On January 8, 2023, Singapore Immanuel Church held its Sunday Service. Assistant Pastor Deborah preached the sermon on Luke 24:13-35, which was entitled, ‘Then Their Eyes were Opened and They Recognized Him’.
The sermon emphasized the importance of meeting the Resurrected Lord and seeking to have deep resurrection faith to overcome all challenges and circumstances in dying on the Cross, that true joy and victory will overflow in Christians’ lives in Christ. The disciples to Emmaus knew about the prophesized Cross and Resurrection, but because they lacked faith, they did not believe that Jesus truly would resurrect. Instead, the disciples went back to their hometown, feeling downcast with the thought that Jesus’ death is the end and His life was a failure. Even when they met the resurrected Lord in person, the disciples still could not recognize Jesus until He explained the Scriptures and broke bread with them.
The symbolic meaning of breaking the bread refers to the breaking of Jesus’ body on the Cross, and Christians should eat this daily bread in remembrance of His Cross. By constantly meditating on the Word of God, the disciples would have been able to deeply recognize Jesus Christ and the truth that He would be resurrected. It is through hearing of the Word that one’s faith could grow, and thus members were also exhorted to read the Word of God and eat it well so true life of the Resurrected Lord will be in them as each one die to themselves and reveal the living Christ in them.
After the sermon, members reflected upon if they believed Jesus’ death and resurrection was their own, and shared their grace over the Word given by God.
May God continually guide and bless the members to reveal the true power of the living Christ in them, by dying on the Cross and experiencing Resurrection in God to a new life and having victory over all things.