Dear Friends,
We are in the beautiful Easter season of the church as we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. This Sunday we will be walking with Jesus and two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
New These Days devotional guides are available for April, please let me know if I can deliver one to your home. If you would like a home visit, conversation, or home communion, please call me at 573-437-2779 (church) or 573-832-2475 (cell).
- Grape Cluster Tending the Vineyard at Camp MoVal on Saturday, April 22 from 10-3. For more information contact Pastor Stephanie
- Dorcas Brunch for Ukraine on Sunday April 23 at 10am If you would like to help with the brunch, please let a member of the Dorcas know. Thank you! The money raised will be sent to our church mission partners (Hungarian Reformed Church and Swiss Reformed Church) who are currently at work in the Ukraine.
- Pastoral Relations on Tuesday at 6:30pm
- Bell Choir on Wednesday at 4:15pm
- Choir Practice on Wednesday at 7 pm
- Pub Theology on Thursday, April 27 at M. Clancy’s at 6:30pm
Blessings,
Pastor Stephanie DeLong
Scripture: Acts 2:14a, 36-41, Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19, 1Peter 1:17-23, Luke 24:13-35
Sermon: God in the Ordinary
When I travel somewhere, I like to take a walk and have a closer look around the area. Rondel, my late husband, used to joke that as soon as we got the camp site set up that I would go for a walk and get lost. I never got lost, but I would often be gone for a while. He didn’t mind as it gave him some time to putz around the campsite on his own or with Eddy. (Rondel died when Luis was 22 months.)
I always saw interesting things on those walks. Sometimes I would come upon a glade of wildflowers or grazing deer. I recall one beautiful hike up Mount Mitchel in North Carolina where the mountainside was covered with blooming rhododendron. God’s beauty is so amazing. Another time I hiked a mining trail around Cripple Creek, Colorado. My mother suggested that I look for the mine which my great grandfather Morath and his brothers had when they were young. I learned a lot from these walks.
Other times I have walked with a purpose such as the CROP walk or to get from one place to another. The disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus were walking with a purpose as they returned home after spending Passover in Jerusalem. The distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus is about the same as walking from Owensville to Rosebud. It would probably take them a couple of hours to walk home the same day that Mary went to the tomb and found it empty.
While they walked, they talked. Their talking drew the attention of another pilgrim on the road. A person whom they did not recognize, but who showed an interest in their conversation. So, they explained to him about what had happened in Jerusalem. They expressed their dismay and confusion about the crucifixion and the stories the women told of the angels and the empty tomb. Cleopas and his companion were heartbroken; they had really thought that Jesus was the Messiah.
Like a good teacher, the stranger listened to what they had to say. When they expressed their confusion, he explained to them what the events really meant. The suffering of the Messiah was foretold by the prophets. The Messiah had to suffer before entering his glory. He taught them for the remainder of the journey to Emmaus. When they arrived in Emmaus the disciples expressed their hospitality by strongly encouraging their companion to spend the night with them. He accepted.
Now comes the odd part, their guest took over the role of host for the evening meal. He blessed the bread, broke the bread, and gave the bread to them. In this simple act, Jesus was revealed to them. Then he vanished from their sight. Can you imagine how they felt? Jesus had been with them for the journey and taught them. Jesus was their companion and shared the bread with them.
People often believe that God only appears in the extraordinary, but Jesus joins us in the ordinary moments of our lives. Jesus walks with us on the road to Rosebud. Jesus breaks bread with us when we gather for communion. Jesus eats with us around the dinner table.
This Sunday, we will be having a meal to raise money for Ukraine relief. After worship we will gather in the dining hall to eat egg casseroles, biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls and more. We do this for the experience of fellowship with one another here in Owensville, but we also do this for our brothers and sisters half a world away. Brothers and sisters who have been suffering from the effects of war. Brothers and sisters who walk in fear of armed soldiers and bombs. We eat today and share our money with them. When we do this, Jesus joins us around the table. May we recognize him in the ordinary moments of our lives.
Prayer: God you are awesome, but you are also with us in our everyday moments. You are with us as we walk around town. You are with us when we eat. May we see you in these ordinary moments. Thanks be to God, Amen.
Prayer list: Elizabeth, Cheryl, Dave, David, Evelyn, Jason, Paulette, Bobby, Kevin, Jim, Darryl (doing better!), Marilee, Beverly, Jim, Jenny, Jaqueline-Dixon’s daughter, Kirk, Barbara, Mitchell, Mahala, Mary, La Rae, Bud, Tyra, Marilyn, Tom, Jeff, Jesse, Kate, Kyle, Carmen, Sandy, Gary, Terry, Bob, Mark’s brother Billy and sister-in-law Jane, Delores W., Tyra, Freya and for peace.
Special prayers for the victims of the Louisville Bank Shooting, especially for the family of Wendy’s friend Josh a victim of the shooting who died.
