Hey Family,
Summer is winding down but for those of us in California, we get nice weather all year long. So, how about joining Tim Knodel and others for a weekly workout at Ortega Park in Sunnyvale? Everyone’s welcome – men, women, teenagers. (Andy Wu — who helps lead Good Journeys — was with us too but he had to leave early to get his kids to school.) Contact me if you’re interested. Here’s a picture of the fun we had this morning. You should see Jesse do pushups. He could keep up with Coach Tim. I could not!
One personal highlight from last week was visiting our sister Myrna Curtis who is recovering from surgery. She’s a gem. Full of faith, hope and love – and things haven’t been easy. After a good time of catching up, we sat knee to knee, clutched hands and prayed. Let’s keep encouraging our brothers and sisters who are recovering and can’t join us in person for one reason or another.
Now about this Sunday. Last spring we spent a week in the cabin in the Sierra – thanks to some generous friends. And we ventured up to the top of Bald Mountain. As we went along, we used our “PictureThis” app.
All you do is point your smart phone at a tree or wildflower, and boom! All kinds of interesting information about that green thing pops up. You get more detail than you can use or remember. It even gives you a poem that mentions that plant. Micro views are great.
But the big thrill was getting to the top of the mountain where we found this lookout tower. Here’s a picture.
Wow! What a view! We could see the whole forest, the blue sky above, and the horizon in between. Below you’ll see Becky rocking her Columbia brand hiking gear as she admires the view.
It’s easy for a pastor to give you a “PictureThis” blast of specific info about a particular verse or story. That’s great. We need micro views, zeroing in on leaves and needles. To change the metaphor, we need to look at all the “jots and tittles” of the Word of God. Yes, we need close-ups, but we also need up-aboves. So, for the first part of the message on Sunday, let’s head to the top of the lookout tower and see the whole majestic forest of the Gospel of John. The view is breathtaking. John takes us in every direction – and even behind the horizon of the world, to the pre-world (“in the beginning was the Word” – John 1:1). After looking at the Gospel from above, we’ll work our way back into the wildwood and get a close-up of a conversation between Jesus and a guy who reminds me of myself in some ways. The story of the healing of the man at the pool is John’s third of seven signs that make up the first half of the book, called The Book of Signs. Let’s come together as brothers and sisters and worship the true King.
Love in Christ,
Darren