Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week we went over our vision to see individuals, families, and whole communities transformed by the Gospel Of Jesus Christ - And we’ve been invited to pray with TCBC for opportunities to share the message of Jesus with people in this neighborhood - we are asking God to bring people in this neighborhood to faith in Jesus - we want to be part of seeing people becoming baptized followers of Jesus..

Last week we went over our vision to see individuals, families, and whol communities transformed by the Gospel Of Jesus Chrirst - And we’ve been invited to pray with TCBC for opportunities to share the message of Jesus with people in this neighbourhood - we are asking God to bring people in this neighbouthood to faith in Jesus - asking Jesus to make us part of seeing people becoming bapatized followers of Jesus..

Last week we went over our vision to see individuals, families, and whol communities transformed by the Gospel Of Jesus Chrirst - And we’ve been invited to pray with TCBC for opportunities to share the message of Jesus with people in this neighbourhood - we are asking God to bring people in this neighbouthood to faith in Jesus - asking Jesus to make us part of seeing people becoming bapatized followers of Jesus..

We were reminded last week that - The quality and character of our church family - the collective stories of God working in our lives and our relationships with one another - our families, our homes, the good works that we engage in -they are all meant to proclaim Jesus and his teaching…

The quality and character of our church family - the collective stories of God working in our lives and our relationships with one another - the good works that we engage in - are all meant to help proclaim the good news - of Jesus and his kingdom…

The story of us: the quality and character of our church family - the collective stories of God working in our lives and our relationships with one another - the works that we engage in - becomes PROCLAMATION.

The quality and character of our church family - the collective stories of God working in our lives and our relationships with one another - our families, our homes, the good works that we engage in -they are all meant to proclaim Jesus and his teaching…

This year we are praying with

But when we actually tell people about Jesus, when we dare to speak about our faith and teach from the bible - whether it is one on one or in a gathering like this — we will very quickly discover and encounter all kinds of confusing ideas about Jesus and his teachings.... Our Post-Christian, pluralistic, culture is saturated with so many different and strange ideas about Jesus, God, the bible, and Christianity…that even when we think we are we are understanding and communicating the message of Jesus well - the message really isn’t being heard and understood...

people are often confused and misunderstand - even in Christian families we think we’re communicating the gospel well to our children only to discover as they get older that they are very confused - - that there are things they have completely misunderstood… e often encounter all kinds of misunderstandings and confusion about Jesus and his teachings…

So in an environment where there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about Jesus how can we ourselves have confidence that we are understanding and making proper sense of Jesus and his teachings?

And how can we communicate and engage people with the message of Jesus in a way that really helps them make sense of the faith?

Luke chapter 24:13ff - This is a conversation Jesus had with a couple of his disciples just after his resurrection - it is a conversation every follower of Jesus needs to hear - so as I read the passage - Imagine you are walking with Jesus and these two disciples listening in on their conversation…

people are drawing conclusions and getting confused because they don’t have the full story -

As I read the passage - Imagine you are walking with Jesus and these two disciples listening in on their conversation…

If we don’t have the full story we end up with a distorted view of reality… which leads to all kinds of misunderstanding and confusion..

Luke chapter 24:13ff - As I read the passage - Imagine you are walking with Jesus and these two disciples listening in on their conversation…

As I read the passage - Imagine you are walking with Jesus and these two disciples listening in on their conversation…

before we dive into this passage

So these disciples have the basic information about Jesus - they know of his birth, life, death, and have heard second hand about his resurrection.. but they are confused - they misunderstand…

So in frustration Jesus says…

and encounter all kinds of confusion about Jesus and his teachings…

Many people have heard gospel presentations, they have been exposed to bible stories and bits and pieces of Christian teaching - but they are confused - because they don’t have the full story!

The reason God leaves us in this broken world and doesn’t beam us up into his presence the moment he saves us - is because we are part of God’s plan to redeem and restore all of Creation through Jesus Christ.

Many people have heard gospel presentations, they have been exposed to bible stories and bits and pieces of Christian teaching - but they are confused - because they don’t have the full story!

which can be really funny in a sitcom - not funny at all if people are confused about life and purpose and thier identity… A lot of people today are confused about Jesus and his teachings - have heard gospel presentations, they have been exposed to bible stories and bits and pieces of Christian teaching - but there is a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of confusion - even among Christians....

because we don’t know the Story...

We live in a Post-Christian Culture - that means that the story of Jesus and his teachings is not new, people have all kinds of conflicting opinions and ideas about Jesus, about what he taught, about the bible, and what it means to live a Christian life - there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding

which makes sharing our faith and teaching our children about Jesus quite challenging - challenging because there is so much confusion --- There is all kinds of confusion surrounding the message of Jesus and Christian teaching in our world today

There is all kinds of confusion surrounding the message of Jesus and Christian teaching in our world today primarily because the gospel and Christian teaching is presented disconnected from the larger Story.

there is a lot of confusion surrounding the message of Jesus and living as a Christian in this world today even among… because the gospel and a lot of Christian teaching is taught has been disconnected from the larger Story.

We live in a world where there is all kinds of confosion surrounding the message of Jesus and living as a Christian in this world because the gospel and much of our teaching is taught has been disconnected from the larger Story.

We often share the message of Jesus by listing off a set of essential truths - but rarely do we take the time to connect the truth about Jesus to the overarching story of God’s plan.

like some sale but rarely do we ever We teach the bible like it is a set of disconnected stories, verses, and lessons to be taken randomly at will or when needed and then we wonder why people find life confu

Jesus rebuked these disciples because they misunderstand the message of the OT prophets.

They misunderstood the Story!

Often the way we go about sharing the good news is to give a short sales pitch - a snap shot of a few essential truths without ever connecting it

WE MISUNDERSTAND AND IT IS A BIG PROBLEM

In our post-modern world people live disconnected from any overarching story for understanding who we are, why we are here, and where our lives are headed… in fact the idea of there being one true complete story of whats really going on is rejected by our culture… so we live with many competing stories … and lots of confusion about life and purpose and identity.

Jesus explains the OT story - Moses and all the prophets (refers to the whole OT) - the things concerning himself - who he is and what he has done - how he is part of the Story and what he has accomplished!

It is understanding how Jesus fits into the story of scripture that opens thier hearts to the truth - Their hearts burned within them while he opend the scriptures to them… Jesus tells the story of God’s unfolding plan in the OT - to explain the Gospel!

Skip down to V44 - 45 Jesus later appears to the disciples and explains to all of them....

You are witnesses of these things.

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.

But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus explains this again to all the Apostles - this time emphasizes the entire written OT - Moses, Prophets, writings

He ‘Opened their minds to the Scriptures’ again he showed them what they misunderstood - what they could not see… how his death and resurrection has all along been part of the story of God’s plan… he corrected their understanding of the OT story - And he explains how they are now part of the same story - commissioning them to be his witnesses - 48-49

V44 - 45 Jesus explains this again to all the Apostles - this time emphasizes the entire written OT - Moses, Prophets, writings

‘Opened their minds’ again he showed them what they misunderstood - what they could not see… who he is and how his death and resurrection has all along been part of the story of God’s plan… he corrected their misunderstanding of the OT story - explaining how they are now part of the same story - commissioning them to be his witnesses - 48-49

These disciples can’t see the significance of who Jesus is and what he’s done because they misunderstand the OT story…

The remarkable experience of Jesus alive again eating with them will not be enough to sustain these disciples in their worldwide mission.

They need to be sure about the ‘thread of divine intent’ - God’s unfolding plan - that runs through the whole story.

Jesus is not merely threading together a number of proof texts, but drawing from the whole STORY!

They need to see that the whole story-line of the BIBLE - the streams of truth, Law, Prophets and Psalms, flow to him.

Even the diciple’s remarkable experience of Jesus alive again eating with them will not be enough to sustain these disciples in their worldwide mission.

They need to be sure about the ‘thread of divine intent’ - God’s unfolding plan - that runs through the whole story.

Jesus is not merely threading together a number of proof texts, but drawing from the whole STORY!

The whole story-line the streams of truth, Law, Prophets and Psalms, flow to him.

So again Jesus tells the story of the OT to explain the Gospel and commission his disciples… -

“Storytelling is powerful because it has the ability to touch human beings at the most personal level.

Stories address us on every level.

They speak to the mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit, and the will.

It is through telling the story of the OT scriptures that their minds are opened and their hearts inflamed!

So Jesus models something for his disciples here that helps them grasp the essence of the Gospel and that relates directly to fulfilling the mission = To make proper sense of Jesus and his teachings they are to know the whole STORY.

because it has the ability to touch human beings at the most personal level.

While facts are viewed from the lens of a microscope, stories are viewed from the lens of the soul.

Stories address us on every level.

They speak to the mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit, and the will.

In a story a person can identify with situations he or she has never been in.

The individual’s imagination is

So over the next several weeks we are going to learn the STORY of God’s unfolding plan as Jesus told it.

So Jesus models something for his disciples here that relates directly to fulfilling the mission = To make proper sense of Jesus and his teachings we are to know and be able to tell the whole STORY.

Fast forward to the book of Acts…

If you look at how Peter, Stephen and Paul present the gospel in Act’s chapters 3, 7, 13, you discover that they all begin with the same OT story - They start with Abraham… they summarize the OT story and present the Gospel as part of the larger story - because the Good News about Jesus has a context - Jesus is the climax of the story of God's plan —

So the Apostles do the same thing Jesus did with them!

They Tell The STORY!

What if I told you we can learn to do the same??

What if I told you that we could reconstruct the story Jesus told on the road to Emmaus and have our own Emmaus road conversations with people?

= The kind of conversations and story telling the Spirit can use to open up minds to the scriptures and move our hearts to love Jesus???

To make proper sense of Jesus and his teachings and communicate his message in a way that really helps people make sense of it - we need to know the story.

To make proper sense of Jesus and his teachings and communicate his message in a way that really helps people make sense of it -

So Jesus models something for his disciples here that relates directly to fulfilling our mission = To make proper sense of Jesus and his teachings we are to know and be able to tell STORY.

What if I told you that we could reconstruct the story Jesus told on the road to Emmaus and have our own Emmaus road conversations with people?

= The kind of conversations the Spirit can use to open minds and move hearts???

If you look at how Peter, Stephen and Paul present the gospel in Act’s you discover that they all begin with the same OT story - They start with Abraham… they summarize the OT story and present the Gospel as part of the larger story - because the Good News about Jesus has a context - the story of God's plan — They are simply doing what Jesus did with them!

If we don’t have the story line right we end up with a distorted view of reality...

You might say it’s too big… The OT is long and complicated it would take us years!

But it’s only 7 miles -between Jerusalem and Emmaus!

And Jesus made it to Emmaus in time for dinner!

While there are many variables involved, it takes the average person 30 minutes to hike a mile on gentle terrain.

For Jerusalem to Emmaus add a bit of time for hilly terrain and heat.

So the story Jesus told would have taken between 4-5 hours max! (http://blog.gossamergear.com/determine-how-long-to-hike-a-mile)

So Jesus wasn’t going through every chapter and verse pointing out everything - he was summarizing the OT highlighting the main points - probably quoting key passages the disciples would have been familiar with…

But Luke doesn’t tell us the content of what Jesus said!

So how could we even know what he said?

The Apostles followed Jesus’ example… In acts they all start with the same story of Abraham.

They all mention Moses and David.

Stephen tells the OT story in 4 movements:

Abraham to Joseph,

Joseph to Moses,