SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, April 26, 2020

Dear Friends in Christ –

What a week! Lightning strikes the Bell Tower, the death rate from the coronavirus tops 50,000 in our country, Charleston was pummeled with 5 inches of rain last night and electricity was just reconnected to the church campus five days after the lightning strike. And yet…yes, Sunday’s comin’:)

What curious times we live in.

Our text this Sunday has the elements of a great tragedy. Plot and character are the two most important elements, according to Aristotle. What could be more compelling than a small town carpenter’s seemingly illegitimate son claiming divinity, wrenching ‘disciples’ from their homes and family obligations; offering redemption and restoration to an oppressed and cowered people; surrendering to arrest, torture, humiliation and execution, only to rise! And to encounter, incognito, two heart-crushed devotees heading home in utter defeat, reporting the sad tale, “…but we had hoped.” (Luke 24:13-35).

Remember, dear friends, we’ve read the end of the book. But for those who could not, or who have not read the Bible, can we find hope as well in this scripture for our inspiration these days?

Answer: Yes!

Let’s gather again online this Sunday at 10:30. We’ll discover together God’s revealed message for this day, for these days, of natural assault and confusing rhetoric. We’ll be reminded that the God who lives is our paraclete, our advocate, our inspiration and companion on the road back to Emmaus- back to work, or back to home-tutoring 3rd grade math.

With great anticipation in these challenging days –