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“...were not our hearts burning within
us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32
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We Are
Accountable!
The purpose of the Walk to Emmaus is not
just for self-benefit, but to strengthen the Christian Community and to
develop Christian Disciples who will give their lives, sharing Jesus
Christ. It is not the 3-day experience that matters, but what you do with
your experiences during your Fourth Days. It is not a destination, but
the beginning of a journey - a journey for the sake of those around you -
your family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, your church and all who
come within your sphere of influence.
The world may look different, but it is not. You have changed, but the
world has not - that is the cold, hard reality. Bear witness, through
your attitude, your actions, your words. We will be better than we were,
but no better than anyone else. We are not a special breed or fraternity,
we are Christians, the Church.
You have encountered God in a unique way on your Walk to Emmaus. The
experiences of your Walk may change the world, or may fade into
obscurity. It all depends on what you do with this encounter during your
Fourth Days.
Below are the 15 topics covered
during your Walk to Emmaus.
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Priorities
Priority - something of leading
importance, 1st claim, shaping values for your life.
Human beings are shaped by a unique
capacity to make decisions about their priorities.
What is your priority?
Where do you spend your time, your money?
What do you think about?
If you don't set your priorities, they
will be set for you! You have the capacity and reasoning abilities to set
your own priorities, using your imagination, intelligence, willpower,
PRAYER and the HOLY WORD!
Remember - You make your choices, then your choices define you.
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Prevenient Grace
God's Love searches us out, seeks to
redeem humanity and wants to give us a life in Grace.
The reality is that God loves us and
offers a relationship.
God's Love pursues from conception
onward.
God's Love pursues us through the loving acts of others.
We were created in his image, given the
ability to reason, and hands and feet to implement our reasoning. We fell
from Grace through sin but are offered Salvation in the reconciling work
of Jesus Christ.
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Priesthood of
All Believers
God's Love is shared by Christians
called to the Church - to be priests to one another, a channel of Grace
between God and people.
We must all consider ourselves to be
priests, partners of Jesus Christ.
We make statements with all of our actions, inactions. Let care,
compassion and love show in your eyes, in your actions, so that you can
be a signal to the world
Remember that we are all Servants of the Lord.
Open your eyes and your heart to those who see you, let them know you are
there for them, whatever their need.
Do not drive away those who need you.
Are you approachable? Too many of us only feel comfortable with our
'circle' of friends and acquaintances - is that the signal Jesus Christ
sent?
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Justifying Grace
The kind of Grace we experience when we
honestly accept the relationship God offers us.
We have all failed to respond to God's call to place our faith in Jesus
Christ alone.
The experience of Justifying Grace is also known as conversion, new
birth, being born again, saved from sin or being born of the spirit.
Salvation is both instantaneous and progressive, like two sides of a
coin. It involves both Justifying Grace and Sanctifying Grace.
Justifying Grace enables us to give our hearts to God.
By God's Grace, we are accepted and set right with God in Jesus Christ.
New life in Christ comes when we say yes to God's offer of Grace.
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Life of Piety
A life lived in relationship with God.
Prayer is the language we use to communicate with God and to express our
relationship with God.
The Scriptures provide us with knowledge about the mind, heart and will
of God.
Characteristics of a life of Piety: attention, honesty, authenticity,
communication and resourcefulness.
Important spiritual practices are : prayer, scripture reading,
meditation, worship, Holy Communion and spiritual
direction.
This new life is rooted in a living relationship with God, sustained by
Grace through spiritual disciplines - giving one's heart to God
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Growth Through
Study
New life in Christ involves growing
through study of scripture, tradition and our world (giving our mind to
God).
Study is a discipline, the purpose of which is to transform our
total life through the enrichment and renewal of our minds.
Christians must study scripture to know God - and study ourselves, others
and the world of which we are a part.
We either grow or die in our spirituality - study keeps us alive.
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Means of Grace
This new life in Christ is made real by
means of sacraments and other sacred moments in which we celebrate
Christ's overcoming death.
The sacraments present Jesus Christ to us in such a way that we
experience His presence anew in our lives.
All Christian traditions recognize baptism and Holy Communion as
sacraments.
Other means of Grace include the sacred moments in which Jesus Christ is
made real for us through symbolic action or ritual at critical moments in
our lives.
By Grace through faith the Holy Spirit renews our spirits through each
and every means of Grace.
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Christian Action
This new life is expressed by sharing
Christ as a friend with friends - giving one's hands and feet to God,
both in the church and in the world.
This new life is characterized by a Jesus Christ-centered life and flows
from a relationship with Christ.
Christian life bears witness to Jesus Christ and carries on His work
in all we say and do.
Christian action is a natural response to God's Love and Jesus Christ's
Grace.
We give our hearts to Jesus Christ (Piety); We give our minds to Jesus
Christ (Study); We give our hands and feet to Jesus Christ (Action).
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Obstacles to
Grace
Sin is pretending that we are the center
of the universe - it is not about us or the Walk to Emmaus.
We must trust in God in order to overcome the obstacles to Grace.
The cross of Jesus Christ offers the means to overcoming the obstacles to
our relationship with God (vertical) and our neighbor (horizontal).
We can overcome sin by practicing the presence of God.
This new life is not free from obstacles of sin, but Grace and discipline
enable us to overcome obstacles and grow through them.
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Discipleship
This new life is discipleship, life
lived in Grace, following in Jesus' footsteps, growing in His likeness -
giving heart, head and hands to God and responding fully to the
relationship that God offers by devoting our lives to Jesus Christ.
A Disciple demonstrates these natural qualities: knows priority,
has discipline, knows reality, shows empathy, takes initiative
and practices generosity.
A Disciple demonstrates these spiritual qualities: a lively
faith, humility, hope and love
Discipleship involves giving your life totally to Jesus Christ.
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Changing Our
World
Ourselves - We
are changed through prayer, study and action.
Others - Bringing others to Jesus Christ and the church, through
prayer, study and action.
City, State, Nation - Through prayer, study and action.
World - Other people and nations through prayer, study and action.
Disciples will transform their environment by being a Christian presence
in these four fields of ministry.
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Sanctifying
Grace
Disciples continue to grow in the Grace
of Christ through obedience to the Holy Spirit in the disciplines of
Prayer and Service.
The Holy Spirit indwells and empowers us to love as God loves -
unconditionally.
Sanctifying Grace empowers our entire ministry.
Because God is infinite, our opportunities to grow in Grace are infinite.
Sanctifying Grace is the process by which the Holy Spirit reveals to us
the original righteousness.
Sanctifying Grace is the work of the Holy Spirit in rooting out sin -
moving us from imputed righteousness (what Jesus Christ did for
us) to imparted righteousness (what Jesus Christ does in us when
we open our hearts and minds to Him..
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Body of Christ
Disciples are called together to be the
body of Christ, joining their gifts for ministry and mission to "the
least of these".
The primary purpose for the Walk to Emmaus is to strengthen churches and
develop leadership for them.
Everyone should have a plan of action for their life which embodies the
principles explained in this Walk to Emmaus.
The Church as it fulfills its mission to the world 1) will have order to
utilize the gifts of all its members 2) is alive and giving 3) is an
equipping agent which empowers its members to be Christ's representatives
to the world 4) is humble and 5) is confident!
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Perseverance
Perseverance is continuing to do
something in the face of difficulty, to persevere in the life of Grace.
Disciples of Jesus cannot make it alone but can persevere with strength
from the Spirit through mutual support and accountability in Group
Reunions.
We must maintain contact with Jesus Christ and with other Christians.
Weekly meetings with Reunion Groups; Emmaus Community Gatherings, Emmaus
Teams - these are the premiums we joyfully pay, and the Blessings we are
given, to persevere in a life of Grace..
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Fourth Days
Your
three days are over, but Day Four begins and lasts for the rest of your
life.
This is the Walk to Emmaus' purpose:
a lifetime of Discipleship, bringing new life to our churches and
conveying Grace where we live and work.
We have experienced God's Love, Jesus Christ's Grace and the Holy Spirit
through gifts and sacrifices by our Emmaus Communities.
Our mission now becomes bringing others into a relationship with Jesus
Christ.
The Pilgrims are being sent into the world to become a part of God's
revelations of the Kingdom.
Two dangers: 1) Believing you are somebody special; and 2) believing you
are nobody.
We should keep in contact with Jesus Christ and in contact with others,
knowing and keeping our priorities.
Christian life is an unending pilgrimage.
Remember - do not try to change the world at once - Ourselves first,
others second, and finally the community and world.
If you have experienced God's Grace in a new way during your Walk to
Emmaus, you have only experienced what millions have discovered in the
last 2,000 years - but only a few attended a Walk to Emmaus!
Be grateful but humble! You are not the first to find God or meet Jesus
Christ or experience the Holy Spirit. The Walk to Emmaus is not the only
way or even a major way that this is done. There is no record of Moses
talking to other people about the Burning Bush, or that Jonah ever spoke
of his experience in the belly of a whale. They were too busy living in
Grace to exalt their past experiences.
Pray, pray, and pray more! Your one-on-one with God is so important!
Keep the Flame burning bright - We are fragile vessels with cracks and
holes throughout us but by keeping our hearts and minds open, God's Love,
Jesus Christ's Grace and the Holy Spirit will continuously pour down and
into us, refreshing us and keeping the Flame burning bright!
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“...Were not our
hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened
the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32
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