Wesley Word – May 3, 2023
To go along with service on Sunday, May 7, 2023
Experiencing Grace
- Contemporary Song: Jesus Messiah
- Traditional Hymn: #158 Come, Christians, Join to Sing
Exploring Truth – On The Road
Luke 24:13-35
This week we turn to the story of The Road to Emmaus.
It is the evening of the first Easter Sunday. Jesus has died. And while there have been rumors among his followers that he had been seen alive, at least these two are giving up and going home.
Along the road out of town, they are met by a stranger who asks them what they were talking about. It must have been apparent that they were sad. They told him the story about Jesus as far as they knew it, up to his crucifixion, and the rumors they had heard about his resurrection.
The stranger then showed them in Scripture how the Messiah had to suffer, die, and rise again. When they stopped for supper, the stranger broke the bread and they recognized that it was Jesus. Immediately after that, Jesus disappeared.
Right away, the two disciples got up and returned to the rest of the disciples in the city. They shared how they had seen Jesus and they were told that others had seen Jesus as well.
Like these two disciples, when we feel like we are ready to give up, Jesus meets us where we are, points us back to Scripture, shows himself to us, and restores us to community.
New Testament in a Year: https://wesleyonline.org/biblereading/
- May 3 John 3:1-21
- May 4 John 3:22-4:3
- May 5 John 4:4-42
- May 6 John 4:43-54
- May 7 John 5:1-23
- May 8 John 5:24-47
- May 9 John 6:1-21
- May 10 John 6:22-42
Expressing Love: Family/Mission Activity
A journey on the road is something I’m well versed in now after last weekend. This journey physically took me 2,000 miles there and back. Over 4 thousand miles I rode (except for the hour and a half I drove a little over the speed limit, in the dark, singing off-key at the top of my hoarse voice). I met so many people on this journey, a stranger is just a friend I have not made yet. The spiritual part of this journey I took was even greater, as above in the scripture this week. Driving past homes (a shack on the side of the highway, really), national forests, sand dunes, driving through major cities, seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and the icing on the cake (this does not include the time we spent with our daughter) seeing the Grand Canyon. It was a quick roller coaster of a spiritual journey that was talked about at great length in our truck. The utter heartbreak seeing people living in these shacks, the awe of watching people riding in the sand dunes. Seeing wild horses and roaming cows in the national forests, gazing at the ocean for the very first time, imagining what explorers must have thought when seeking a new land. But…but the Grand Canyon brought tears to my eyes. It was at once like the Holy Spirit slammed into me (again). You can try to describe it, but words do it no justice. I can imagine that having a not so random encounter with Jesus, whom you thought was no more, would also be an encounter that would be hard to describe. How do you properly explain what Jesus is really like? Does he speak with His hands?? That is like me trying to tell you the exact shades of red one will see at the Grand Canyon.
This week let us all take a journey, physically as well as spiritually, looking at the beauty of nature all around us. You can open your front door to hear birds sing and see the grass and flowers. Know that God created all this, He created you, He created me. Once we were all strangers, now we are all brothers and sisters. Take in the beauty created just for you and let your soul sing this week.
Announcements
- WOW (Wesley on Wednesdays) 6:00 pm.
- Senior Sunday this coming Sunday.
- The Muscatine Youth, Children’s, & Littlest Angels’ Choirs’ Spring Concert is Sunday, May 7, at 4:00 pm at Wesley. All are invited to this free concert! The choirs are working hard and are excited to present their songs to the community. These volunteer community choirs are open to Muscatine area singers in kindergarten-12th grade.
- Jackson Concert—Thursday, May 11, at 2:30 pm. The concert, like all Jackson concerts, is FREE. Martha Redbone will be performing. She is a Native American & African American vocalist/songwriter. She is known for her unique gumbo of folk, blues, and gospel from her childhood in Harlan County, Kentucky infused with the eclectic grit of pre-gentrified Brooklyn. Inheriting the powerful vocal range of her gospel-singing African American father and the resilient spirit of her mother’s Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw culture, and with songs and storytelling that share her life experience as a Native and Black woman and mother in the new millennium, Redbone gives voice to issues of social justice, bridging traditions from past to present.