I really liked the sermon at church today and I will admit that at first I was a little worried. I was a little worried because our head Pastor was out sick and it was one of his associates that did the sermon. Never having listened to someone else preach (at this church) I was concerned that my little daydreaming mind would take over and I would take nothing home from his sermon. Well I am thankful that my attention DID hold and the sermon was really good!
Pastor Tom talked about "What Kind of Spiritual Tree Are You?". He went through and talked about all the kinds of trees that are on his property. He talked about the Alders that while they stand strong when they are together they are often marked up and heavily scared from the Elk and other animals that sharpen their horns on them. He said often people too carry their own scars around and have a hard time letting them heal.
He also talked about his old Oak tree. He said it still has many of the dead leaves on it from the Fall. Those leaves are like sins and how many of us continue to hold onto our sin, even after Christ has forgiven us?
He spoke about his Apple tree, or so he thinks it is an Apple tree. He has never seen it bear fruit and it remains weak so it's easily damaged by the wandering animals. How easily damaged are we by those around us? Are we growing well?
He talked about his Cherry trees, he said that once the trees are covered in blossoms, they begin to get cherries and then before they can become ripe enough to pick and eat raccoons come along and eat them. By the time the rest of them are ripe they are on branches so high up he is unable to get them so they go to waste. How many of us have spiritual fruit that goes to waste? Do we keep our Christianity up so out of reach that no one else can see it?
Then he wondered if there was a tree on his property that would show good growth in the Lord and was a good spiritual tree. He talked then about his large Rhododendron. He saw how it was sturdy, beautiful with it's green leaves and flowers that lasted all season long and it's large ball of roots that kept it strong and healthy. He went to move it one day to another location and saw that it would take a lot to dig it up. He was unable to dig it out completely so he took a chain and wrapped it around all the trunks. With gentle pulling he uprooted the tree much like we are often uprooted and moved by God. When he was done pulling it out he didn't have a new spot ready for it so it sat out of the ground for a few weeks but even though the roots were out, they were so strong they were able to keep the tree alive and green and healthy. Much like the Rhododendron our roots in Christ need to be that strong. He finally divided the tree and planted it about his property and one day his wife while moving some items accidentally bumped the tree with a vehicle and ripped off a limb. It left a scar but as time went on the tree healed and that scar got smaller and smaller. It showed how as Christians we should allow Christ to heal our scars so we can continue to be beautiful in him.
It really made me think about how we are all like a lot of the trees he spoke of in different areas of our life. Sometimes it is so hard to stay strong and healthy in the Lord when there are people and items that take our spiritual fruit and waste it, or they sharpen their horns on us leaving us with scars and at times we simply want to put our Christianity up high so no one can do that. Let's make a point to try and be more like the Rhododendron where we stay strong and beautiful in the Lord, where we don't hide our spiritual fruit or blossoms and we show to the rest of the world the beauty and grace that knowing Jesus gives.
Pastor Tom talked about "What Kind of Spiritual Tree Are You?". He went through and talked about all the kinds of trees that are on his property. He talked about the Alders that while they stand strong when they are together they are often marked up and heavily scared from the Elk and other animals that sharpen their horns on them. He said often people too carry their own scars around and have a hard time letting them heal.
He also talked about his old Oak tree. He said it still has many of the dead leaves on it from the Fall. Those leaves are like sins and how many of us continue to hold onto our sin, even after Christ has forgiven us?
He spoke about his Apple tree, or so he thinks it is an Apple tree. He has never seen it bear fruit and it remains weak so it's easily damaged by the wandering animals. How easily damaged are we by those around us? Are we growing well?
He talked about his Cherry trees, he said that once the trees are covered in blossoms, they begin to get cherries and then before they can become ripe enough to pick and eat raccoons come along and eat them. By the time the rest of them are ripe they are on branches so high up he is unable to get them so they go to waste. How many of us have spiritual fruit that goes to waste? Do we keep our Christianity up so out of reach that no one else can see it?
Then he wondered if there was a tree on his property that would show good growth in the Lord and was a good spiritual tree. He talked then about his large Rhododendron. He saw how it was sturdy, beautiful with it's green leaves and flowers that lasted all season long and it's large ball of roots that kept it strong and healthy. He went to move it one day to another location and saw that it would take a lot to dig it up. He was unable to dig it out completely so he took a chain and wrapped it around all the trunks. With gentle pulling he uprooted the tree much like we are often uprooted and moved by God. When he was done pulling it out he didn't have a new spot ready for it so it sat out of the ground for a few weeks but even though the roots were out, they were so strong they were able to keep the tree alive and green and healthy. Much like the Rhododendron our roots in Christ need to be that strong. He finally divided the tree and planted it about his property and one day his wife while moving some items accidentally bumped the tree with a vehicle and ripped off a limb. It left a scar but as time went on the tree healed and that scar got smaller and smaller. It showed how as Christians we should allow Christ to heal our scars so we can continue to be beautiful in him.
It really made me think about how we are all like a lot of the trees he spoke of in different areas of our life. Sometimes it is so hard to stay strong and healthy in the Lord when there are people and items that take our spiritual fruit and waste it, or they sharpen their horns on us leaving us with scars and at times we simply want to put our Christianity up high so no one can do that. Let's make a point to try and be more like the Rhododendron where we stay strong and beautiful in the Lord, where we don't hide our spiritual fruit or blossoms and we show to the rest of the world the beauty and grace that knowing Jesus gives.
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