Sunday Worship - Sunday 26th April
Good Morning! Welcome to todays CTS Service
Click below on the red play button to start the video. You may need to be patient as the video is a very large file and may take a little while to load.
Below the video you will find a message from Mel Stoodley who was planned to speak at Grangewood today.
God Bless x
P.s don’t miss the blooper at the bottom of the page!
Message – Mel Stoodley
Road to Emmaus.
We’re all missing the company of friends or family, so today, we can enter into what it felt like for the 2 disciples who were missing Jesus, as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Since Lockdown, we’ve had cards through the post, from both Granddaughters, one aged 4, & the other, 12. In different ways, they’re expressing what we’re all missing.
The 2 disciples were heading for home, feeling sad & disappointed, with a long journey ahead of them. They’d had certain hopes & expectations about Jesus, which they felt had come to nothing. Then, suddenly, they saw a fellow traveller,
who walked beside them & asked what they’d been talking about. How could anyone not know what had been happening in Jerusalem, unless they were a visitor? The disciples had no idea they were talking to Jesus, & they shared their hopes that he would be the one to redeem Israel, but then he was crucified.
Even though, that morning, Cleopas & his companion had heard the testimony of the women, that Jesus was alive, they still couldn’t take it in.
So, Jesus explained, from Scripture, why It was necessary for him to suffer. It
not a terrible accident, but part of God’s plan to save the world through him.
When they were nearly home, the 2 disciples persuaded Jesus to stay with them, rather than continuing on his journey. Their eyes were opened when he took
bread & gave it to them, but as soon as they recognised him, he disappeared! In amazement, they shared their feelings about the journey, their burning hearts & their light-bulb moments!
They finally recognised Jesus, after hearing him share stories about himself from the Scriptures, & watching him break bread in their home. It had been a walking alongside conversation, listening, speaking, learning, discovering. Without stopping to rest, they went back to Jerusalem & told the other disciples.
When I was praying about today’s message, I was prompted to look back to a time when I was following a certain path, & had set expectations about my calling. 24 years ago, I was in my first year of part time ministry training on the East Midlands Ministry Training course, staying away at Easter school, in Riseholme Agricultural college, Lincoln.
For me, this was rather like an Emmaus Rd experience, sharing in groups, talking & walking alongside & having my eyes opened to truths about myself & others. In the middle of the week, it was the 25th anniversary of my first wedding. My first husband had left 5 years earlier, I was divorced, & was used to being a single parent & juggling work, study & home commitments, but also had many different emotions to deal with, in letting go of my marriage vows, & discerning whether I was equipped for ministry. I shared, in one of the worship sessions, that I was struggling with what might have been my silver wedding anniversary. Little did I know what was on the horizon, & how much prayer was enfolding me!
Shortly after that, Matthew came to live with his mother in Bramcote. I had known
his mother for many years, through Bramcote Methodist Church. She asked me if I would talk to him, as his marriage had ended, & he was having problems seeing his children. When I met with Matthew, I asked if I could pray with him (I had no idea whether he would be offended by that question.)We’ve been praying together ever since, & will celebrate 23 years of marriage in July.
Jesus comes & walks with us, in our life situations, & knows when we need our eyes opening, or our minds & hearts renewing. Even when we may have been ‘foolish, or slow to believe,’ he speaks through Scripture, & in the everyday things of our restricted lives at the moment, in simple meals, in our conversations, & in the stillness & quietness.
And here is a blooper from Natasha trying to record her singing for 10,000 reasons. Lucas didn’t want to be left out!