Emmaus Road: Stories, Scripture, Hymns, and Art for the Christian Journey

By Rev. Gary M. Schimmer

How do we cultivate a deeper faith as we walk our Christian paths? And as we walk, where can we turn to look for hope within hopelessness, or joy within despair? Just as Jesus revealed himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he continues to reveal himself today to modern-day believersoffering us guidance and nourishment, and patiently and compassionately walking with us in faith.

In Emmaus Road: Stories, Scripture, Hymns, and Art for the Christian Journey, author and Reverend Gary M. Schimmer shares stories of humor, surprise, justice, sorrow, and hope from his congregational ministrystories that will stir your emotions and deepen your knowledge of the churchs faith and practice. Each story has a corresponding Bible verse, theological reflection, hymn, and art suggestion, and Rev. Schimmer invites believers to dwell on their spiritual growth in all of these ways and begin a journey to a deeper faith.

These moments of faith are offered as a gift for your reflections on the theology and practice of the Christian faith. Believers can use them to grow spiritually and to improve their preaching and teaching. More than anything, dwelling on the presence of Gods hand in the everyday lives of his children will help you deepen your faith and draw closer to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512793819

Rev. Gary M. Schimmer

Rev. Gary M. Schimmer has served for over 30 years as a parish pastor and as a leader in synodical and community ministry. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and a master of divinity degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School.

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Copyright © 2017 Rev. Gary M. Schimmer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-9382-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9383-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9381-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017910927

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/21/2017

Contents

Introduction

Section 1 - Humor

Title: A Hymn Forgotten

Verse: Psalm 33:3

Hymn: Thine The Amen

Art: Musical Allegory

Title: Hey, Jesus!

Verse: John 12:21

Hymn: Jesus, Come! For We Invite You

Art: Christ And The Woman At Samaria

Title: No Monkey Business

Verse: Exodus 20:1–3

Hymn: Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus

Art: Moses Destroying The Tablets

Title: Pizza And A Movie

Verse: John 13:5A

Hymn: Christ Be Our Light

Art: Christ Washing The Disciples’ Feet

Title: Lights Out

Verse: Ephesians 5:8B

Hymn: I Want To Walk As A Child Of The Light

Art: Creation Of Light

Title: Hand Signals

Verse: Matthew 19:14B

Hymn: Draw Us In The Spirit’s Tether

Art: Christ Blessing The Children

Section 2 - Surprise

Title: Preach On, Brother!

Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:16

Hymn: Alleluia! Sing To Jesus

Art: Saint Paul Preaching In Athens

Title: Asleep

Verse: Luke 2:8

Hymn: Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

Art: The Adoration Of The Shepherds

Title: Ambush

Verse: Genesis 2:19A

Hymn: God Of The Sparrow

Art: Paradise

Title: Snake Handler

Verse: Luke 10:19

Hymn: Healer Of Our Every Ill

Art: Moses And The Brazen Serpent

Title: No-Frills Stewardship

Verse: 2 Corinthians 9:7

Hymn: God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending

Art: The Widow’s Mite

Title: Generous Practice

Verse: 1 Timothy 5:17

Hymn: We Give Thee But Thine Own

Art: The Tribute Money

Title: Big Man, Big Trouble

Verse: Romans 13:1

Hymn: This Is My Song

Art: Saint Paul In Prison

Title: Bus Ticket

Verse: 2 Corinthians 9:8

Hymn: Praise And Thanksgiving

Art: The Feeding Of The Five Thousand

Title: Gentle Touch

Verse: Luke 8:44

Hymn: Thy Holy Wings

Art: Healing Of The Lame Man

Section 3 - Justice

Title: Time To March

Verse: Hosea 12:6

Hymn: God Of Grace And God Of Glory

Art: The Jews In The Desert

Title: Shopping Cart

Verse: Matthew 25:35A

Hymn: Lord Of Glory, You Have Bought Us

Art: The Miracle Of The Loaves And Fishes

Title: Powwow

Verse: Psalm 37:28

Hymn: Blest Are They

Art: Indians Dancing

Section 4 - Sorrow

Title: Homeless

Verse: Matthew 25:35C

Hymn: All Are Welcome

Art: The Most Welcome Visitor

Title: Walking Home

Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:54B–57

Hymn: Thine Is The Glory

Art: Resurrection Of Christ

Title: Church Camp

Verse: Exodus 33:7

Hymn: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Art: Abraham And The Angels

Section 5 - Hope

Title: Hospice Graduate

Verse: John 11:25–26

Hymn: For All The Saints

Art: The Resurrection Of Christ

Title: Divine Sign

Verse: John 2:9,11

Hymn: Peace Comes To Earth

Art: Scenes From The Life Of Christ: Marriage At Cana

Title: Good Job

Verse: Matthew 25:21

Hymn: Lord, Whose Love In Humble Service

Art: Christ Washing The Disciples’ Feet

Title: Long Walk Home

Verse: Luke 2:44–45,48–49,51

Hymn: Go, My Children, With My Blessing

Art: Christ Among The Doctors

Title: At The Lord’s Table

Verse: Matthew 26:26–28

Hymn: Now The Silence

Art: Last Supper

Title: Poolroom Grace

Verse: Ephesians 2:8–9

Hymn: In Thee Is Gladness

Art: Carrying The Cross

Title: A Church Builds

Verse: Matthew 16:18–19

Hymn: God Who Built This Wondrous Planet

Art: Christ’s Charge To Peter

Title: Christmas With Katrina

Verse: Acts 9:36

Hymn: We All Are One In Mission

Art: Healing Of The Cripple And Raising Of Tabitha

Acknowledgments And Copyrights

Epilogue

Introduction

After serving thirty-five years in congregational ministry, I wanted to write about my faith experiences when I prepared for ordained ministry for the Lutheran Church in America (now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee, and while I served congregations of that denomination in the Southeast and Midwest areas of the USA.

These moments of faith are offered as a gift for your reflections on the theology and practice of the Christian faith. I hope you will find them helpful for spiritual growth, preaching, and teaching. I hope that they will deepen your faith and draw you closer to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Each story has a corresponding Bible verse, an Emmaus Road reflection, a hymn suggestion, and an art suggestion.

Scripture

Each story has a related Bible verse selected from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Stories

Each story is true. I do not betray any confidences when I retell each story. The stories in this book are public information or information known only to me, concerning myself, and I share it freely. No story is taken from any counseling session. The names in each story are changed unless otherwise noted.

An Emmaus Road Reflection

I reflect theologically on each story and Bible verse to deepen the knowledge of the theme for each section and then provide a closing prayer.

Hymns

Unless otherwise noted, hymn suggestions are taken from Evangelical Lutheran Worship Pew Edition, © 2006 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Augsburg Fortress, Publishers. Each section in this book has only the suggestion for a hymn. I do not copy the music or the text for any hymn.

Art

Each section has an art suggestion corresponding to the theme of the story, Bible verse, or reflection. The master artists were also theologians who conveyed the meaning of the biblical texts. Look at the settings, colors, shading, facial expressions, and other details to understand the theological message of the artist. All suggested works of art are in the public domain and can be found at www.the-athenaeum.org. To make this book affordable, images were published in gray tones. You may look at the color