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This article appeared in the January 2019 East Ohio Emmanuel Emmaus newsletter. It was written by John Dunn, EOEE Community Lay Leader
Know Your Pilgrim
All of us who have been on a Walk to Emmaus immediately want to run out and get everyone we know to share in the same experience We want everyone to feel the love and joy that we experienced after completing the 3-day weekend with Jesus. But remember that everyone is not in the same place in their faith walk with Jesus. Maybe they are not ready to receive God’s message for them, maybe they aren’t ready to hear His call on their lives, or maybe they aren’t ready to understand and accept His Grace that is so freely offered. That’s why it is so important to know your Pilgrim. It is your responsibility as a Sponsor. Have they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, which is really the first question? Emmaus is not designed for those seeking answers as to whether they accept Jesus.
Emmaus is designed for those Christians who are looking for a deeper relationship with Jesus. How long have you known them? Do you know their story? Do you know their family? Have you been in different settings with them to see how they interact with other Christians? Are you listening for the Holy Spirit to put their name on your heart, to help you to see that this person is ready to grow in deeper and more meaningful relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
The goal of Emmaus is not to fill the conference room with people looking for a retreat and fellowship. The goal of Emmaus is to have a spiritual weekend with people who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. People who feel so strongly about growing in their faith, in wanting to do more and learn more that they need someone’s help in guiding to that path.
Emmaus is for those people that we as sponsors know have the light of Jesus in their hearts and the Holy Spirit is calling us to help put that light on their faces, to help fill their actions with God’s love and to live a life honoring God.
Emmaus is for the people we know and can see as future leaders of our faith and our churches. The only way to accomplish all of this is for us as sponsors to truly know the people we are sponsoring. While we may want to run out and recruit all of our friends and relatives to be our next Pilgrim, we have to resist those urges until we truly know where this person is in their faith walk and that we spend time in prayer asking for God’s guidance and discernment.
We need to feel like God is truly calling us to ask this person to go on a Walk to Emmaus for His purpose, not ours. We often think and refer to these people as “our Pilgrim”, they aren’t ours, they are God’s Pilgrim. They are people He has recruited to be His disciples, we are simply the vehicle that helps them get there.
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Recently, I did some spring cleaning. It felt good to freshen up our home and box unwanted items to take to Goodwill. I come across a small unopened bar of hand soap. I read the name on the label and immediately thought of the church of my childhood.
The church was a small country church by the side of the road. It had no running water. Yet, there was a worship service every Sunday and Vacation Bible School every summer.
Vacation Bible School, or VBS, is a fun-filled program many churches offer, usually during summer months, to connect with children and families in their communities. It’s an excellent outreach meant
to bring children in, regardless if they usually attend church or not, and teach them the gospel.
VBS was so much fun! There was a warm welcome and singing in the sanctuary, then off to class for a lesson to learn, crafts to make, cookies to snack on and outdoor games to play. When playtime was over, you would go to Miss Jane.
She would be waiting for us with an old-fashioned basin filled with water and a bar of Dial soap.
Miss Jane would always smile and then offer a hand towel. I loved her smile. I still do.
Spring has arrived and soon there will be VBS committee meetings and announcements made for needed supplies and snacks. I am encouraging you to help those wonderful teachers and support team who turn one week of summer into a magical time of sharing the Good News!
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14
Blessings,
Pam Walter
TRWE Community Director
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Leading by Example
Recently we had a new man join our church family for worship on Sunday morning. We live in a small town and new faces don't happen every week. Everyone welcomed Sam (not his real name) as he sat with a couple who were members.
Sam continued to come to church in the following weeks even though he had to travel about an hour to get there.
Sam said he worked with Carl (not his real name) the man he was sitting with and Carl's wife.
I found out later that Sam had been watching Carl at work and how he was a kind, helpful employee and never participated in gossip conversation or crude jokes. Carl is a quiet, humble, compassionate man who loves the Lord Jesus and lives his faith.
Sam asked Carl one day at work if he attended a church and if he could join us for worship? He obviously wanted to learn how to have that same personality. Carl was so happy to invite him to our church. When Sam walked in that first day Carl had a big smile on his face . He didn't make a big fuss about inviting a friend to church, he just welcomed him and kept inviting him to come back.
Is someone watching you at work, at home or in your social life? Jesus told Peter to, “Feed my lambs and take care of My sheep.” I believe He is telling us the same.
To God Be the Glory,
Patty Johnson
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SONG OF THE MONTH:
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD
Chris Tomlin
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
CCLI Song #4348399
Chris Tomlin/Ed Cash/Jesse Reeves
Copyright 2004 worshiptogether.com songs/sixxsteps
Music/Alletrop Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing), (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License #514038
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TRWE Newsletter love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
Lately, God has been talking to me about the fruit of the Spirit. Most of us in the TRWE community like to see if we can remember all 9 of the expressions of the fruit of the Spirit. I like to do the fruit in sets of three – all the one syllable, then the two syllable and then the three syllable. It helps this scatted brain of mine to organize the fruit. Let’s see how I do…
Love: I think this should be first expression of the fruit listed because we have the two greatest commandments – Love God and Love Your Neighbor. If we love God and love our neighbor, then all else falls in line. When we do not love as God has loved us, we see the problems in others and we start to express the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit.
Joy: The joy of a life lived in Christ. There is no other like it. Joy is different from happiness, which is dependent on things external. Joy is rooted in God, not in things of this world.
Peace: This is a peace that passes all understanding, knowing that God has us (as I like to say).
Patience: This seems to be an expression of the fruit with which most of us struggle. When you are struggling being patient with someone, stop for a moment and think about how patient God has been with you. Allow the same patience with others has God has had with you. It is possible with the power of the Spirit working through you. The patience we can have through the Spirit is one of fortitude and it resists weariness.
Kindness: This is acting for the good of others, irrespective of what they do. Being kind is about your actions and not based on whether other people “deserve” your kindness. One is kind as a way of being.
Goodness: That God may count you worthy of God’s calling (2Thess 1:11). Do you actions demonstrate someone who is worthy of God’s calling? When someone watches you, do they see Christ in you?
Faithfulness: Believing in the promises of God or being “divinely persuaded” that God is God and Christ is the Messiah. Are you faithful to the calling God has placed on you and do you believe the promises made by God? If the answer is yes, do your actions align with that belief?
Gentleness: I think this is best described as bearing with one another in love. There is humility in being gentle, an unpretentiousness in actions. I think gentleness is a way of being in the world, kind of the opposite of abrasive, rude, pushy, and arrogant.
Self – Control: Being able to control one’s thoughts and behaviors. This is doable most of the time, until we allow someone else to have control of our thoughts and actions. When we lose our self-control, we tend to want to blame others. “He made me angry”. Self- control means we do not permit others or circumstances to dictate our thoughts and behaviors.
It is very important to understand that these nine are the fruit of the Spirit. These are not separable like the gifts are. Fully submitting to power of the Holy Spirit in one’s life is what allows us to express the fruit of the Spirit (all of it) as one with different characteristics.
With teaming and the walks right around the corner, I pray that we will all allow the Holy Spirit to have dominion over us so that we may express the Fruit of the Spirit in our thoughts, words and deeds.
De Colores
Kellie Wild
Community Spiritual Director
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Recipe of the Month:
Savory Steak Rub
1 tablespoon of dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
Combine all ingredients; store in covered container. Rub over steaks before grilling or broiling. Will season four to five steaks. Yield: ¼ cup/
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TRWE ANNUAL PICNIC
Grove City Memorial Park
Joseph D. Monteleone Pavilion
Saturday, July 13th
1:00 p.m.
Come, Enjoy Good Food, Sweet Fellowship and Fun Times!
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