right now, our "pulpit" is in the middle of the room, with chairs on all sides. the law student, who used to be an actor (didn't i tell you that?) says this is theatre in the round. i just nod and pretend to know what he's talking about. one or two sundays we had no music, and then the following sunday everyone brought instruments, if they played, and our church all played together.
pat is also trying to get us to talk in church - really. we get emails about the sermon topic and are encouraged to pray about it and then, we are asked to share in church. here's last week's email:
Please take some time to read these verses and pray about what they mean.
See you Sunday at 10:30AM or 6PM.
Luke 6:39-49
39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher. 41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
The Tree and Its Fruit
43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Building on a Solid Foundation
46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
if you know me, you know i procrastinate. i live life 10 minutes late. naturally, i looked this stuff up on xenos.org right before morning service. i took notes. i was prepared, albeit quickly. but when we were asked to share, i didn't. i waited, with everyone else, in the silent tension. no one spoke. just left pastor pat hangin'. and i felt bad about it. i should have spoken up. so many times we wait for someone else to pave the way, to put themselves out there and make others comfortable, when that someone could be or should be us. so, since i didn't share sunday, i thought i'd share here.
according to the website i looked at, these verses illustrate 3 common spiritual pitfalls. the first is gullibility (blindness) - not having enough experience or even caution to know who or what you are following. knowledge is key here. Jesus answers this this parable with the parable about the tree and the fruit. it's so simple - good cannot produce bad, but only good, and bad cannot produce good, only bad - but so true. if we study the word and learn God's nature and fruit, it will be a lot harder for us to be deceived.
the second pitfall is hypocrisy (the speck and the plank). this is probably the church's biggest drawback - members who claim to follow but act like the world. it's hard. we're human, and we fail, and we wound. this verse isn't really talking about not judging - obviously, per the scripture, we are able to and should correct other believers, but we cannot be their savior. there is only One. furthermore, we need to be examining our hearts and our actions as well. refusing God's correction means we believe we know better, which always gets us into trouble.
the third pitfall is passivity (the houses). the first builder listens to how to build his house and acts accordingly. it changes his actions and changes his life. the second builder hears, but doesn't listen and doesn't change. he is not active in his knowledge because his faith is not increased, and his house is washed away.
i really love these verses and the way Jesus speaks. they are simple, easy-to-understand images of everyday life mixed with a little hyperbole that speak truth to our souls when we look just a little deeper. to me, these verses all show a heart that hears the word and refuses to be changed by it. the gospel is radical and powerful and should transform our lives! these verses show what happens to us when we do not allow our hearts to be changed: we will be misled, we will wound and bear false witness, we will not grow in our faith, and we will be destroyed. to say i was convicted was an understatement.
i don't want to miss the blessing. so this week, i pray we bear good fruit, and that it will show.
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