“Responding to an Encounter With Jesus” (Luke 24:33-49)
SERMON NOTES
Sermon Series: Encountering the Risen Jesus
Sermon Title: Responding to an Encounter With Jesus
Passage: Luke 24:33-49
Sharing the Good News (v33-35)
1st Question: What do we learn from the travelers?
We learn that we know the single greatest story ever told: the story of the resurrection, that Jesus is alive!
We learn that we should be running to share the story with others
We learn that we should start by sharing with those we already know
We learn that we should share our own personal story
We learn that sometimes we share the story with those who already know
Jesus Appears to Them (v36-37)
Jesus Reassures Them (v38-46)
Jesus reassures them with physical evidence, revealing himself as the living word of God (v39-43)
Jesus reassures them with Scriptural evidence, revealing himself in the written word of God (v44-46)
2nd Question: What do we learn about Jesus?
We learn that we can trust Jesus when he says “Pease to you!”
We learn that we can encounter Jesus in the pages of Scripture
Jesus Commissions Them (v47-48)
They were sent to share the story with others, as witnesses of all these things
They were sent to proclaim a message of good news to others - one of hope, not of shame - one of acceptance, not of rejection
They were sent to tell the story to others, all others
Jesus Empowers Them (v49)
3rd Question: What do we learn from Jesus?
We learn that we are sent on the same mission
We learn that we are empowered by the same Spirit
Reflection
Ask God to bring to mind someone you know who is far from Him - someone who doesn’t know Jesus, someone who wants nothing to do with Jesus, someone who has fallen way from Jesus.
Ask God to give you 1) a heart to share with them, 2) an opportunity to share with them, and 3) the courage to share with them.
SERMON FOOTNOTES
“Only when we offer the good news of Jesus Christ as that which has touched and transformed our lives does it become meaningful and interesting to others.” - Mark Teasdale (Evangelism for Non-Evangelists, p3)
Recommended Reading:
Life Together in Christ: Experiencing Transformation in Community by Ruth Haley Barton (based on the story of the road to Emmaus)
Evangelism as Exiles: Life on Mission as Strangers in Our Own Land by Elliot Clark
The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman
With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life by Henri Nouwen (reflection on the the story of the road to Emmaus)
Evangelism for Non-Evangelists: Sharing the Gospel Authentically by Mark Teasdale