Emmaus Road Church | Fort Collins, Colorado

Sermon Scripture: 2 Kings 2:1-14 Today, we’re focusing on Elisha’s story because it reveals one of the clearest ways God faithfully shows up in our lives: through mystery, through symbols, and through the people who guide us. These guides—our friends, teachers, companions—invite us into something deeper. They help name and nurture the best of what God has placed within us. Symbols, meanwhile, are...

Sermon Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-15 Four weeks ago, Jesus told his followers to wait for the gift of power that would come through the Holy Spirit. Then came Pentecost—smoke, wind, and fire filled the room, but most importantly, the Spirit was poured out on everyone gathered. Last week, we listened for Lady Wisdom, the personification of the Holy Spirit, as we learned how to discern her voice. And t...

Sermon Scripture: Proverbs 8 In Proverbs chapters 1-9 there are four interesting characters vying for our attention; there’s the wise Fatherly King and a woman named Lady Wisdom, and they’re offering divine wisdom that leads to stability and life. Then there is also a Wicked Man and a wily woman called Lady Folly, and their way of life is attractive, but it leads to disorder and death. This week w...

Sermon Scripture: Acts 2:1-21 A long time ago, God made a promise. He said, “One day, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” That means God wouldn’t just be with a few special people anymore—he would be with everyone who wants him. On Pentecost we remember the first sermon, the first baptisms, and the beginning of the Church, but most of all, we remember that God kept his promise. And if God ke...

Scripture: Acts 1:1-11 While the world chases speed and spectacle, Jesus invites us into something different—holy presence. Before the spectacle of Pentecost, the fledgling Christian Church was instructed to learn how to wait. This week, we explore how slowness, trust, presence, and witness are not signs of weakness in the modern church, but rather these are exactly what modern culture is longing...

In this year’s annual church meeting, we reflect on God’s faithful presence through both challenges and growth—celebrating the shared ministry of our church, the rhythms that shape us, and the hope that guides us forward. From financial realities to new opportunities in worship, recovery, and youth, we’re reminded that God's persistent Kingdom is unfolding among us still.

Sermon Scripture: Acts 11:1-18 When Peter returned to Jerusalem with stories of Gentile inclusion and Spirit-led transformation, he didn’t come with arguments—he came with a testimony. In a world quick to judge and slow to listen, this story from Acts 11 reminds us that God often moves in surprising ways, and our calling is not to control the narrative, but to listen well, discern wisely, and love...

Sermon Scripture: Revelation 7:9-17 Today, we are picking up where we left off last Sunday in considering God’s great, on-going, never-forgotten project in the world, yet we recognize that things are not yet as they should be. Creation, history, our own stories—they’re all marked by the fact that we know things are not yet right in our lives or in the world, but we often have no idea how to start...

Sermon Scripture: Romans 8:18-25 Even now, creation groans — not in despair, but in hope. In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that the earth itself remembers the weight of the fall and the promise of freedom. We, too, remember. Like the Israelites in the wilderness and like Paul on the road to Damascus, we live in the tension between what has been and what is yet to come. This week, we explore the sacred...

Sermon Scripture: Revelation 1:4-8 On Easter Sunday we celebrated the decisive battle between life and death being fought and won. Sin and death have been dismantled through the victory of the cross and resurrection.  The cross and the empty tomb have marked the turning point in history. And yet—we still see the shadows. Injustice still has its soldiers. Death still shows its teeth. Evil isn’t goi...

Sermon Scripture: John 20:1,11-18, Isaiah 65:17–25 Today, we hear the ongoing story of new creation; a new heavens, a new earth, a world where tombs are empty, and tears are wiped away, and death doesn’t get the final word. Today, we stand with Mary in the morning damp grass. We listen for our name. And we dare to believe that resurrection is not only for Jesus—but for us. For our lives. For our w...

A dramatic, scriptural retelling of The Passion of the Christ. “Tenebrae” is an old word with Latin roots which means “shadows.” It is given this name to reflect the darkness of Jesus’ final hours and his crucifixion. Re-living the final hours of Jesus’ life is important. It helps bring into focus the miraculous victory the Father, the Son, and the Spirit enacted through overcoming the cruel cross...

Sermon Scripture: John 12:1-8 God chose to dwell among us for a purpose; to bring life where once there was death, to bring healing where there was once brokenness, to bring hope where there was once only despair, to bring light into the darkness. This week Jesus reminds us that God is not a distant deity, unmoved by suffering or sorrow, but a suffering servant who walks with us into the ache of t...

Sermon Scripture: John 12:1-8 This week we hear the dramatic story of Mary of Bethany and the anointing of Jesus, and the story of the humble widow with her simple offering of two copper coins. Two women extravagantly worshiping God in two very different ways. As we step into the final days of Lent and enter into the drama of the Passion of Christ in Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter, may we do...

Sermon Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Paul had a divine encounter on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) and nothing was ever the same. It caused him to see himself and others in an entirely different way. He writes, “From now on we regard no one from a human point of view” (2 Cor. 5:16).   Lent is not merely a season of fasting—it is a season of being made new. It is not just about being forgiven—it is...

Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-9 The story of humanity and God tells us that two kingdoms exist in our world; the kingdom of God identified by life, goodness, beauty and love, and the kingdom of the world marked by death, confusion, darkness, and oppression. God is reminding us that the kingdom of the world tempts us with empty wells—things that seem satisfying but ultimately leave us dry—while Chr...

Sermon Scripture: Psalm 27 Life is full of challenges. We are constantly bombarded on all sides. It’s hard to blame ourselves from living in fear and feeling that we have little trust to give — even to God. Afterall, even the faithful know bitter disappointment and crushing pain.  Faith is not the absence of doubt or struggle. It is learning to wait, to trust, to cry out, and to keep believing—eve...

Sermon Scripture: Romans 10:8-13 This is the paradox of the kingdom of God: true strength is found in humility. The world tells us that to confess our failures is weakness, that to lower ourselves before another, makes us small. But in Christ, confession is not a loss—it is a gift.  Throughout this season of Lent we will be considering how pouring ourselves out to God in worship and confession emp...

We have gathered together tonight to observe Ash Wednesday. This day marks the beginning of a season in the Christian calendar known as Lent. The purpose of Lent is to help prepare our hearts for the celebration of resurrection and new life at Easter. It is also a season in which we acknowledge our own mortality–our tendency to wander in the darkness even though we have life and hope in our resurr...

Sermon Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35, Luke 9:28-36, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 In the Transfiguration, God has revealed to us, through Jesus, what he is really like.  “God is like Jesus. God has always been like Jesus. There has never been a time when God was not like Jesus. We have not always known what God is like—but now we do. (Brian Zhand, Word of Life Church) As Jesus proclaims to us what God is li...

Sermon Scripture: Luke 6:27-36 Whether you are a student in school, a young adult navigating friendships and dating, a working professional, a parent of kids, or a wise elder, we are constantly faced with people who get in our way, who block our goals, are mess up our flow, our way of doing things, or perhaps who actively oppose us, threaten us, or harm us. As cliche as it sounds, we are constantl...

Sermon Scripture: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Jeremiah’s prophetic words were full of honest naming of the infidelity to God that led to his people’s destruction—but his message also was saturated in lovingly poetic promises of God’s faithfulness if his people would humble themselves and confess their sin, and return their trust to the Lord. Will we be like the parched thorn bush in the desert sands or the d...

Sermon Scripture: Luke 5:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-8 God has proclaimed, “Unto us a savior is given,” and Jesus has invited us to come and see, go and tell — “making Christlike disciples in all the earth.” So today, we consider the call of God upon our lives and we find encouragement in God’s equipping and guiding us in living the call.

Sermon Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Long after the rest of the world has moved on from the decorations of Christmas, the church remains wrapped in light and greenery because we want to remember, we work to remember — the light has come, and the light of Christ shines brightly through us. As we celebrate Epiphany and Candlemas, and the final Sunday of having our Christmas decorations on display...

Sermon Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 What if, in the midst of a culture that celebrates individualism, we are instead called to embrace belonging, humility, and responsibility within the community of faith? The Gospel message suggests that our purpose is to live in openness to others through service, acts of love and kindness, and protecting the most vulnerable among us. At a time when the wor...