I preached yesterday on the parables of the growing seed and the mustard seed (Mk 4.26-34) but didn’t write anything down other than a sketchy outline. Nothing to post. But I commend to you Michael Marsh’s sermon on the same text. It’s excellent.
As a seed does its seed thing so the kingdom does its kingdom thing. We may not understand it. Outward appearances may even suggest God is absent. It may look like nothing is happening. We sleep and rise. We wait. We trust. We hope. We pray. We go about the ordinary work of life. Within that ordinariness the life of God has already been planted in each one of us. One day it sprouts. It grows. The invisible becomes visible.
Im reminded of the immortal words of that great secular prophet Tom Petty:”..everyday you get one more yard..you take it on faith,you take it to the heart..the waiting is the hardest part…” http://youtu.be/9IXZIqxrj5E
…Chris ,I stumbled across this guy for the first time last week..I think what he teachs has great value for christians..i wanted to pass him on to you..here’s a link to his youtube video..
I listened to the first five minutes. It looks promising. It brought to mind a line from Middlemarch, that if we could hear the squirrel’s heartbeat we’d go crazy. There is probably a limit to how radically alive I want to be. Thanks for the link.
….hahaha..OK you got me….i surmise that you have no desire yet to hear the sound of one hand clapping….
…how about this Chris:
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Thanks, Mike.
…During this much deserved interlude.at “as the deer”,I would like to announce that i recently conceded,after 18 years of committed partnership,to submit to the formal legally binding marriage ritual proceedings in a Courthouse setting..my Bride wore a lovely flowery sundress in the 60′s.style while i wore a shirt with a collar(no holes!)and my best jeans and sandals..The ceremony lasted all of 5 minutes and i highly recommend this simple painless method to any heathens still “living in sin” but too nervous/anxious or poor for a full blown-all out wedding extravaganza….
Congratulations! You made me smile. For what it’s worth, I wore a Winnie the Pooh tie and red shirt to my wedding.
And black sneakers. It was the most amazing day ever.