Our series this month is ROADS.

What are a few of the most beautiful, odd, or dangerous roads you have traveled on?

In this series, we are looking at 4 different roads that are associated with actual locations in the Bible.
Each of these roads represent a journey that the listeners of Jesus could relate to and life lessons that will help mature us in our faith and usefulness in God's kingdom.
Review of the past 3 weeks:
Road to Capernaum - This story can be found in Luke 4 where we see Jesus continuing His Ministry; prioritizing God's purpose for His life. For us, this speaks of rearranging our priorities in order to minister to others in our church and in our community.
Road to Jericho - This story of the Good Samaritan is found in Luke 10 and teaches us about Compassion. In a world of brokeness, God desires that we see the need, be the one, go and do!
Road to Home - This is the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. This story teaches us about Reconciliation. We learned that those in broken relationships must come to their senses, repent of their sin, admit the need for forgiveness, seek to rebuild the relationship, and give and receive grace.

Today we're looking at the Road to Emmaus.
Our text is found in Luke 24:13-35 and teaches us about helping people to find Hope.

Background:
At this point in our reading, Jesus has completed His road trip.
Beginning in Luke 9, the Lord had "set His face" toward Jerusalem and began an intentional and determined walk towards His death on the cross.
About 9 months later Jesus had been betrayed, unfairly judged, beaten, crucified, died, and buried.

Now we come to Luke 24 and the counting of 3 days has taken place.
Luke 24:1 says, "On the first day of the week" (this is Sunday). Jesus has been raised from the dead just as the Old Testament had predicted and as Jesus had taught.
This is the first Easter! The day of the Resurrection! The Third Day!

Later in Luke 24 it's still the same day and we see the 4th in a series of nearly a dozen post-resurrection appearances by Jesus.
Two people who had contact with Jesus's ministry were walking to a small town called Emmaus (7 miles northwest of Jerusalem). They were not Apostles but 2 believers (like us) returning home from the sad happenings in Jerusalem.
They were distressed and discouraged by all that had happened in Jerusalem and to Jesus. Their hopes, at best, were in doubt and at worse - dashed and demolished. Verse 17 says their faces were downcast.
Often in life we will take part in this scene of Luke 24. We will be the ones with broken dreams; the ones trying to figure out how to reboot our lives.
Or we will be someone who encounters people whose hope and dreams are now doubt-ridden, damaged, dusted over, or lay at their feet destroyed.

There are a number of lessons we can learn from this text about so many different subjects. Today we will point out a few lessons about how Jesus restored and rebuilt hope in the lives of these people...people just like us.

1. Jesus FOCUSED on People, not just the Problem or the Pain.

2. Jesus SHARED Scripture that met a need.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 [NLT]

3. Jesus INVESTED in their lives, at their pace.
Luke 24:29

4. Jesus INSPIRED them to act upon their hope.
Luke 24:33a, 35

We live in a world that can be thin on hope - the reasons vary greatly.
In our story, Jesus encountered these individuals on the road they were traveling. He knew that hope cannot be based on the things of this world, but must be built upon the truth of God's Word.
As we travel the roads of our everyday life, we will encounter many people who are in need of some Good News and some positive eternal hope
Luke 24:15b
You may be the only Jesus someone sees this week...what kind of Jesus will they see?