Text: John 14:18-27

Here on Pentecost and Confirmation Sunday, our prayer over our Confirmands becomes a prayer for renewal for all of us: “Stir up once again in us the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever.” The same Spirit that came down on Pentecost – the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! – beckons us to join God's movement of bringing healing and wholeness to the world.

Text: Luke 24:36-53

Today we read the final post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, and find there a summing up of all the answers we have seen so far to our question: Jesus is risen! Now What? Now at last, the disciples will be ready to share and be his presence in the world, because they will finally understand more fully the radical message Jesus is calling them to share.

Series: He is Risen! Now What?

Text: Luke 24:13-35

"But we had hoped..." These words from this Sunday’s gospel reading, from the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, express an aching and longing that all of us feel at some point in our lives. We had hoped that things would be different than this. We had hoped for a different sort of future than the one we’re getting. A sudden diagnosis. The loss of a loved one. In a moment, our outlook on the future can be radically changed. When these two disciples open themselves to community with a stranger, they unexpectedly find that the risen Jesus has been walking with them all along, gently guiding them to a new future.