Does Your Heart Burn?

In the Christian life there are both objective truths and subjective experiences.

I invite you to go on a walk with us Sunday at 10:30am. We're going to see what it was like for a couple of Jesus' disciples to learn truth. But what made their experience of learning different is shown by a passionate question to each other: "Did not our heart burn within us..." (Luke 24:32)?

As Baptists, we do not often focus on the experiences of the Christian life as much as other religious groups do. There are several reasons for this, one being that we must always be careful to understand our spiritual experiences in light of the Scriptures and not apart from them. Several denominations and cults prioritize experiences over truth, and that will invite error and confusion in the church.

Sometimes, however, we can go overboard with this principle to the point of shuttering natural expressions of our faith that come as a result of the experiences we have. I've known some who say they love Christ but get upset when someone else shares their praise about Jesus more jovially than they'd like. Some declared Christ followers appear more in misery more than being upheld by His mercy.

We want to follow the Scriptures first. Agreed. As we examine Them, we clearly see that there are experiences believers have as they follow Christ.

We do not find it unusual for a bride, a new dad, or a graduate to be excited. There is a whole realm of emotions we feel based on the events and relationships of life.

As we'll see in the Sunday services, one of the Christian experiences we should long for is for our hearts to burn. The firebrand that ignites this is, in fact, the Scriptures.

I long for your heart to burn. I long for a church with a heart to burn. A heart that burns all for Jesus, our loving Savior and Lord, known through the truth and grace of the Bible.

Blessings,
Dennis Schaffer, Pastor

P.S. 6pm Sunday, we'll come to pray like the disciples did in the "upper room" after Jesus rose again. When they came together, Jesus showed up. Let's invite Him as we trust God for our needs and the future.