NOTES: Been There, Part 2
Sermon:Been There 2: A Burning Heart
Date: April 14, 2024
Text: Luke 24:13-35
Let’s Connect:
Psalm 34:18, “ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Loss and grief:
“God is all-powerful. God is all good. Terrible things will happen. You can reconcile any two of these propositions with each other, but you can’t reconcile all three. Christianity ultimately offers no theoretical solution…It merely points to the Cross..and says that there is no evil so dark…not even this (the cross), but that God can turn it to good.” Frederich Büechner
Isaiah 53:4–5 “4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 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.”
Text Explained:
Jesus is present (in our loss) whether we recognize him or not:
God is often mysterious but never deceptive.
Jesus invites open conversations:
When the present is painful and the future is uncertain, be careful not to idolize the past.
Jesus reconciles their experience with Scripture:
30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
Breaking of bread: He is host—takes—-blesses—-breaks it
We experience Jesus in the bread and wine as a present reality and our Living Hope— not a distant memory of what used to be.
He’s been there:
We may not get a reason but we will get Revelation!
Let’s Relate:
Philippians 3:7–11, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things [1] and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Loss is never easy nor avoidable.
In Christ, loss has redemptive value in our lives. (knowing Him)
Our Challenge:
32 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?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them[3] in the breaking of the bread.
No matter the loss, let your heart burn with the living presence of Christ.
Closing:
Communion: this table is the point of entry and foreshadowing of another table—
Revelation 21:3–4 (ESV)
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”