Do you remember climbing trees as a kid? The big maple in the backyard, the tall oak in the far corner of the corn field, the quiet pine standing as a second steeple next to the church; each offering a new world to explore. It could sometimes be a little scary, was often exciting, but always a lot of fun. As we scaled the trunk, hand over hand, foot in notch; we’d soon find ourselves having achieved a dangerous height. Should we misstep or lose our grip now, our fall could be deadly. Nearer the top of the tree and at the end of our climb, we began testing the limb we thought of stepping out on. Before we put all our weight on a branch, we inspected it the best we could.
For those in the Christian faith, climbing the old, lovely tree planted by the water has us also ascending to some fearful heights. Not every branch we’re asked to believe in seems as sturdy as we’d like. One limb we’re particularly shy about putting all our weight on is the promise of God’s healing power meeting an immediate need in our lives. As we examine this belief, we discover that the limb comes off the trunk and is rooted, is alive with foliage and fruit, and looks strong enough. But just how strong and full of life is it? Can it handle the load of the things burdening my life? We shouldn’t live out our faith bear-hugging the trunk; but we shouldn’t wager our peace by taking fliers on the unfounded either. To help us think through this struggle, Andrew Wilson has written a wonderful article for an old issue of Christianity Today. In God Always Heals we learn a helpful perspective from a theological Tarzan. It should offer us a good hand-up for this Sunday’s climb. See you then!
There’s great power in a pathway. When out for a wandering walk, we’re more apt to follow a path than make our own. Though field and forest, mountain and meadow be open before us; we usually default to what is mown, paved, salted, or blazed. Those who first made these ways, whether deer, trader, courier, or civic planner, exercised tremendous power in directing future footsteps.
What’s true for traffic on land is also true for traffic in thought and feeling. Our hearts and minds tend to wander on the broad and banked pathways paved by those looking to speed all traffic past what might lead to heaven and onward to what most certainly will dead-end at the gates of hell. Following Jesus requires that every disciple take the next exit off the highway for the slower, narrower, and more ponderous path. As the wonderful summer months are now upon us, it would be good to consider how we might make the best use of opportunities to slow down and recreate a bit. To that end, two readings for this week’s discussion. First is an excerpt from Pirsig’s classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The second is A Forest Hymn; a poem by famed American poet William Cullen Bryant. Of the two, the poem is the more difficult read, but give it a shot. There’s a lot of encouragement in these two readings for our project of knowing and living a more authentic faith. I’m looking forward to the discussion!
Encircling the town green in Anytown, U.S.A. are the key components of a healthy, symbiotic, and whole community. You’ll find a library and a bank, the Town Hall and a general store. There’ll be a lodging house, a sheriff’s office, and a pub. There should also be a big, grand building with a steeple.
Governments have long made room on the green for a church and churches have long prized their position of importance in the community. But, should churches simply settle for being a pew for Joe Blow to sit in when he’s not on the barstool or in the reading room or at the teller’s window; part of a well-balanced meal for the modern mind? Ben Franklin loved Christianity because it made for good citizens. He saw it as a means to an end; a necessary component for the building a vibrant country. But the kingdom Christ established here on earth was intended to be an end in and of itself. Jesus wouldn’t be as interested in people going to church as He would be in seeing them being the church. The bone thrown to us this week is a little article written by our 26th President in a 1917 issue of the Ladies’ Home Journal. In it, Teddy Roosevelt gives his ten reasons for Americans to consider going to church. We’ll look to see which ones we agree with, which ones we don’t, and which ones are missing. I’m trusting there’s plenty of marrow in the bone – see you this Sunday morning!
Would you rather eat an orange, freshly picked from a citrus grove in Southern California or an orange-flavored piece of candy, picked up at the gas station? Both items look and taste kind of the same, but the effect each one has on the consumer couldn’t be more different. Both taste good, but only one is good for you. We tend to think of sophistication as a good thing. About an incomprehensible piece of modern art, we might say: “How sophisticated!” Of a university’s course offering in situational ethics, we might say: “How very brave. How very sophisticated!” We might even be persuaded to buy the world’s most sophisticated beverage: water-flavored water. For all the allure of sophistication and the envy it produces, its meaning and definition is not very attractive. To sophisticate something is to make it less natural or simple; to alter or pervert it in some way. It’s an old Middle English word derived from the Medieval Latin sophisticare, meaning to tamper with, disguise, or trick. In this week’s reading for our Sunday morning roundtable discussion, Desi Maxwell makes the case that much of modern Christianity is too sophisticated; more corn syrup than citrus. We’ll be challenged to shed the synthetic in pursuit of the authentic and to inventory our faith to see how much of our thought and practice has Christ’s trademark on it. Prepare to find your walk energized and your faith freed. See you Sunday morning!
The Newsletter Podcast is a production of Emmanuel Church for Emmanuel Church. With new episodes each week, we’ll hear what’s coming up, what’s gone down, and we’ll have a little fun along the way.
Guess the Epitaph… Highlight – Come and See (Pastor Ed Cilley joins us in studio!)… Recap – Community Supper… Recap – Evensong… Announcement – Birch Health Care… Drive-by Theater! (Brad and Tom)… Announcement – Sight and Sound… Live Music (Tom)… Recap – Snow Church… Announcement – Cantata… Announcement – Membership Classes… Mail Bag… Announcement – Prayer Meeting Opportunities… Announcement – Baptism… This Week in Church History… Top Ten Signs You’ve Had it With Winter… Announcement – Coffee House… Announcement – Bible Studies… Announcement – New Sunday School Class… Classic TV/Movie/Cartoon Review (Brad)
Conversations with folks from the Emmanuel Church Family and friends about life, faith, and our God who knits us all together.
Young Life… An Upward Spiral into apologetics… The most fun wedding at the Governor's Inn… Scale Free… All this and more with our very own Roosevelt Pires!
*Check out Roosevelt's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@ScaleFree777