A New Relationship with Scripture After the Resurrection

Luke 24:13-32 April 15, 2018 Pastor Chris Oswald

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Thesis A vibrant relationship with Scripture requires brokenness that creates hunger, repentance from past misuse of the Bible, and dependence on the Holy Spirit's illuminating power rather than our own capacity to understand.

Series

Luke

Type

Expository

Tone

pastoralpropheticdidactic

Method

redemptive-historicalcanonical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

31 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #10

"Applies the brokenness point directly: identify where you are most alive (in pain, hungry, needy, excited—not content), and access Scripture from that place. The pastor issues a series of diagnostic questions to surface hidden needs, then instructs the congregation to 'go to the Word of God through that place.' The application is concrete—find your pain and read Scripture from there."

Doctrinal loci· 9 surfaced

Bibliology · 24 Christology · 8 Pneumatology · 8 Hamartiology · 5 Soteriology · 5 Anthropology · 3 Pastoral Theology · 2 Ecclesiology · 1 Theology Proper · 1

Bible citations· 26

Illustrations· 2

The Bible-Armed Destroyer personal story · unit #14 — Illustrates the consequences of misusing Scripture by describing a recurring pastoral scenario: the man who weaponizes the Bible to serve his own agenda, causing destruction in his family and church. The illustration is drawn from pastoral observation ('how many times have I seen') and serves as a warning about self-deception and the catastrophic results of using Scripture to validate preexisting desires rather than being shaped by it.
The Heart Sings in Hard Work cultural reference · unit #28 — Quotes C.S. Lewis to illustrate that intellectual effort (working through theology with pipe and pencil) can be the site of spiritual encounter. The pastor adds humor about the pipe to lighten the moment, but the core point stands: God meets us in the hard work, not just in the devotional mood.

Theological claims· 7

The first change in the disciples is that they are in a new place of brokenness regarding their shattered expectations about Jesus. unit #5
The Bible is not written for apathetic, self-satisfied, put-together people, but for those who are uncertain, hurting, questioning, and in need. unit #6
When the Bible seems flat and lifeless, it is because the reader is flat—too self-satisfied, too comfortable, too convinced they are okay. unit #8
The disciples had an existing relationship with Scripture that was deeply flawed due to bad teaching from the Pharisees, and part of their transformation involves repenting of that dysfunctional relationship. unit #11
All of us have some previous relationship with God's Word that we need to repent of—some past way of seeing Scripture that was fundamentally wrong. unit #12
Just as salvation requires God's initiative and enabling power, so does understanding Scripture—God must open our eyes to see what is there. unit #16
God's supernatural work occurs within human intellectual effort—both in the writing of Scripture and in the reading of it. unit #27

Quotations· 2

"the Christ-haunted South" — Flannery O'Connor (unit #11)

"I believe that many who find that nothing happens when they sit down or kneel down to a book of devotion would find that their heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand." — C.S. Lewis (unit #28)

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Full transcript

44,988 characters 31 units ~50 min reading time

0 · Opens the sermon with an extended story about John Cochran, a man who lived illiterate for decades before finally seeking help

Good morning. Would you open your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 24. We do only have, I think, 3 weeks left in the book of Luke. It's been a wonderful journey through the Gospel of Luke. I was reading this morning on BBC.com about a man named John Cochran, not Johnny Cochran, but John Cochran. He grew up in New Mexico in the '50s and '60s and He couldn't read. He graduated from high school and then went to college, graduated from college, was a teacher for 17 years before he could read or write. And, you know, so he was— essentially all of his elementary education involved at the end of the year a teacher saying, well, yeah, he's got some problems, but he's a bright boy. Eventually he'll get it. And, you know, kind of passing him up to the next grade and to the next grade and to the next grade. And then by the time he gets to high school, of course, now it's a matter of shame, right? He can't admit at high school that he can't read or write. And so he begins to cheat in high school, and he cheats his way through college as well, which— the story is really interesting as far as, you know, all the ways he learned to cheat. Guys, just in case, before you go to college. I'm kidding. One day he's watching TV as an adult. So he gets married, he gets married and he uses his wife, without her knowing it, as sort of his homework writer and reader. So he asks her repeatedly to read things for him and to write things for him. And this goes on and on and on and on. Many years later he's watching TV and Laura Bush is on TV talking about adult literacy. He has this moment of, you know what, this is enough, enough is enough, I need to take a step forward. And Laura Bush on TV had talked about this program that was at the local library. And so John Cochran, all of these years later, puts on his best suit and drives down to the local library and asks the librarian, would you have someone here that could teach me how to read? And so at that moment, the secret is out, he has free His whole relationship with the world changes because of his new ability to read and write.

1 · Frames the sermon's theological argument: Luke 24 contains two parallel transformations—Jesus' resurrection and the disciples' relationship with Scripture

Well, we're wrapping up a two-parter discussing a new relationship with Scripture after the resurrection. We see in Luke chapter 24 that one of Luke's intentions, one of the things he's doing in this chapter is showing that there are two big things that change. The big thing that's changed is Jesus, right? Jesus has raised from the dead. He is in a post-resurrection state. And so the biggest change in Luke 24 is that Jesus has conquered death. He's risen from the grave. The second biggest change— this is so interesting to me— the second biggest change in the chapter is the disciples' relationship with Scripture. Those two things being connected in a chapter just really do truly fascinate me. Jesus' resurrection in our reading of the Scriptures. So that you could see in verse 8, for instance, the women as they are experiencing the empty tomb and they're processing this, it says they remembered His words. Suddenly, all that Jesus had taught them prior to this about His death and resurrection clicks, and they have a new relationship, a new understanding, a new appreciation for the Word of God. There's a moment in verse 25 when Jesus opens up their minds to understand the scriptures. Repeatedly in this chapter, we see this occurring. People have this new way of seeing the scriptures. It's as if they were like John Cochran— illiterate and then literate. It's as if they looked at the page before and all they saw was a jumbled mess, and now they look at the page and they see Jesus on every other page. It really is a tremendous miracle.

2 · Interrupts the expositional flow to address people who struggle with reading directly

And today we're just going to look more deeply into these stories and begin to pull even— or continue to pull pieces out of this story that help us have a better relationship with God's Word. And I just want to say, you know, I've been a pastor for a while now, a couple decades, and my goodness, I've met plenty of people who have trouble actually just reading, right? It's just not— that's just not been one of the best best tools in their toolkit. Some people read and it's just smooth and easy. You know, Victor reads, you know, 7 books a week, just about. Not really, but close. Used to, probably. Uh, some people can just read. Some people can't read very well. And let me just tell you point blank, you know, there's a place in Christendom for you. There's a place you can walk with Jesus and enjoy Jesus and know Jesus even if your reading isn't so great. The written Bible may be one of the more difficult things you do in your Christian life in terms of having an ongoing relationship with God where reading is involved, I would encourage you not to run away from that. I would just tell you this: do you honestly believe that if reading is a challenge for you, do you honestly believe that if you press into it on a regular basis that God won't reward that? Do you honestly believe that this Do you see that perhaps this is one of those ways that you have an exceptional opportunity, right? An exceptional opportunity to really press into a relationship with God in a particular area that many people take for granted. That you can press in and you can work through and you can see God's glory on the written page. I'd also tell you this: written page isn't the only place you can experience God's Word. Every morning while my wife puts on her makeup, which only takes her like 3 seconds because she's so naturally beautiful. But that's the one thing I get as pastor. I get to like make these, get these brownie points from the pulpit. It's part of my benefits package. But every morning for years now, literally years, my wife listens to an audio Bible while she's getting ready every morning. Now, it's on her phone. She doesn't know how the program works. She doesn't know how to reset it after she has gone through it. She'll go through the whole thing, then it'll start to repeat, and she'll hand me her phone and say, 'Make it start again.' And we do. But I just want you to hear my heart. I look back— I'm not a very old man, I'm 42 years old— but I look back at how much the Bible has blessed me in my lifetime. How different my life is because of God's Word. How different my family is because of God's Word. Just how fundamentally blessed I've been by God's Word. And I want that for you. I want you to have a vibrant, consistent, enduring relationship with God's Word that blesses you in the ways that it's blessed me. And so I share the story of John Cockerill because I want you to see it's never too late. We see that with these disciples. It's never too late. And some of y'all need to get over the pride and just start pressing in. If you don't understand something, ask questions. Don't try to do this on your own. God has a blessing for you in his word, and I, I just want you to be blessed with God's Word.

3 · Reads the Emmaus road narrative in full, pausing mid-passage to supply imaginative reconstruction of the scene—the animated conversation, the Middle Eastern hand gestures, the sudden stop in the road

So having said all that, let's dig in and see what we can see. Look at verse 13 of Luke chapter 24. This is all taking place on the day of Christ's resurrection. Says, that very day, two of them— them being disciples— were going to a village named Emmaus, about 7 miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, 'What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?' And they stood still, looking sad. I love to use my imagination when I read the Bible. The guys are talking, so that means they're not walking too fast, right? They're kind of arguing back and forth. They're in this animated conversation. Jesus joins alongside them. They don't realize it's Jesus, and they're talking and they're very Middle Eastern and they're using their hands and just extremely animated. And Jesus says, what are you talking about? And they stop in the middle of the road, right? They stood still. And they look at him, and one of the guys' names is Cleopas. And he says, again very animated I imagine, 'Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem?' Verse 18, 'Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?' And he said to them, 'What things?' And they said to him, 'Concerning Jesus of Nazareth.' A man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests, our rulers, delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it's now the third day since these things have happened. Moreover, Some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they'd even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn't see him. And he said to them, O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going, and He acted as if He was going farther. But they urged Him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, for it's toward the evening The day is now far spent, so he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us? While he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures.

4 · Pivots from narrative immersion to analytical exposition

What's happened in these disciples' lives? What's going on? Well, gosh, we could probably talk about this for weeks and weeks. Last week we did a little bit of this. Let's talk a little bit more about some of the changes that are taking place in these men's lives so that this new relationship with God's Word is is emerging.

5 · Establishes the first of three changes in the disciples: they are experiencing brokenness and shattered expectations

First thing I want to point out is just they are in a new place regarding their own brokenness, their own broken expectations. Look back at verse 19. He said to them, 'What things?' And they said, 'Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, the man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.' But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things had happened.

6 · Develops the brokenness claim into a broader theological assertion about who Scripture is for

You know, I think about what are the ways that we get stuck in our relationship with God's Word? How do we get stuck? How does it not seem to work anymore? When does it become flat and dull and so on and so forth? And Let me tell you, it does this to me all the time. What's going on? Well, I think when we see this moment, we ought to be reminded that the Bible is not really a book for apathetic people. The Bible's not really for put-together people. It's not a book for nice people. It's definitely not a book for self-satisfied people. People. Everything in the Bible is geared to those who are uncertain, hopeless, hurting, howling, regretting, pining for something. You know, the average self-satisfied, nice, kind, self-content person reads the Psalms and thinks David has a mental illness. This man is bipolar. Look, look at how— look how everywhere he is. Look how out there he is. 'Look how urgent he is. Look how in pain he is.' And we think, 'Geez, man, like you're a drama queen here, you know. Just chill out. It's not that big of a deal.' Yeah, the Bible's not written for people who think that way. It just isn't written for people who are self-satisfied. It's not written for people who are okay. This is a book written about hurting people for hurting people. This is a book written about questioning people for people with questions. This is a book written for sinful people, for people, or about sinful people, for people with great sins.

7 · Catalogs biblical figures in extremity to substantiate the claim that Scripture is for desperate people: the demoniac, Job, barren women, betrayed fathers, adulterers

I mean, literally, I could just randomize and just reach my hand into the Bible bucket and pull out stories, right? And I would get a naked man, demon-possessed chained to a cave. I would get a wealthy man, a whole book, a big chunk of the Old Testament about a wealthy man who loses his family and his health and his fortune and is just hanging on by a piece of dental floss to his faith. I could, I could point to many places where women have their whole economic futures dependent on having a son, a son they cannot have, a son they cannot conceive. I could I could point to all sorts of places where men, as Seth referenced this morning, men who are running away from or suffering under their treacherous children. There's marital infidelity on every other page. And there are people in between all of these wounds, there are people who are blessed immeasurably and forget the blesser. The Bible's just not a book for normal people.

8 · Delivers the diagnostic claim directly: if the Bible seems flat, it is because the reader is flat—too comfortable, too self-satisfied, too 'okay

And I want to tell you that when the Bible gets flat, it's probably because you're flat. You're just too normal right then and there. You're just too average. You're just too nice. You're just too self-satisfied. You're just too well put together. When the Bible becomes this sort of flat thing, I think it's because your faith is flat. Your understanding of your need is flat. You're just overly okay. I think the hardest thing to do is to find anything alive in the Bible when I think I'm okay. The Bible's not written for people who think they're okay.

9 · Offers two more biblical case studies in extremity: the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5 / Luke 8) and Bartimaeus (Mark 10 / Luke 18)

You know, just— there's a woman in the Gospels with a gynecological issue. So why are we putting this in the Bible? The last 2,000 years, we're writing the story of a woman who has this issue, this extremely embarrassing, life-dominating issue with her reproductive system, and she has spent all of her money and she's desperate. That's the people that the Bible is written for. There's the blaring blind man who refuses to stop crying out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.' The Bible is alive when I am that blaring blind man crying out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.'

10 · Applies the brokenness point directly: identify where you are most alive (in pain, hungry, needy, excited—not content), and access Scripture from that place

So the first thing we would want to see about these disciples as to what has actually changed is they have these expectations. They thought things were going to go in a certain way, and they were devastated. They were disappointed in God. I want to tell you, you'll find far more life in the Scriptures if you could just even rise to the level of being disappointed with God. Rise above just the apathy and just actually have a complaint. You'll find far more life in the Scriptures if you could just even find it within yourself to be angry at God. The Bible's just not a book written for people who are okay. And in a very unique time, in the disciples' lives, they're not okay. They saw this going one direction and it went another, and they are uniquely, I think, open to hearing from God in his word. What are you disappointed about? What are you undone over? What do you feel more or less hopeless about? What do you feel super guilty about? What do you really want to see change? Where are you most alive? Most alive isn't most happy. It's not most content. It's most alive. It's most in pain. It's most hungry. It's the most in need. It's the most excited. Where are you the most unnormal? Well, that's the place you should access the Word of God. That's where you should go in the Word of God. Figure out that place where you were the least normal and go to the Word of God through that place. Figure the place where you have actually— we'll talk about this in a moment more— you've actually shut down this part of your life because it is so painful, it is so uncertain, it is so embarrassing, it is so shameful. Open that up. And go to the Word of God through that place, and it won't seem dead to you. Be desperate when you read God's Word and see what that does for the dynamic quality of your relationship with God's Word.

11 · Introduces the second major change: the disciples are repenting of a broken, inherited relationship with Scripture

There's something else related to this. I don't know, they say— what do they say? It's a mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew. So if I'm not entirely certain how to talk about this, there's a good chance that it'll really go badly. But when does that stop me? I just want you to lean in and do more work. I do most of the work for you most of the time. You need to really lean in. At least I think I do. You need to lean in and really do more work for me this time. There's this other piece that's connected here. And I would just say, It's just, they had a new brokenness about them, but they also had this past way of looking at the Bible that was shot through with problems. And they were repenting, though they didn't see this, they didn't know this. They were suddenly suspicious of the old way that they looked at the Bible. Okay, so let's see if I can get this right. These people didn't— let's just agree with this— they didn't first just start reading the Bible, right? These are Bible people. They had an existing relationship with God's Word, right? We all agree with that. You understand that these were Bible people. I think it's fair to say that they had just happened— they had this existing relationship with the Bible, and a big chunk of their understanding of God's Word was just wrong. Wrong. Not all wrong, I don't think that's fair, but mostly wrong. Maybe you heard last week's message and you thought, 'Wow, I really do need to read the Bible more.' Well, that's great. Okay and amen. But here's the interesting thing. These people knew the Bible. Right? They knew the Bible, they just didn't know the Bible. Again, the mist. It's moving out into the fog. Look at verse 19 again. Well, just 21 is fine. 'We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.' We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Where are they getting that category? Where are they getting the idea that Israel needs to be redeemed? Where are they getting a definition for redemption? Where are they getting the idea of what is a Messiah? Well, they're getting this from the scriptures. These people are Bible people. They had a category for redemption. They had a category for Messiah. I just don't think they were taught well how to read the scriptures. I think one thing we easily forget, or maybe we don't even know, is that their teachers, the people who taught the disciples how to read the Bible up until they met Jesus, were the teachers that everyone had, and they had a title called the Pharisees. The Pharisees were Israel's Bible teachers. The Pharisees were the people who taught all the Jewish boys and girls how to read the Bible. If you're kind of doubting that, and gosh, I don't blame you if you do, there's a book called— what's it called? A.T. Robertson? Pharisees and Jesus by A.T. Robertson. It's an old book. Culturally, you just need to understand that this is how you learn the Bible. The Pharisees taught you the Bible. One other way to look at it is, I think it's John 3:10, I believe. Jesus is speaking to a Pharisee, Nicodemus. And he says, 'You are the teacher, the teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things.' So I think what you're seeing here is a trickle-down ignorance. The Pharisees are the massive example, right, of having God right in front of their face and somehow missing it. They're the massive, big-case example of really going off the road when it comes to their relationship with Scriptures. They were really messed up. Well, they were the teachers. They were the teachers of these disciples. And Jesus had come in and really revolutionized everything, but it had been a short relationship, right? It had only been 3 years where they were exposed to this whole new way of seeing the Scriptures. So I think in addition to just this brokenness, this sudden pain, this awareness, this need, and the Bible is for those people. I think in addition to that, these people are kind of having to repent of a broken, dysfunctional relationship with God's Word from the past. A relationship with God's Word— this is, I think, important— a relationship with God's Word that flattened the Scriptures. That honestly, maybe it gave kids, teenage kids, all the answers to all of life's questions before they were ever asking any of them. There's this sort of weird mutant thing in modern evangelical Christendom. It's called the know-it-all teenager who knows the Bible super well. He thinks he does. So well that he doesn't want to read it anymore because he's heard all the stories and he thinks that's what the Bible is, is like a gathering of facts and accumulation of data. And so his whole relationship, his or her whole relationship with the Bible is this broken, weird thing. And honestly, I think most of us, if you grew up being exposed to the Bible, whether you grew up being exposed to the Bible a lot like me growing up in a church, or whether it's kind of a new thing for you, we've all grown up in a country that Flannery O'Connor, an old Southern Gothic fiction writer, she used to call the South the Christ-haunted South. It was this idea of the South used to have God, now it doesn't. We all grew up in a Bible-haunted culture. The truth is we all think we know the Bible, but we've had bad teachers. We've had a lot of bad teachers.

12 · Summarizes the second point and transitions toward application: the disciples' transformation required repenting of a 'flat, boring, stale vision of God's Word

And I think that's important to see that in this moment there is a fork in the road, and this new relationship they have with this new rabbi, Jesus, is going to lead them to a new dynamic, life-filled category of the Scriptures, but they had also grown up hearing a lot of crap. And really, honestly, most of it boiled down to having a flat, boring, stale vision of God's Word where there was no dynamic relationship involved in the reading of God's Word. So I bring that up just to say this: I would suppose if God gave us clarity right now, we would all be able to say that there's some previous relationship with God's Word that we need to repent of. Some past way of looking at God's Word that's just all wrong. And I think if He gave us the clarity, we would all see that. I would see that, you would see that. I'm not necessarily expecting that to happen right now, but I just want to ask you, is there a view of the Scriptures a relationship to the Scriptures that you need to repent of.

13 · Catalogs specific sinful ways people misuse Scripture, issuing a series of diagnostic questions: using the Bible to judge others, using it to avoid uncertainty, using it to avoid God, ignoring parts of it (care for the poor, the local church, giving)

You know, do you use the Bible— have you consistently over the course of your Christian life used the Bible to judge others? Well, do you think that's not affecting your relationship with God's Word right now? How do you think God feels about that? How do you think God feels about the fact that he gave you his word, this incredible treasure, this, this incredible grace, and you have consistently used it as a way of judging other people so that you can boast in, in not being what they're being? So that's a relationship with the scriptures that needs to be repented of. You need to repent. I need to repent of using the Bible that way. If I want the Bible to be this dynamic, alive gift of God, I've got to stop perverting it. I've got to repent of the ways I've perverted it. Do you use the Bible to pull the plank out of your own eye? Right? Did you at some point use the Bible to load your head with answers to life questions? So that you don't actually have to live a curious and uncertain life. Are you a certainty idolater? You love knowing. You love knowing it. You're terrible at asking, but you love knowing. You think you know enough. Well, I probably would repent of that. Have you used the Bible— this is weird, this is extremely nuanced— have you used the Bible as a way of avoiding a relationship with God? Some people are really in a relationship with the Bible, not with God. They use the Bible as a way to avoid a supernatural encounter with God. They use the certainty of this objective text to avoid any idea of subjectivism. Both are necessary. Do you ignore big parts of the Bible? Let's really try to let the Spirit work on us right now. Do you ignore big parts of the Bible, like caring for the poor? Okay, let's say that's happening. Again, we are in a relationship with a living God who gave us His Word. What do you think He thinks about us choosing to ignore parts of His Word? Maybe you're ignoring, you're choosing to ignore the absolute clear emphasis on the local church. In the Bible, and you're choosing to ignore giving or, or just honestly walking in faithfulness together. Well, here's the idea: you can't expect to have a fresh, vital relationship with the Bible when you are functionally treating it like a dead book. If you are free to ignore it, if you're free for it not to change you in big chunks, then you have a view of God's Word. You view God's Word as an ignorable force, which means it's not alive, it's not living and active, it's not able to divide heart and soul, it's not God's breath. It's not to live in God's Word. It's an option. Well, friends, come on. I got lots of options in my life, and I like to turn to those options here and there. They're all kind of nice, you know. Sometimes I like to play video games every once in a while. It's an option, you know. Sometimes it's nice to take a vacation. That's an option. Is my relationship with God's Word this sort of optional thing where it's like, well, I've got it. I mean, it's here. If I'd like to use it, I will, but it's an option. I'm certainly not gonna let the Bible use me. Right? Certainly not gonna let the Bible have its force on me. In other words, you may be so far down the road in some really bad relationships with God's Word, some really bad habits with God's Word, and now you're like, man, God's Word just seems dead. Well, it's because you treat it like it's dead. I don't really get much out of it. Well, that's the Bible says that if you're not faithful in a little, you won't be given much. And gosh, I mean, what are the big— what are the nos that you've put in front of God's Word? You know, if you treat it like the power of God, you will see the power of God. If you treat it like a dead book, you will see a dead book.

14 · Illustrates the consequences of misusing Scripture by describing a recurring pastoral scenario: the man who weaponizes the Bible to serve his own agenda, causing destruction in his family and church

You know, it's just something to think about. I have seen a lot of, honestly, train wrecks occur because of a bad reading of God's Word, a bad heart toward God's Word, and most people don't see it at all. Most people are entirely self-deceived to the massive ways they've said no to God's Word. And they think of themselves as Bible people, but they're not driven by the Bible. They use the Bible to validate where they want to go, and there's a massive difference between those two things. I've seen— how many times have I seen— this is just such frustrating, sad, kind of predictable thing. How many times have I seen the dude that breaks his family or breaks the local church or does some irreparable damage because he is loaded with a Bible and a concordance. And the whole issue is, yeah, but you're loaded with— you're not approaching this as a God thing. You have an agenda. You have something to— you have a bias you're hoping to confirm, and you are looking— you are using the Bible as a tool to get your own way. Well, my goodness, how will that ever lead to to a dynamic, consistent, enduring relationship with God's Word. And some of you are too proud to be taught, too proud to receive, too proud to ask for help. You've got your own little thing going, and you are not equipped for your own little thing, which we'll talk about next week.

15 · Summarizes points one and two (brokenness, repentance), then signals the structural shift to point three (dependence)

So yeah, there's this brokenness, this general brokenness, and then there's also this sort of repentance from this very honestly, like, all sorts of sinful ways that the Bible had been used in their past, partly because that's how they were taught. And then if we could repent of those things, I think the Bible comes alive in a different way. Well, thirdly, there's a new dependence showing up in this text.

16 · Establishes the third change: dependence on God's initiative and enablement

It's interesting to think about how our relationship with the gospel and our relationship with the Scriptures play along the same rhythms. I'm all about that. I love to see that show up. I love to see gospel rhythm show up in another place in life. And it's so interesting to see how all of the gospel truths show up in our relationship with Scripture. So for instance, in order to be saved, we must become undone. And that's what we're seeing in this text, right, with the scriptures. In order to have a dynamic relationship with the scriptures, we have to be undone. In the same way, in order to be saved, we must see, man, I'm undone, I'm repentant, I see myself as small, I see God as big. In order to be saved, those things must occur. Also, in order to read God's Word, those things must occur. The goal of our faith, the goal of the gospel is to enjoy God, to enjoy a relationship with God. Well, that's the goal of the Bible as well. The goal of the Bible is to know God, to see God, to enjoy God. But one of the things that really shows up in Luke 24 is our dependence on God's initiative and enablement. In order for us to be saved, God must take the first step, right? In order for us to become Christians, in order for us to be redeemed out of darkness and brought into life, to be delivered from rightful eternity in hell into an undeserved eternity in heaven, God must take the initiative. He must take the first step. We are incapable of taking that step unless God is initiating and empowering. Well, that's exactly what we see in the Bible. There are two areas where this shows up. One is just that God self-discloses. So this is just a theological concept, not going to talk a lot about it, but the whole idea is we wouldn't even know about God unless He told us that He existed and He told us who we are. So the Bible is God's initiative. It's a massive demonstration of God's self-disclosure, His initiative. He had to take the first step in telling us who he is. But also, what we see in the Bible is that there is a need for an enabling force. We think of God mostly as the object of belief, and we forget that he must also empower our belief. And this is true in the Bible as well. There are lots of good things to look at in the Bible. Lots of life-changing, powerful things in the Bible. There are lots of objects to see in the Bible, good things. But in order for us to see those, God must enable and empower our vision. Humanly speaking, the disciples had so many advantages. They had more Bible knowledge than we do. They were really in a sweet spot of Hellenistic-Hebraic convergence. Meaning they were actually in a really good spot for logic. They were really actually in a really nice place for reason in the development of Western thought. They had the best teacher, right? They even saw miracles. And yet none of this was any benefit until God empowered their faith and gave them eyes to see, which is exactly how we would talk about salvation, right?

17 · Signals a shift from theological claim to scriptural demonstration

So consider, I'm just going to walk you through a few key texts that have to do with this idea of illumination, of God shining His light on the Scriptures. And let's just see this kind of theme emerge where God is both the object of our faith but also the empowerment of our faith.

18 · Expounds 2 Corinthians 3:13-18 in detail, tracing the object-enabler structure: people turn to the Lord (object), but only through Christ is the veil removed (enabler)

2 Corinthians 3 is really a classic text for this doctrine. We talked about it last week a little bit. Verse 13, Paul's talking about this problem of being darkened to the Scriptures, and he says, their minds are hardened, or were hardened. For to this day, when they read the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. So the idea is that people are looking at God's Word, but they've got these blinders on. They can't actually see God's Word. That's verse 14. Verse 15: Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is is red, a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. So how does the veil get removed? It gets removed by the Lord. When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. So verse 16, turns to the Lord. I'm looking to God. That's an object of my faith statement. I'm looking to God, turns to the Lord. Verse 14, through Jesus it is taken away. Because only through Christ, verse 14, because only through Christ it is taken away. I should have told you, if you haven't turned to 2 Corinthians 3, you probably want to. There's the object of my faith and there's the enabler of my faith. I'm turning to the Lord, but how do I turn to the Lord? How do I see the Lord? Only through Christ, verse 14. Now in verses 17 through 18, it goes back and forth between this object and enablement kind of language. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. Just pause for a moment. Verse 17: 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.' It's very interesting that Paul is talking about being spiritually blind and being unfree, being bound. Do not— this is— I'm gonna get complicated and Bible nerdy in a minute, but let me— before I do that, let me say this: do not mistake your ability to make choices in this life as true freedom. If you don't see God's Word clearly, you are not free. You're a slave to sin. Don't say, well, I can do this, I can do this, I can make these choices, I have this freedom. You're not free. If you don't see Christ, you're not free. So don't mistake freedom of choice with actual freedom. True freedom is having the veil lifted, not being blind anymore to who God is. So the Spirit of the Lord— where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom. And we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord So there's the object of our faith, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. How do we behold? How do we look? How do we look at God? Well, the end of verse 18, for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. So behold the glory of the Lord, that's the object. This comes from the Lord. That's the enabler. So as it pertains to Luke 24, you have 3 different groups of people who all had the object of their faith walking with them for 3 years. They weren't lacking the object. It was right in front of them. They were lacking the enablement, right? And then when they're enabled, suddenly the object becomes clear. That was there. Literally, on the road to Emmaus, that's kind of the true metaphor, right? He was there all along and they didn't see Him. That's the enablement to see the object. It's the enablement of faith to see the object of faith. This happens elsewhere in Scriptures.

19 · Offers two additional scriptural proofs for the object-enabler structure

This is really what Jesus is talking about when He speaks to Nicodemus. Nicodemus walks to Jesus, he's a Pharisee, he says, 'We know that you're a teacher come from God.' No one could do these things apart from God. And Jesus says, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven. In other words, you must be given faith. You must be given the power to see. You can't see. You're telling me what you think you see. You don't see. Matthew 16, Peter says to Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Right? He's seeing Jesus as the object of faith. What does Jesus respond? How does Jesus respond? He says, 'You're blessed because flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.'

20 · Recaps the third point and offers a pastoral gift: if you lack brokenness, here is a brokenness you can use—you need God to open His Word

So we're in this third way that our relationship with Scripture changes. The first one is this brokenness. The second one is this sort of repentance of bad ways of using the Bible. This third way is that we need to understand that we desperately need God to empower the illumination of His Word. We need God to make the Word alive to us. Now, you may have thought as I was talking about brokenness, 'Well, gosh, I don't know. Life's okay. Like, you know, nothing's bad right now. I'm sure something bad will happen.' Well, here's your brokenness. I'll give you a brokenness. I'll give you one. Your brokenness is that you need God to open up His Word to you. You don't have the power to do that. You need Him. So you need a need. You can't approach the Bible without a need. Well, here's a need you can use. I'll lend it to you. You need God to open His Word to you. You know, in 2 Corinthians 3, there's this weird moment in 17 and 18 where the lines between the Lord and the Spirit get blurred. And because Paul's not trying to give us doctrine of the Trinity there, right? He's trying to talk to us about the Word. But listen, in John 16, Jesus talks about this relationship between Him and the Spirit and the Word. John 16:12: I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. There's the Spirit working as the enabler that allows us to see what was always before our eyes.

21 · Expounds Ephesians 1:15-18, drawing out the logic of gospel gratitude: true gratitude asks for more, not 'I'm good, thank you

It gets even more clear in Ephesians chapter 1. Paul says this: For this reason, because I've heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He's called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance of the saints, what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him. We're talking about resurrection and Bible, right? He ends with, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Let's just think about this for a minute. Paul says, 'I do not cease to give thanks for the faith you already have.' He's talking to people who are believers. And he says, 'I remember you in my prayers.' What does Paul's manifestation of gratitude look like? This is huge. The manifestation of gospel gratitude is to ask for more. And there's another huge question mark about, are you apathetic? Are you complacent? Because what gospel gratitude looks like is asking for more. That's the universal reaction to gospel gratitude. Not, 'Okay, I'm good, thank you. I've got my biblical worldview.' No, no, no. Gospel gratitude says, 'I'm so thankful that I'm going to ask for more.' And that's the whole idea of this relationship we have with the Bible, is we can never get to the point where we stop asking for more. If we stop asking for more, we see that we're not approaching the Bible like we ought to. True gospel gratitude asks for more. It leans in. And that's what Paul's saying. He's like, I'm so thankful for your faith that I'm asking that God would give you more of it. That's the true sign of gratitude. He says that the Lord, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know the hope to which He has called you. That you may— you need the hearts of— the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know the hope to which He's called you.

22 · Shifts from exposition to pastoral transparency

Now, There are different ways to preach. One of the ways to preach is to make it seem like I understand everything I'm saying. And that would make me look good, but I don't know if that makes God always look good. Sometimes I think the appropriate thing to do is to walk you to the edge of a cliff that I can't climb and say, 'Look!' Look at this. I don't know everything about this, but look at this. And I want to do that here. And so when we're saying the two things that have changed in Luke 24 are Jesus is raised from the dead and everybody's understanding the Bible differently. And I point that back to this passage in Ephesians 1 where Paul says, I've heard about your faith and I'm praying that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened and that you would see, right? Having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance of the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. I just pointing it out to you that all the way over in Ephesians Paul sees a connection between the power that raised Jesus from the dead and the power he's asking for on the behalf of the Ephesians that they would see the Bible, see God's Word clearly. Just point it out to you. Look.

23 · First application: gospel gratitude manifests as hunger for more, not complacency

So what are the applications from these three points? First of all, this: I can't say it enough, if you are deeply satisfied in God, you'll always ask for more. Gospel gratitude presses in.

24 · Second application: reject the artificial Old Testament-New Testament division

Number 2: the New Testament-Old Testament division that some of you were taught is hooey. It's hooey, and it's not helping you see God in God's Word. It's not helping you enjoy God's Word. If you look at verse 27 of Luke 24, you see Jesus saying— you see Jesus doing something: beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. In verse 44, then He said to them, these are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. This artificial dispensational hooey related to let's keep the Bible in these, these categories, these, these compartments, and neither the two shall mix, is not biblical. Jesus doesn't do that as he's talking about himself on the day of his resurrection. In order to have a thriving, alive, enjoyable relationship with God's Word, a dynamic relationship with God's Word, most of the boundaries that you think you need to have need to go away as it relates to your interpretation of scriptures. And you need to take up a Jesus hermeneutic that says, where's Christ in the Psalms? Where's Christ in the prophets? Where's Christ in the law? That's the second point of application.

25 · Third application: a Christ-centered reading transforms everything

Number 3, related: a Christ-centered reading of the Scriptures changes everything. I remember when I finally started to be able to see consistently a functional way of seeing Jesus in the Psalms consistently, it transformed my understanding of the Psalms, my enjoyment of the Psalms, what I was getting out of the Psalms.

26 · Fourth application: reading Scripture will feel like work, and that is good

And number 4, this is all going to feel like work. This is all going to feel like work. There's a proverb that says a man's hunger works for him. And again, if you go to the Bible and you're like, oh my goodness, this is, uh, You know, it's just, ugh. You're not hungry. Right? You don't need. And I would just tell you, press on. Press on.

27 · Summarizes the two-directional movement: God meets us in our work (reading), and God worked through human authors in their work (writing)

The miracle of God meeting us supernaturally in the midst of real work runs in both directions when it comes to the Bible.

28 · Quotes C

C.S. Lewis says this, 'I believe that many who find that nothing happens when they sit down or kneel down to a book of devotion would find that their heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand. That's certainly what I found. Oh, it's a tobacco pipe, to be clear about that. We're close enough to Colorado, want that to be clear.

29 · Expounds Luke 1:1-4 to demonstrate that Scripture was written through human effort guided by the Holy Spirit

This relationship with God's Word is going to feel like work. Listen to Luke chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. Luke describes what he's about to do, or what he's made an effort to do in writing this gospel. Inasmuch as you have undertaken to compile a narrative— inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished amongst us, just as those who were from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, It seemed good to me also, having followed all these things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things that have been taught. So how did Luke write the Gospel of Luke? He sat down and he made a deliberate effort to use his intellectual facilities to accomplish a good task, and the Holy Spirit was waiting for him at his desk. That's how we have this, and that's how we read this. Same way. The way we got this, people sat down to do a good thing and found the Holy Spirit waiting for them there. And that's how we read it. It will feel like work, and we will see years later that it was the Holy Spirit doing the work. How do you read the Bible? The same way it was written. Intellectual choice, time choice, attention choice, faith. That when you sit down, the Holy Spirit will be there to press in.

30 · Closes the sermon by transitioning to prayer

Let's pray.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Nov 12, 2017

Submission Part 2

True submission to God's hard commands is made possible by Jesus, who perfectly modeled submission to the Father and whose obedience unto death purchased our capacity to obey.

Luke 22:42

Dec 24, 2017

The Son of Man We've Longed For

Jesus is the Son of Man that humanity has collectively longed for throughout history — the only Son capable of accomplishing the work we cannot do: making peace with God, transforming our hearts, defeating our enemy, and ruling over creation.

Luke 22:69

Apr 8, 2018

Resurrected Reading Part 1: Forgetfulness, Foolishness, and Faithlessness

When believers neglect Scripture, they functionally become indistinguishable from unbelievers, but the resurrection calls us to a transformed relationship with God's Word marked by cherishing, meditating, and prioritizing it above all else.

Luke 24:1-53

April 15 · This sermon

A New Relationship with Scripture After the Resurrection

A vibrant relationship with Scripture requires brokenness that creates hunger, repentance from past misuse of the Bible, and dependence on the Holy Spirit's illuminating power rather than our own capacity to understand.

Luke 24:13-32

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

What do you notice about the emotional and spiritual condition of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:17-21)? What had they los…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week we trace how the resurrection reshapes our relationship with Scripture: from self-satisfied blindness to gospel-hungry brokenness, through repentance of past misuse, to Spirit-dependent understanding that requires both intellectual labor and divine illumination.

Prayer

Brokenness, Repentance, and the Spirit's Opening

Father, we come before you humbled by the truth that you have written your Word for the broken, the questioning, and the desperate—not for t…

Family table

When the Bible Feels Dead

This prompt invites your family to reflect on what happens inside us when Scripture feels lifeless or boring — and to notice the connection…

Couples

Scripture Alive: Brokenness, Repentance, and the Spirit's Work

Where in your life right now do you feel most broken or uncertain—and how might that brokenness actually be creating hunger for what God wan…

Memorize

Luke 24:25

This verse captures the sermon's central diagnosis: our broken relationship with Scripture stems from slowness of heart—from being too self-satisfied and comfortable to hunger for what God's Word reveals about Christ. It names the spiritual condition that must change before the Bible comes alive, making it the essential anchor for understanding how resurrection transforms our approach to Scripture.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

What do you notice about the emotional and spiritual condition of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:17-21)? What had they lost, and why does their brokenness matter for what happens next?

Luke 24:17-21

→ How does their sense of devastation—rather than self-confidence—create an openness to Scripture that comfort might not?
In the sermon, Chris contrasts those who are 'uncertain, hurting, questioning, and in need' with those who are 'self-satisfied and comfortable.' Where do you see this contrast playing out in the passage itself?

Luke 24:25
The disciples already knew the Scriptures—they had been taught them their whole lives—yet they didn't understand how Jesus fulfilled them. What does this suggest about the difference between knowing Scripture's words and having Scripture come alive in your heart?

→ What past teaching or assumptions about the Bible might you need to repent of, as the disciples had to repent of their Pharisaic training?
Jesus doesn't simply hand them the answer; instead, He walks them through the Scriptures so that their eyes are opened (Luke 24:27, 32). What is the difference between someone telling you what the Bible means and the Spirit himself illuminating it to you?

Luke 24:27

→ Have you experienced both? What was different about the way understanding came to you?
The sermon emphasizes that understanding Scripture requires both human intellectual effort and God's supernatural work (John 16:12-14). What does this mean for how we should approach Bible study—not passively waiting for God to drop meaning into our heads, but not relying on our own cleverness either?

John 16:12-14

→ What would it look like this week to engage Scripture with both diligent thinking and dependence on the Spirit?
The disciples' hunger—their desperate need to understand what had happened to Jesus—became the doorway through which Scripture came alive. As you think about your own relationship with Scripture, what areas of genuine spiritual hunger or questioning are you living with right now, and how might those open you to deeper encounter with God's Word?

Proverbs 16:26

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday John 3:3-7

Jesus tells Nicodemus that spiritual sight requires being 'born again'—a complete reorientation of how we perceive reality. Just as the Emmaus disciples were blind to Scripture's meaning until their expectations shattered, so we cannot see God's Word afresh while clinging to self-satisfaction. Brokenness is not a burden imposed on us; it is the opening through which the Spirit brings us to genuine hunger for God's truth.

Tuesday Matthew 7:3-5

Before we can see Scripture rightly, we must see ourselves—and the ways we have twisted God's Word to serve our pride, comfort, or inherited dysfunction. This passage calls us to the difficult work of self-examination: What false teaching about the Bible have we absorbed? Where have we used Scripture to justify rather than convict? Repentance clears the sight line between us and God's living Word.

Wednesday John 16:12-14

Jesus promises that the Spirit of truth will 'guide us into all truth' and will glorify Christ by taking what is His and making it known to us. The Spirit is not a passive aid to human effort; He is the active revealer of meaning. When Scripture seems flat or lifeless to us, we are not first a problem of laziness but of disconnection from the Spirit's power—we need to cry out for His opening of our eyes, not merely more diligent reading.

Thursday Ephesians 1:15-20

Paul prays that God would give the Ephesians 'the Spirit of wisdom and revelation' so they might know Christ—and he follows this with specific petitions about the eyes of their hearts being enlightened. Notice the interweaving: the Spirit's work of illumination works through our thinking, our seeking, our intellectual hunger. We do not choose between Spirit-dependence and intellectual labor; we integrate them, knowing that God 'powers everything in us' (Philippians 4:13).

Friday Mark 10:46-52

Bartimaeus's blindness parallels our blindness to Scripture; his desperation and bold cry for mercy model the posture Scripture requires. Jesus heals him and says, 'Your faith has made you well'—and immediately Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way. This is the pattern: brokenness compels us to cry out, faith meets the Spirit's power, and our eyes open. We leave this week called to hunger, to repent, to depend—and to follow.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Brokenness, Repentance, and the Spirit's Opening

Father, we come before you humbled by the truth that you have written your Word for the broken, the questioning, and the desperate—not for the self-satisfied and comfortable. We confess that we often approach Scripture from a place of sufficiency, convinced we already understand, too settled in our certainty to hunger for what you long to teach us. We have inherited and perpetuated dysfunctional relationships with your Word, using it to confirm what we already believe rather than to be transformed by what you are saying. Like the disciples on the Emmaus road, we need our eyes opened; like them, we have sometimes missed Jesus in the very pages written to point us to him.

Yet we rejoice in the gospel: Christ has risen, and his resurrection transforms not only him but also our capacity to encounter Scripture as a living thing. The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit who opens our eyes to see Jesus throughout the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Luke 24:27). We do not depend on our own intellectual capacity or spiritual maturity to understand; we depend on God's initiative and illuminating power, just as we depended on his grace for salvation itself (Ephesians 1:18-19).

Grant us, we pray, the brokenness that creates hunger for your Word. Teach us to repent of the ways we have misused Scripture—the inherited patterns, the proof-texting, the self-protection masquerading as faith. Grant us the humility to know that we do not yet see what is there. Work in us the glad dependence that characterized your people throughout Scripture: the desperation of the woman with the issue of blood, the intensity of David in the Psalms, the longing of barren women who knew they could not save themselves. Meet us as we labor in your Word, combining our intellectual effort with trust that you will open our eyes to behold Jesus. We commit ourselves this week to approach Scripture not from comfort but from need, not from sufficiency but from hunger, knowing that you have promised to illuminate what we cannot see on our own. To you be all glory and praise.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

When the Bible Feels Dead

For the parent

This prompt invites your family to reflect on what happens inside us when Scripture feels lifeless or boring — and to notice the connection between our own spiritual hunger and our hunger for God's Word. Listen for moments when kids recognize their own restlessness or questions; affirm those as signs that the Spirit may be at work.

On the road to Emmaus, the disciples were confused and heartbroken — their hopes about Jesus had fallen apart. Jesus said they were 'foolish' and 'slow of heart' to believe Scripture. But here's the thing: Jesus didn't scold them for being sad. He walked with them because they were hungry for answers. Think of a time when the Bible felt boring or hard to understand. What was going on inside you at that moment — were you comfortable and satisfied, or were you actually struggling with something? What's the difference?

works for ages 8+ — younger children can listen and share; teens and adults will engage the deeper question about the connection between spiritual hunger and Scripture's aliveness

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Scripture Alive: Brokenness, Repentance, and the Spirit's Work

Where in your life right now do you feel most broken or uncertain—and how might that brokenness actually be creating hunger for what God wants to speak to you through His Word?
What inherited or past patterns in how we approach Scripture together might we need to repent of—ways we've used the Bible to avoid hard questions, or treated it as a tool for winning arguments rather than encountering Jesus?
How can we pray for each other this week to depend less on our own understanding and more on the Holy Spirit's power to open our eyes when we read God's Word together?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Luke 24:25

And he said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!'

Why this verse: This verse captures the sermon's central diagnosis: our broken relationship with Scripture stems from slowness of heart—from being too self-satisfied and comfortable to hunger for what God's Word reveals about Christ. It names the spiritual condition that must change before the Bible comes alive, making it the essential anchor for understanding how resurrection transforms our approach to Scripture.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Providence Community Church

Lenexa, KS
Sundays · 10:00 AM
About us · What we believe

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# Providence Community Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Submission Part 2 (Luke 22:42, 2017-11-12)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2017/11/submission-part-2)
- [The Son of Man We've Longed For (Luke 22:69, 2017-12-24)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2017/12/12242017sermon)
- [Resurrected Reading Part 1: Forgetfulness, Foolishness, and Faithlessness (Luke 24:1-53, 2018-04-08)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2018/04/resurrected-reading-part-1-forgetfulness)
- [A New Relationship with Scripture After the Resurrection (Luke 24:13-32, 2018-04-15)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2018/04/a-new-relationship-with-scripture-after-the)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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