Emmaus Church - Jacksonville

Emmaus Church - Jacksonville Emmaus Church of Jacksonville
"The family of God living on mission" Authenticity, creativity and a love for all people are things that mark us.

EMMAUS is a growing community of Christ followers who are seeking to show the love of Jesus to people in a tangible and relevant way. We desire to love as Christ did and share His love with all people. We believe that it is relationship that people need, not religion.

06/24/2026

Watch Your Step

Scripture
“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
—1 Corinthians 10:12–13 (NLT)

Sometimes we think we are stronger than we really are. That is often when we are most vulnerable. Paul names this exact danger. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. Overconfidence in our own strength has a way of setting us up for exactly the kind of fall we never saw coming. True strength was never meant to come from self-confidence. It comes from depending fully on God, and the moment we stop depending on Him is usually the moment we stop noticing the ground shifting beneath us.

We have an enemy who knows how to wait for that exact moment of complacency. Peter describes him as a roaring lion, prowling, looking for someone to devour. His strategy has not changed across the centuries. Distraction, deception, and temptation, aimed precisely at the places we have grown careless enough to stop guarding.

"Deceit of the mind is carried on by degrees, little by little. We are first drawn away from watchfulness, then from obedience. We are drawn away from watchfulness by overconfidence."¹
— Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

Bridges traces the exact pattern Paul is warning us about. It rarely happens all at once. We do not wake up one morning having abandoned obedience. We drift there gradually, one small surrender at a time, and the drift almost always begins with overconfidence quietly easing us away from watchfulness. That is why Paul's warning matters so much. The danger is not usually the temptation we see coming. It is the one we stopped expecting because we had grown too sure of our own footing.

But we are not alone in this fight, and we are not without hope. Everyone faces temptation. It is part of being human. The encouraging truth is that God is faithful. He will not let you be overwhelmed. He will always provide a way out, even when it is not easy to take. Temptation does not mean you have failed. It means you are human. And victory belongs to Jesus, which means in Him it belongs to you too. If you have stumbled recently, there is grace waiting for you, not condemnation. Receive it, and then stand firm again, not in your own strength, but in His.

Reflection:
1. Where are you tempted to rely on your own strength instead of God's?
2. What practical way out has God provided for you in moments of temptation?
3. How can you stay alert and dependent on God rather than becoming spiritually complacent?

Prayer:
Ask God to keep you aware of your dependence on Him. Thank Him for His faithfulness to provide strength and a way out of every temptation. Pray for a heart that is both humble and vigilant, trusting in His power to carry you through.

Footnote:
¹ Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1978).

06/23/2026

SCAM ALERT
Please beware the scammers are at it again. If anyone receives an email that appears to be from me (Vic), saying "I need to talk to you about something confidential" be aware it's a scam. The dead giveaway is always... "from Pastor Vic" That's not how I refer to myself. Sorry about any inconvenience.

06/23/2026

Emmaus Men's BBQ
Tonight at 6:30
in the cafe!

06/23/2026

Light of the World

Scripture
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ... In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
—Matthew 5:14, 16 (NLT)

Jesus does not give His followers a command to become something they are not. He makes a declaration about who they already are. You are the light of the world, He says, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. That is not a goal to strive toward. It is an identity already settled, given by the One who is Himself the true Light. Jesus called Himself the light of the world in John's Gospel, and John writes that in Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. Whatever light we carry is not self-generated. It is not our own brilliance reflecting back at us. It is a borrowed light, a reflection of the Source shining through us.

Now that He has ascended, He calls those who follow Him to carry that light into the world. Our lives are meant to shine with the kind of goodness, mercy, and love that point people back to where the light actually comes from. Like a lamp on a stand or a city on a hill, we are not meant to hide. We are meant to help others see clearly. See truth. See hope. See Jesus.

"So it is the light they will praise, not the lamp which bears it; it is our Father in heaven whom they will glorify, not the children he has begotten and who exhibit a certain family likeness."¹
— John Stott

Stott names exactly what Jesus intends by this image. The lamp is not the point. The light it carries is. When our good deeds shine in a way that draws attention to our own goodness, we have missed what Jesus is describing entirely. But when those same deeds cause someone to look past us toward the Father, the lamp has done exactly what it was made to do. That is the goal. Not recognition for the lamp, but glory for the One who lit it.

So let your light shine, not to be seen, but so that what is seen leads somewhere beyond you. Let your good deeds be the kind that point people upward rather than back toward yourself. The world is not short on darkness. It is short on lamps willing to be set on a stand rather than hidden under a basket of self-protection or self-promotion. Be the kind of light that helps people find their way home to the Father.

Reflection:
1. What does it mean to you that Jesus calls you the light of the world?
2. Are there areas of your life where you have been tempted to hide your light instead of letting it shine?
3. How can your actions this week reflect the goodness of God and point others to Him?

Prayer:
Pray that God would help you live in a way that reflects His light to a world in darkness. Ask Him to give you courage to shine boldly and humbly, that others may come to see and know the source of all light, Jesus.

Footnote:
¹ John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount: Christian Counter-Culture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 62–63.

06/22/2026

The Fountain of Life

Scripture
Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.
For you are the fountain of life,
the light by which we see.
Psalm 36:5–9 (NLT)

David's words here read less like careful theology and more like a man standing in awe, reaching for the largest images he can find. God's unfailing love is as vast as the heavens. His faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. His righteousness stands like the mighty mountains, His justice runs as deep as the ocean. These are not abstract qualities David is admiring from a distance. They are rooted in the character of a God who cares deeply for everything He has made, not just people but every living creature. He provides, sustains, and shelters, and He does it without fail, season after season, generation after generation.

What makes this kind of love remarkable is not just its size but its persistence. God's love does not depend on our behavior holding steady. It is not a reward we earn by staying close or a gift He withdraws when we wander.

"When God makes a covenant with us, God says: I will love you with an everlasting love. I will be faithful to you, even when you run away from me, reject me, or betray me."¹
— Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son

Nouwen put into plain words what David is marveling at in poetry. This is a love that absorbs our betrayals rather than being undone by them. It is a faithfulness that does not wait for us to deserve it. All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of His wings, David writes, and that shelter is not reserved for those who have earned their way in. It is offered freely, to anyone willing to come and stand beneath it.

He is not only the sustainer of life but also its very source. Every breath we take, every flash of clarity, every glimpse of goodness comes from Him. In your light, David writes, we see light. God does not just give us physical life. He illuminates the path in front of us and opens our eyes to the beauty of who He is. How amazing it is to know this God, to be loved by Him, sustained by Him, and invited to find shelter in Him. He is vast and unsearchable, yet near and faithful. May your heart find rest today in the shadow of His wings.

Reflection:
1. What part of God's character in this passage speaks to your heart most today, His love, justice, provision, or something else?
2. In what areas of your life do you need to be reminded that God is your fountain and your light?
3. How can you practice resting in the shelter of God's love this week?

Prayer:
Thank God for His unfailing love and faithful provision. Ask Him to open your eyes to His beauty and help you see all of life through His light. Rest in the truth that He is your source, your shelter, and your delight.

Footnote:
¹ Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming (New York: Doubleday, 1992).

06/21/2026

Press On

Scripture
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 3:10–14 (NIV)

Paul's desire here is unmistakable. He wants to know Christ, fully and deeply. Not just the power of His resurrection but the fellowship of His sufferings. This was never about chasing spiritual experiences or personal gain. Paul was chasing Jesus, and he understood that to know Christ meant becoming like Him, even in suffering and death. Christ had taken hold of him for a reason, and Paul's entire life had become an answer to that calling. He was no longer living for comfort, success, or reputation. He was living for the glory of God and the joy of knowing Him.

But Paul is honest about where he stands. Not that I have already obtained all this, he says, but I press on. That phrase captures the heart of spiritual maturity. Not arrival, but pursuit. Growth in Christ does not happen by accident. It requires effort, intention, and a willingness to release what is behind. Paul was not dwelling on his failures or his accomplishments. He was straining toward what was ahead.

"Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth."¹
— A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Tozer named exactly what Paul refused to settle into. To follow Jesus is to keep moving, and the moment we stop pressing forward, something in us begins to atrophy. Many of us carry things that weigh us down. Regrets, shame, old wounds, distractions, even good things that have quietly become ultimate things. To press on means we have to let some of that go. We are not called to live in reverse, replaying what is behind us. We are called to walk with Jesus, day by day, into what He has already prepared.

So do not coast. Do not look back. Do not let yesterday define what God is doing in you today. Our salvation is a gift, but our transformation is a journey, and the goal is not just heaven someday. It is Christlikeness now. That is the prize. That is the purpose. That is the call. Christ has taken hold of you for something more. Press on.

Reflection:
1. What do you think it means to truly know Christ in the way Paul describes, both in His power and in His sufferings?
2, Is there anything in your past, good or bad, that you need to release in order to move forward?
3. Where is God calling you to press on with renewed faith and focus?

Prayer:
Thank God for taking hold of your life in Christ. Ask Him to give you fresh passion to pursue Him and clarity to let go of anything that is holding you back. Pray for the strength to press on today and every day, until the race is finished.

Footnote:
¹ A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1948).

06/20/2026

We All Have Something to Sing About

Scripture
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Psalm 100 (NLT)

Psalm 100 is often called a psalm of thanksgiving, and for good reason. It is a call to joyful worship, not just from God's people but from all the earth. Why such a sweeping invitation? Because God is the Creator, and all creation reflects His glory. From mountain peaks to ocean waves to quiet sunrises, His presence is evident for anyone willing to stop and notice. Paul tells us in Romans that His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in what He has made. All of creation has something to sing about, because all of it points back to the One who made it.

We get excited about plenty of things. A game, a concert, our kids doing something remarkable. So why does worship sometimes feel stale or restrained by comparison? The psalmist says, come before Him, singing with joy. That does not require a particular personality type. It requires perspective. Everything good we enjoy ultimately traces back to Him, and when we remember that, worship stops being a Sunday routine and becomes a lifestyle of joyful response.

"I am of the opinion that we should not be concerned about working for God until we have learned the meaning and the delight of worshiping Him."¹
— A.W. Tozer, Whatever Happened to Worship?

Tozer reorders something we often get backward. We tend to treat worship as the warm-up before the real work of serving God begins. But Tozer says the delight comes first. True worship is not merely gratitude for what we have received. It flows from genuine delight in who God is. And the psalmist reminds us why that delight is justified. He made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. We are known, protected, and led by a Shepherd who laid down His life for us. Jesus said His sheep hear His voice, and no one can sn**ch them from His hand. If we truly believed that, we would live with more confidence, more courage, and more freedom than we typically do.

The psalm closes by anchoring everything in the unchanging character of God. The Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation. That is who He is, regardless of what season we are in. His love does not fail. His faithfulness does not end. Take time today to consider His blessings, both large and small, and let your heart respond with joy. He is faithful, He is good, and He is worthy of every song we have to offer.

Reflection:
1. What parts of creation most clearly remind you of God's power and beauty?
2. In what ways can you shift your focus from thanking God for what He gives to worshiping Him for who He is?
3. What might change in your daily life if you truly believed that you are known, protected, and held by the Good Shepherd?

Prayer:
Thank God for His unchanging goodness, love, and faithfulness. Ask Him to stir fresh joy and gratitude in your heart today. Take a moment right now to worship Him simply for who He is.

Footnote:
¹ A.W. Tozer, Whatever Happened to Worship? A Call to True Worship (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread Publishers, 1985).

06/19/2026

The Source of Hope

Scripture
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Romans 15:13 (NLT)

Paul packs an extraordinary amount of truth into a single sentence here. It reads almost like a prayer offered in passing, yet it is dense enough to anchor an entire sermon. He begins by naming God as the source of hope. Not a source among many, but the source, full stop. This is not a new idea for Paul. It echoes what the psalmist had already discovered centuries earlier. My soul finds rest in God. My hope comes from Him. Hope that is rooted anywhere else eventually runs dry, because everything else we might hope in is finite, fragile, and subject to change.

Paul then prays that God would fill his readers completely with joy and peace as they trust in Him. That word trust deserves a pause. What are we actually trusting in day to day? Money, relationships, career stability, our own competence. None of those things are wrong to value, but none of them can bear the weight we often place on them. They are temporary by nature. Only God is unshakable enough to hold the full trust of a human heart. And when our trust is finally rooted in Him rather than in circumstances, something shifts. We experience a peace that does not depend on how things are going and a joy that nothing in this world can manufacture or take away.

"Hope comes not in the solution to the problem but in focusing on Christ, who facilitates the change."¹
— Tim Keller, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering

Keller names exactly what Paul is describing. Our hope was never meant to hinge on the problem being solved. It hinges on the Person we are looking at while we wait. That is why Paul says this kind of hope overflows. It is not a trickle we manage to produce through willpower. It is a Spirit-empowered abundance that spills over into every area of life, sustaining us in seasons that have no clear resolution in sight.

We should not lose sight of who this prayer is addressed to. Paul is praying to the God who delights in giving good gifts to His children, who has the power to meet every need and calm every anxiety. That is the God who is offering you hope today, not based on your circumstances improving, but based on who He is. Would you put your trust in Him? He is the source of all hope, and He will not run dry.

Reflection:
1. Where have you been tempted to place your trust lately other than in God?
2. What would it look like to rely on the Holy Spirit for joy and peace in your current season?
3. How can you live today in a way that reflects confident hope to those around you?

Prayer:
Thank God for being the source of lasting hope, joy, and peace. Ask Him to reveal anything you may be trusting in besides Him. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with overflowing hope as you place your confidence in the Lord.

Footnote:
¹ Timothy Keller, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering (New York: Dutton, 2013).

06/18/2026

The Way Up is Down

Scripture
Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. “What is your request?” he asked.
She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?”
“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”
When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
—Matthew 20:20–28 (NLT)

James and John's mother came to Jesus with what seemed like a perfectly reasonable request. She knelt respectfully and asked for places of honor for her sons in His Kingdom. She was not trying to cause trouble. She simply wanted the best for her children. But that was precisely the problem her request exposed. It was rooted in personal ambition rather than humility, and it revealed how easily even good intentions can be aimed at the wrong target.

Jesus does not scold her directly. Instead He turns to her sons with a question that reframes the entire conversation. Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? They answer with confidence, not yet understanding what they are agreeing to. The way of the Kingdom, Jesus is showing them, is not the way of position and privilege. It is the way of servanthood. He Himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. To share in His glory is to share in His suffering. There is no shortcut to greatness that bypasses the cross.

"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility."¹
— Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 69

Augustine understood exactly what Jesus was teaching James and John. Every instinct in us says that rising requires climbing, asserting, securing a better position. But the Kingdom inverts that logic entirely. The way up is down. Whoever wants to be a leader must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first must become last. This is not a strategy for getting ahead disguised as humility. It is a complete reordering of what counts as greatness in the first place.

James and John were not ready for that cup when they answered Jesus so quickly. But in time, as they walked with Him and watched Him live out the very words He was teaching them, they came to understand. May we have the same patience with ourselves and the same willingness to learn. True greatness is not found in the places of honor we secure for ourselves. It is found in pouring ourselves out, again and again, in love for others.

Reflection:
1. In what ways are you tempted to pursue recognition or honor rather than servanthood?
2. How can you model Christlike leadership in your family, church, or workplace this week?
3. Where in your life is God inviting you to serve without expecting anything in return?

Prayer:
Ask God to shape your heart to reflect the humility of Jesus. Pray for strength to serve others with no need for recognition. Invite Him to make you more like Christ, the servant King.

Footnote:
¹ Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 69: On the Words of the Gospel of Matthew 19:17, trans. Edmund Hill (New City Press, 1991).

06/17/2026

Quiet in the Chaos

Scripture
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
—Psalm 46:1–7, 10–11 (NLT)

Life moves fast. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Our days are packed with demands, notifications, and noise, and the problem is not only that we are busy. It is that our souls have become hurried, distracted, and numb to the presence of God. Psalm 46 speaks directly into that kind of chaos. Even when mountains shake and nations crumble, the psalmist declares, God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. The world may be unraveling, but God is not. And the invitation of this psalm is not to fix the chaos but to find the One who is greater than it.

Then comes the command that cuts through everything else. Be still, and know that I am God. Not a suggestion. A command. The Hebrew word carries the sense of cease striving, sink, relax. In a culture obsessed with output and achievement, God invites us into something that feels almost countercultural. Rest. Presence. Awareness. Not because we have earned it but because He is here. Stillness is uncomfortable for many of us precisely because it confronts us with what we have been avoiding. But it is also in that quiet space where we rediscover who we are and who God is.

When the prophet Elijah was burnt out, afraid, and isolated after one of the greatest victories in Israel's history (1 Kings 18–19), God did not speak through fire or earthquake or wind. He spoke in a gentle whisper. And when Elisha's servant woke to find their city surrounded by enemy forces and panicked (2 Kings 6), Elisha prayed, and God opened the servant's eyes to see the hills filled with horses and chariots of fire. The Lord of Heaven's Armies was already there. They just needed eyes to see it. That is the truth Psalm 46 keeps repeating like a refrain. The Lord of Heaven's Armies is here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress.

"Solitude well practiced will break the power of busyness, haste, isolation, and loneliness. You will see that the world is not on your shoulders after all."¹
— Dallas Willard, The Great Omission

Willard understood what the psalmist is inviting us into. Stillness is not a luxury or a personality type. It is a discipline, and it has consequences. When we stop filling every moment with noise and activity, we begin to see what was always true. The world is not on our shoulders. The Lord of Heaven's Armies is here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress. So fight for stillness. Make space for silence. Put down the phone, turn off the noise, and sit in God's presence, not to check a box, but to listen. The invitation to be still and know is not just a path to peace. It is a return to the very center of our faith.

Reflection:
1. What are the main sources of distraction or noise in your life right now?
2. When was the last time you spent extended time in stillness with God, without agenda, just to be with Him?
3. What would it look like to regularly cease striving and rest in God's presence this week?

Prayer:
Thank God that He is always present, even when life feels out of control. Ask Him to help you slow down, be still, and become more aware of His nearness. Pray for the grace to resist the noise and hurry of the world so you can rest in the peace only He provides.

Footnote:
¹ Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006).

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3425 Sans Pareil Street
Jacksonville, FL
32224

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Thursday 7am - 8am
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