+luke%27s+gospel), I was fascinated to find that – almost without exception, whenever Jesus is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, He is either going to a meal, eating a meal, or coming from a meal – that’s how important food is to hospitality and fellowship – and even evangelism.  Food breaks down barriers and puts people at ease so we can talk more and learn more about each other and how we can care for each other, and with our brothers and sisters, we can also discuss the Scripture and what it means and what God is calling us to do and be.

            That doesn’t mean we always have to provide food for there to be hospitality or fellowship, but it can be very helpful.  Think about the times you have sat down over food with other people and gotten to know them and, hopefully, also come to seek after the Word of God.

            Perhaps, if you sit down to a meal with someone you don’t like, you – or both of you – will grow because of the interaction you will have over the meal.  It may not happen, but if we offer the meal and sincere conversation to someone, we will likely grow, even if the other person does not.

Our text concludes:  “he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:13-35, ESV).

And we saw last week that the Lord’s Supper is a visible representation of the Gospel that works alongside of the preaching of the Gospel.

And so, we see we grow as the Church and as Christians as we engage in hospitality with all people and fellowship with other Christians.  We grow as we proclaim the Gospel to others and discuss it with our fellow Christians.  We grow as we learn more about other people and truly care about them.  We grow as we find ways to meet each other’s needs as we use the bounty – the excess – the riches – and the gifts and abilities that God has given us for the Church and for others.

            As we consider these things, I wonder if any of us can think of someone who does not deserve our hospitality or fellowship.  Is there anyone you can think of that you would say was unworthy of even having you try to sit down with and talk to, or share some food with, or provide for a need?        

            Listen:  No one is beneath us.  We cannot dismiss anyone out of hand.

            Here’s why:

            “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27, ESV).

            Everyone was created in and bears the Image of God.  Something in each person proves the existence of the God of the Bible – the One Almighty God. 

            So, if we harm another person, simply by not doing good to them, we are attacking the Image of God.

            If we directly do something to harm another person or keep them from growing in faith and obedience to God, we are attacking the Image of God.

            If we turn someone away when we are able to help, we are attacking the Image of God.

            The primary reason we are to love our neighbors as ourselves is that they bear the Image of God.

            All humans are image-bearers of God – so we ought to love them and seek their good and proclaim the Gospel to them and encourage their growth in faith and obedience to God

            We grow as the Church and as Christians when we share in hospitality and fellowship.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, You have put people in our way, so we would talk with them and care for them  -- share food and other things that we have that can meet their needs – and proclaim the Gospel to them and study Your Word with them.  Forgive us for turning people away who bear Your Image.  Forgive us for thinking we are too good to care for and share with anyone.  Forgive us for thinking that we have nothing to give and no need to grow and no reason to help someone else grow.  Send the Holy Spirit afresh on us and awaken us that we would be able to truly care for each other and all those You put in our way.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"The Road to Emmaus: The Lord's Supper" Sermon: Luke 24:13-35

“The Road to Emmaus:  The Lord’s Supper”

[Luke 24:13-35]

March 8, 2015 Second Reformed Church

            We continue our Lenten look at five points of biblical church growth.

            As we noted:  First, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, the Word of God must be central to our life and worship. Second, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must obey Jesus and evangelize. Third, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must engage in regular hospitality and fellowship with non-Christians and our fellow Christians. Fourth, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must pray rightly, privately, and corporately. Fifth, if want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must receive the Lord's Supper frequently, properly and worthily.

            Last week we considered the centrality of the Word of God – how the Word of God must be central to our lives and worship, because it is only in the Word of God that we find the Only Way to salvation – the One Who is the Incarnate Word of God – the Son of God in human flesh, Jesus – Who explained that every text of the Word of God – of the Bible – points to Him.  In some way everything is about Jesus – so, He is central, whether we see it or acknowledge it or not, but if we want to grow in faith and obedience, we ought to seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness – as we see Him as the focus and the center of every word of the Bible.  If we strive after this, God, the Holy Spirit, will lead us and enable us to find Jesus in all the Scripture – that He would be glorified – and the whole Trinity with Him.

            And so we saw, last week, that the point of the sermon is to glorify God and build up the saints by exposing Jesus and His Gospel in all of the Scriptures.

            What is the point of the Lord’s Supper?

            We in the Protestant Church have largely relegated the Lord’s Supper to an empty memorial – part of the holiday decor – but nothing with true power and necessity.

            The Roman Catholic Church has recognized the power and necessity of the frequent reception of the Lord’s Supper, but they have confused the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth with the elements – and elevated the Sacrament above the Word of God and its preaching.

            Let us again turn to the history of the Emmaus Road encounter:  

            “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.’ And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

            As we saw last week:  the Word of God must be central and primary to our lives and worship, because all of the Word of God concerns Jesus and His Gospel.

            Paul explains that the preaching of the Word of God – the proclaiming of Jesus and His Gospel, and that all things in Scripture concern Jesus – is the means by which a person receives the faith to believe in Jesus savingly:

            “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:14-17, ESV).

            It is important to understand that the preaching of the Word of God – and its centrality to our lives and worship – is the usual means that God uses to bring a person to saving faith.  It is through the proclamation of the Gospel – as found throughout all of the Word of God – that God has chosen to use as the means by which He draws people to salvation through faith alone in His Son.

            It is important for us to understand this, because the Roman Catholic Church makes the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper the primary means by which God brings a person to saving faith – and that is not what we find in the Scripture.

            Yet, against some Protestants, we must also see that the Lord’s Supper is not just a “throw away” – something of no importance – or minimal importance.

            Let us continue:

            “So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

            After Jesus preached Himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and showed them that all the Scripture pointed to Him, He went home with them.  Now, they did not recognize Him yet, but, as they confessed, there had been a burning in their hearts – God had drawn them to the Word through faith and was causing them to come to faith and belief in God the Savior Who would be revealed to them.

            Now, we need to remember that they did not have the New Testament – in proclaiming the Savior as the central theme of all of Scripture – even though the disciples understood that and were drawn by God to salvation – it had not yet been revealed to them Who the Savior was – it was not confirmed to them that their hope in Jesus as Savior was correct.

            So Jesus ate with them.  And what else did He do?  “He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.”

            And we might say, “So what?”

            Hear part of Matthew’s account of the Last Supper:

            “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom’” (Matthew 26:26-29, ESV).

            And Paul’s record:

            “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, ESV).

            Did you hear it?

            He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them.

            He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them.

            He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them.

            Jesus celebrated the Lord’s Supper with the disciples He met on the road to Emmaus.

            Here we see that the preaching of the Word is primary, yet connected to the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  Here we see worship includes Word and Sacrament.

            We see this in the early church:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved”

(Acts 2:42-47, ESV).

            The early church was centered on the preaching of the Word of God, involved in fellowship and hospitality, received the Lord’s Supper, joined together in prayer, and evangelized.  Five things which showed the health and growth of the Church and each Christian.

            And in I Corinthians 11:17-22, we are told that whenever they gathered together as the Church, they received the Lord’s Supper.  The early Church understood that the Lord’s Supper was received alongside of the preaching of the Word of God.

            And so, we’re back to the question:  What is the point of the Lord’s Supper?

            

            What happened when the two disciples were served the elements by Jesus?

“When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.”

The point of the Lord’s Supper is to glorify God and build up the saints by exposing Jesus and His Gospel in the elements and their reception.  The Lord’s Supper is one of two authorized, visual displays of the Gospel (baptism being the other) which occur alongside of the preaching of the Word of God. 

So, we see that the Gospel is preached through the proclaiming of the Word of God and then it is buffeted by the reception of the Lord’s Supper through which the Gospel is proclaimed in the elements and their reception.

There is no worship without the Word of God, but along with the reading and the preaching of the Word of God, we have the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, in which we meet Jesus again, through the symbols of bread and the cup.  Jesus meets with us and opens our eyes to the fact that His body was broken and His blood poured out for all those who would believe.  We join together with all Christians throughout time and space in affirming that Jesus, the Son of God was broken and poured out for the glory of God and our salvation – and He has left us His Word and also this Sacrament, through which we have a visual display of the Gospel.

God has graciously sent the Gospel out such that it presents itself to our heart, mind, soul, and strength – our body – through visual and tactile means.

That does not mean, however, that we are allowed to use any symbolism we want to convey the Gospel.  No, there are only two approved visual presentations of the Gospel – baptism, which is once for each person, and the Lord’s Supper, which occurs whenever we gather together to hear the Word of God read and preached.

And so we come, having believed the Word of God, to receive the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  We “see” in visual symbols what Jesus has done for us in the Gospel, as He meets with us and the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to us.

May we respect the Lord’s Supper as the “help meet” of the reading and preaching of the Word, and look forward to gathering together to receive the symbols again alongside the Word, as we remember that this is all to the glory of God and for the revealing of Jesus and His Gospel. 

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for not leaving us alone, by sending Your Word that we would know the Savior You sent, and by also giving us the Lord’s Supper, that we could see the Gospel in these symbols.  Open our eyes, grow our faith and obedience, and change us into the Image of Your Son.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Easter Letter 2015

“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:1-8, ESV).

                                                                                                March 5, 2015

Dear Members and Friends of Second Reformed Church,

            What were the women thinking as they found the tomb empty and heard the witness of the angels to them?  We’re told – the women ran to tell the disciples, and the women were afraid.

            We often come away with the image that the women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus for burial, and when they got there, they found that His body was gone.  And the angels told them that He had risen from the dead, so they ran home, changed into their best clothes and Easter bonnets, got the disciples and their kids, and had Easter dinner while they watched the game.

            What we see is them running to tell the disciples:  to tell them that Jesus’ body was gone, but they had received joyful news from angels that Jesus had risen from the dead, though they didn’t see Him.  They ran with joy, but they also had no proof that Jesus had risen.  They were repeating what they heard from supernatural beings, who may not be willing to speak to the men.  And they were women, who didn’t have high standing as reputable witnesses.  They were afraid that they would not be believed; they were afraid that they didn’t even believe what they were going to tell them.

            If you told someone that Jesus physically rose from the dead which proves that He is God the Incarnate Savior Who is victorious in saving a people for Himself that God gave to Him, and you were asked to prove it – what would you say?  Would you be afraid?  Would you doubt?

            Join us for the worship of the Living God:

3/15/15 Lent 4            

 Luke 24:13-35 “The Road to Emmaus:  Hospitality”

3/22/15 Lent 5

 Luke 22:39-46 “Praying God’s Will”

3/29/15 Palm Sunday

 Mark 11:1-11 “Hosanna”

4/2/15 Maundy Thursday 7 PM

 Exodus 12:1-14 “The Lamb”

4/3/15 Good Friday 7 PM

 John 19:31-42 “That You Also May Believe”

4/5/15 Easter

 Mark 16:1-8 “Fear”

In His Service,

            Rev. Dr. Peter A. Butler, Jr.   

Review: "Father Hunger"

Do fathers really matter?  Douglas Wilson points his readers to the baptism of Jesus and the proclamation of God the Father loving His Son as being the archetypal portrait of the need for fathers (1) – both for families to have fathers and for men to responsibly be father to their families.

Wilson, in his, Father Hunger:  Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families, takes his readers on a thought-provoking look at the call of being a father – beginning – as noted, with the archetypal Father being God.

In the second chapter, Wilson argues that men and women are different, and he takes a complementarian position about men and women – not denying their equality as bearers of the Image of God, but denying egalitarianism, which denies the necessary and good differences between men and women – denying that a man and a women can only come together to be a while and take on the responsibilities of father and mother.

In chapter three, he turns to Jonathan Edwards to show the connection between rightly worshipping God the Father and having a right view of the authority of the human father.

In the fourth, he makes the point that the Scripture’s calling God a masculine being has nothing to do with genitalia, but with the role, authority, and responsibility of a father – which is different from that of a mother (38).  He defines masculinity as “the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility” (41).

He argues that the analogy and knowledge of God comes through seeing that Image portrayed in the human father, and it is the lack of human fathers which has bolstered the growth of atheism (53).

In chapter six, he looks at education being the desire to be like someone else.  And he ties the Lordship of Christ to the father’s educating of the children.

In the seventh chapter, he argues that statism is set-up to sponsor absentee fatherism, and Christians must put the will of the state under the will of God.

He turns to economics in the eighth chapter, turning the reader away from what he calls “crapitalism” (92) to the biblical view that all forms of work are given as calls by God – “church” work is not a higher or better call than the milk-maid – and the father rightly shows how work is done by working heartily and in pursuit of excellence, not merely to please the boss, but the glorify God and to thank Him.

In the ninth, he looks at marriage, sexual sin, and joining gangs in search of a father.

In the tenth, he shows that those who hold church office must be men – fathers (normally) – who meet the standards of the Scriptural call.  These are the “fathers of the church” who bear the Image of God the Father to the flock.

In the eleventh chapter, he looks at the doctrine of creation and shows that believing the biblical account of Creation is necessary to understand value.  He bears this up by examining the Eucharistic connection between the elements and the staid provision of a father.

In chapter twelve, he argues for the normalcy of men being fruitful in – and only in marriage.  And he discusses the failure of pornography and adultery on the basis of incapacitating fruitfulness.

In the thirteenth chapter, he stresses the father requiring obedience of the children and the necessity of the father being an exemplar of obedience to his children for them to respond rightly.  He draws in themes of accountability and the real portrayal of what it means to be content in Christ.

The fourteenth chapter examines the evangelical (in particular) problem of forgetting God the Father – evangelicals stress salvation in Jesus Alone and sanctification by the Spirit, but the Father is relegated to the corner.  He argues the Father must be brought forward in the Trinity, showing that the Fathers chief purpose – as with the Son and the Spirit – is to be glorified (191).  In this, the Father is known – and Wilson spends several pages going over Scripture about the Father.

In the final chapter, Wilson warns that fathers must not abandon their responsibilities, nor cling to them as a legal document, but live them out in relation to the worship of God the Father as exemplifying this to his children (200-1).

Each chapter ends with a brief series of question to continue reflection on the main issues of the chapter.

The book has an appendix which statistically looks at the economic loss caused by delinquent fathers.

The book ends with a bibliography and a recommended reading list.

I have read a number of Wilson’s books, and I was very impressed with his tying the responsibility and role of the father in the family to that of the knowledge and worship of God the Father.  I highly recommend this book and will likely give it to newly married men and new fathers to help them being the fathers God has called them to be.

[I received this book free for an honest review from Tyndale Publishing.  This review appears on my blog and Amazon.com.]  #FatherHunger http://smile.amazon.com/Father-Hunger-Calls-Their-Families/dp/1595554769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425343160&sr=8-1&keywords=father+hunger

"The Road to Emmaus: The Word" Sermon: Luke 24:13-35

“The Road to Emmaus:  The Word”

[Luke 24:13-35]

March 1, 2015 Second Reformed Church

            During the season of Lent, we are again considering what may be called the five biblical principles of church growth.  We begin with an understanding that God Alone causes people to come to salvation – drawing them in – and that growth in faith and obedience are works of the Holy Spirit in us.  Yet, we have means by which we work with the Holy Spirit in our growth – and that is what we are talking about.

First, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, the Word of God must be central to our life and worship. Second, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must obey Jesus and evangelize. Third, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must engage in regular hospitality and fellowship with non-Christians and our fellow Christians. Fourth, if we want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must pray rightly, privately, and corporately. Fifth, if want to grow as Christians and the Church, we must receive the Lord's Supper frequently, properly and worthily.

We began last time by looking at evangelism in the context of Jesus calling His first disciples.  We saw that when Andrew was pointed to Jesus by John the Baptist, he left John to follow Jesus, and believing savingly in Him – in the Gospel – in the historical facts of the work of Jesus – he ran to get his brother, Peter, to bring him to Jesus that he might hear Him and know Him and believe in Him savingly.

If we have believed savingly in Jesus and His Gospel, we, also, will be prompted and excited to tell others the Gospel and to bring them to hear the Gospel – with the prayer and the hope that they also will believe.

This morning, we are considering the need for the Word of God to be central to our life and worship, if we are to grow in faith and obedience.

And we turn to the history of the Emmaus road encounter:  

            “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.’”

            We see, first this morning, that the disciples were confused, but they had not lost hope in Jesus.

            It was the day after the Resurrection.  Two of Jesus’ disciples were walking on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  And they were discussing what had happened over the past few days – that Jesus – their Rabbi – the One they believed was the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior --- the Promised One sent by God to deliver His people from the Wrath of God for their sin – had been taken by the religious leaders, put through a mock trial, then shuttled off to Pilate, where he was coerced into crucifying Jesus – putting Him to death on the cross.  And the clear implication of the text is that they were discussing the Scriptures that they knew from the Temple about the coming Savior – and they were comparing it to Jesus and what happened.

            And Jesus walked up to them along the road and asked them what they were talking about.  (In some way they were supernaturally blocked from being able to see that it was Jesus.)

            They looked sad, and they asked Him if He was the only One Who didn’t know what things had happened.

            And Jesus asked them, “What things?”

            And they explained to Him that the prophet Jesus, mighty in God, Who seemed to fit everything the Scriptures said about the Coming Savior had been put to death.  They didn’t understand what had happened.  They had hoped that He was the One sent from God.  Everything He said and did added up with the Scriptures.

            And then, on the third day, the women had gone to anoint His body, but He was gone.  They were trying to figure out what that meant:  where had His body gone?  Who took it?  How should they interpret what had happened?

            There had to be an answer!

            They were confused, but they had not lost hope.  They knew Jesus was put to death and buried, and they knew that His body wasn’t in the tomb any more.  Everything they knew of the Scripture pointed them to Jesus being the Promised Savior, but they didn’t understand His death and now His body being missing.  What did it all mean?

            Twenty-first century America is very much like the first century Mediterranean world:  We hear people say the body was gone, and we think – someone stole it – they forgot where they left it – most people laugh at the idea of physical resurrection.  Ok, maybe the body was gone, but what does it really mean?

            Secondly, we see that all Scripture points to Jesus and His Gospel.

“And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

            We might have expected Jesus to gently reveal Himself to them and explain what happened, but He does not.  Jesus is not being quietly exasperated with them – “O foolish ones…” – no, He is angry with them for not understanding – for not understanding things which ought to have been clear to them as believers in the Savior.  In fact, as Luther puts it, “Jesus scolded them for their stupidity.”

            Jesus scolded them for being so slow to understand -- for not putting their minds to the Scripture to understand what it said.  It is as though He said, “What is this ignorance?  After I taught you for three years and you have had the Scripture, but have not spent the time really considering it and understanding it.

            “You should have understood from the Scripture that it was necessary for the Savior to be put to death and return back to His throne in Glory.”

            Now, Jesus is not saying that everything in the Bible is easy to understand.  There are parts that are easier to understand and parts that are harder to understand.  But, as far as what is necessary for salvation and life, we believe in the perspicuity of the Bible – that’s your cocktail word for – it’s plain, clear, and able to be understood.

            What Jesus is saying is that they should have understood that the Savior had to suffer and die and rise – from the Scripture that they knew.  It should not have been the great mystery that it was for them – they should have expected what happened from what God told them in His Word.

            Just considering Isaiah 53 – if they had spent time truly considering it, they would have seen that it could not be about a mere man:

            “Who has believed what he has heard from us?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

            “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray;       we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

            “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.  By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?  And they made his grave with the wicked     and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

            “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

            “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53, ESV).

            Looking back, now, it is much easier, but, even then, a text like this should have led them to understand that the Savior had to suffer to save us from His Wrath for our sin.

            Surely, if we put the Scripture out of our minds, and we never read it, we won’t grow in our understanding of it or in our receiving it by faith and being obedient to it.  Yet we are called to.

            

           We not only need to read our Bibles regularly, but we need to spend time thinking about what it means – being in worship to hear it explained, praying for God’s help, seeking help from other Christians and good Christian books.

         

            As we believe that this is the inerrant, infallible Word of God – that is has no errors in it and cannot have errors in it, and we read it and study it and meditate on it – work to understand it, we will grow in understanding and faith and obedience as God the Holy Spirit works in us.

Think about it like this:  let’s say you wanted to become a brain surgeon, and you believe that there is a brain in each person’s head, and sometimes, the brain needs to be operated on.  But, you decide that is enough for you – you are a brain surgeon – but you don’t want to study the books – the chemistry and biology and the physiology – or to practice on brains, because it can be difficult, and sometimes the answers are not immediately clear, and you have to spend time, thinking through what the answer really is.

Would you go to a doctor like that?  Would you say that such a doctor was growing in his or her field?

We ought to be growing.  We ought to be better understanding the Scripture – finding ourselves all the more centered on it.  Finding our hope and joy and being in the God and Savior it tells us about.

So, Jesus began with Genesis 1:1 and took them from there – as they walked – through a Bible study through all of the Scriptures of what we call the Old Testament, and He showed them how everything in all of the Scriptures was about the Savior.  Everything, in all of the Scriptures points to Jesus and His Gospel.

For example, in Genesis 1:1, we are told that God created everything.  In Colossians 1:16, we are told that Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, created everything.  So, we understand that God in Trinity – in covenant – (as we see continuing in Genesis) created everything.  So, the God Who came to earth to save us in the Person of the Son, incarnate in Jesus, is the God Who created us.

Again, not every passage is simple.  But, for example, as we look at the Sacrificial System of the Old Testament and consider the sacrifice of the lamb on Yom Kippur, as we did a few weeks ago, we see that the sacrifice was pointing to Jesus and is fulfilled in Him as the Savior for all those who will believe – such that no other sacrifice is needed.

And, since all Scripture is about Jesus and His Gospel and points to Jesus and His Gospel, any preaching of the Scripture must lead us to see Jesus and His Gospel.  Right preaching must point us to – lead us to – bring us to – Jesus.

If a sermon merely tells us to be nice or good or to obey authority or to love or to care for the environment – it is not a sermon.  All those things may be true, but a proper sermon from the Word of God will point us to the Word of God and expose us to the Word of God and make us desire to seek and hear and know more of the Word of God and to tell others about the Word of God – Jesus.

If a person’s sermon on “living your best life now” or “turning your scars into stars” is not based and founded and pointing to salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ Alone, it is not a Christian sermon.  It might be a nice pep talk, but it is not a right handling of the Word of God.  If it’s all about Jesus, Jesus should be central in its explanation.

If the Word of God is rightly preached to us – if we read and study and pray over the Word of God – something should happen:

            “So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

            Third, when we see Jesus as the purpose and the theme of all of Scripture, our hearts burn in us.

            Jesus tested their faith and ended up going back to their home and sharing a meal with them.  And as they ate, Jesus allowed them to see Him for Who He is – and then, “They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’”

            Do you ever feel anything when you read the Scripture and study it and hear it read and preached?  Does it ever move you?  Do you ever find yourself turning to God in awe over what you have understood in His Word?

            We must come prepared – desiring to grow – asking the Holy Spirit to grow us in response to hearing the Word of God read and preached – and as we read it ourselves and in small groups and seek to be more faithful and obedient.

            We must pray that God will open our eyes and help to us to see how all of the Scripture is about Jesus and His Gospel – that we would see and understand His Perfect Word all the more each day that we would be filled with joy in Him.

            If we live lives centered on the Word of God – Jesus and His Gospel – and all that God has revealed to us in His Word – the Holy Spirit will lead us in growing in faith and obedience.  If our worship is centered on the Word of God – Jesus and His Gospel – and all that God has revealed to us in His Word – the Holy Spirit will lead us in growing in faith and obedience.  If our desire is to know God and His salvation – to strive after it – to seek God’s Will and assistance – we will grow.  We will be pleasing sons and daughters of God, filled with the joy of God.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, remove any doubts from us that Your Word is the Word of God, given to us by You for our sakes and Your Glory.  Help us to desire growth in faith and obedience through knowing Your Word and following after You.  Grow Your fire within us.  Draw us to You.  Make us hunger to hear from Your Word.  Help us to see and understand all that You have said.  And may we stand firmly on Your Word, centered in Christ, for it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.  

March Sermons

D.V., I will preach as follows this month:

3/1/15 Lent 2
  Luke 24:13-35  "The Road to Emmaus:  The Word"

3/8/15 Lent 3

 Luke 24:13-35  “The Road to Emmaus:  The Lord’s Supper”

3/15/15 Lent 4            

 Luke 24:13-35  “The Road to Emmaus:  Hospitality”

3/22/15 Lent 5

 Luke 22:39-46  “Praying God’s Will”

3/29/15 Palm Sunday

 Mark 11:1-11  :Hosanna”

Join us for worship at 10:30 AM!