(S)he who has ears . . .

I've offered this thought for reflection before here. But reading Brennan Manning's book "The Furious Longing of God" last night brought me to the same idea in a slightly different way. It's worth reprinting Manning's words here.

"How is it then that we've come to imagine that Christianity consists primarily in what we do for God? How has this come to be the good news of Jesus? Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read their Bibles every now and then, vigorously oppose abortion, don't watch x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for the favorite team, and get along with everybody? Is that why Jesus went through the bleak and bloody horror of Calvary? Is that why He emerged in shattering glory from the tomb? Is that why He poured out His Holy Spirit on the church? To make nicer men and women with better morals?"

"The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creations. Not to make people with better morals, but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love. This, my friends, is what it really means to be a Christian. Our religion never begins with what we do for God. It always starts with what God has done for us, the great and wondrous things that God dreamed of and achieved for us in Jesus Christ."

The Journey May 23rd and Memorial Day Party

We'll be gathering at 6 p.m.--as is our custom--to pray, sing, listen, and share together what God is doing in our lives. You can find us at 2614 Central Avenue--between Durdel's and EST Dental Studio (north side of street).


Also, we're having a block party (well, at least it seems to be turning out that way) at our place on Memorial Day at 5 p.m.--rain or shine. We're providing the meat and are simply asking those who come to bring a side dish or dessert.

If you're interested, please e-mail me at emmausroadchurch.gmail.com so I can get an idea of how much food we'll need.

Priceless . . .

We had an awesome night tonight. It reminded me of the Mastercard commercials:

24 people.
1 1/2 hour sharing, worship, praying, listening.
Hanging out over ice cream and cake at our place.
Priceless.

Thanks God.

May 17th . . . Journey Together

The last two weeks have seen several new faces around ERC. We're excited to hear what God is doing in their lives and to have them join in the journey with us.

Join us Sunday night as we continue our exploration of the vision for Emmaus Road Church and as we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and sharing in our spiritual journey together.

We meet at 6 p.m. at 2614 Central Avenue between Durdel's Music and EST Dental Studio.

On the Journey, Sunday May 10th

We talked tonight about the passage from Luke's gospel 24:13-35 where Jesus appeared to the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection. The amazing thing is that even though the disciples had already heard reports of the resurrection, they were still downcast (v. 17). It wasn't until they actually experienced the resurrected Christ and their eyes were opened that they were transformed.

So many in our world, even in the Church, have yet to really experience the resurrected Christ--and to have their eyes opened. Our vision for Emmaus Road Church is to be a place, a people, a church, where people coming into a life-transforming experience with Jesus Christ--where their eyes are opened to the reality that He is there, and has been there with them all along.

To that end, we'll be meeting again Sunday night, May 10th at 6 p.m. The address is 2614 Central Avenue just west of Douglans Road.

Hope to see you there.

By the way, pray for me (Andy) as I perform my uncle's funeral this week. He and my aunt were there for my family when my father was killed in a car accident. I pray that I can bring some of Christ's hope and peace to them now.