A Liturgy for those Disillusioned with their Faith - Liturgy for the Moment

City Church Tulsa

LITURGY FOR THE MOMENT A liturgy for those disillusioned with their faith 10.13.24 A Liturgy for those disillusioned with their faith We come with heavy hearts and broken dreams, Wrestling with our faith and struggling with uncertainty. We are weary, tired, and disillusioned, Wrapped in a dark night of the soul. Would you walk with us on our road to Emmaus? Would you meet us, O God, in our brokenness? Though our eyes are dimmed, our hearts still burn. Help us recognize you walking beside us. Disillusionment: a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be. Luke 24:13-21 13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 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. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 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, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 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 happened. Misguided hopes always lead to disillusionment. Luke 24:25-27 25 And he (Jesus) said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Disappointment and disillusionment are the inevitable results of anything we pursue that doesn’t have Christ at the center. Luke 24:28-35 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 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?”33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Jesus walks with us in our disappointment, disillusionment, and despair. In his grace, Jesus redirects our hearts and misguided hopes back to Him. A resurrected Jesus changes everything. You will end up on the road to Emmaus full of disappointment and disillusionment if… · You overemphasize the rules and underemphasize love · Your faith becomes a religious obligation or duty · You are more concerned with theological accuracy than intimacy with the Father · Your hope is in politics, power, or the systems of this world · Your faith is focused on a cause or justice issue more than fellowship with Christ · You are more focused on what you are against than what you are for · You feed on the things of this world more than the bread of life Romans 8:15-16 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.