Kindling the Fire
“Were not our hearts burning within us…?” – Luke 24:32
The Emmaus journey begins with encounter.
Two disciples walk away from Jerusalem confused, grieving, and unsure about what comes next. Jesus draws near — unrecognised at first. He walks with them. He listens. He opens the Scriptures. And slowly, something begins to happen.
Their hearts burn.
Kindling the Fire is the first movement of Walking Emmaus: drawing close to Jesus and allowing our hearts to be warmed.
It is not about activity.
It is not about duty.
It is about encounter.
Before there is mission, before there is ministry, before there is community — there is a heart stirred by the living Christ.
Many of us begin faith with fire. Over time, that fire can dim. Or it may never have fully caught.
Kindling the Fire is an invitation to rediscover the heartwarming presence of Jesus — to notice him walking beside us, speaking into our story, opening Scripture in ways that make our hearts alive.
This movement is personal, relational, and deeply hopeful.
Ways to kindle the fire
A heart on fire cannot be forced, but it can be nurtured. Here are some suggestions for ways to help keep our hearts alive and burning.
Encountering Christ and engaging the heart through Scripture. Try exploring different ways of engaging with the Bible such as reading in a different translation, using a Bible app, taking time to meditate and reflect on a passage, immersing yourself in a story and scene from one of the gospels, using lectio divina, memorising passages that speak to your heart and journalling your reflections.
Encountering Christ in prayer. Try exploring different ways of prayer that help to engage your heart as well as your mind. For example, you may like to pray through a Psalm noticing the psalmist’s heart and emotions and how you identify with those feelings.
Listening to music that lifts or stirs your spirit. Many of us respond to music in a way that touches and warms our hearts. You may like to create a playlist of Christians hymns and songs that kindle your heart.
Creating space to encounter Jesus. Sometimes it can be difficult to encounter Jesus in the busyness of life. You may like to create space by taking some time to enjoy a beautiful place and walk or just sit and draw close to Jesus. If possible, you may like to take some extended time in retreat to read, reflect, listen to music and pray.
Hearing from others who have encountered Jesus. These days, there are so many opportunities to hear from others who not only feed our minds but stir our hearts. These may include hearing from our pastor, reading books (from commentaries to biographies), listening to podcasts, watching videos and hearing from the person in the seat next to us on Sunday.
Here are a few ideas. Of course, this list is not exhaustive. We are all different. What stirs the heart of one person does not necessarily stir the heart of someone else. You might like to try things out, explore other ways and talk to others about what keeps their heart burning.
That leads to our next movement - finding another person who walks alongside us to fan the flame of our hearts that have been set alight by Jesus.