Rooted and Reaching
The Bible often uses plants or trees to describe our relationship to God and our place in the world. God’s people are described as a vine or as a tree. The gospel is described as a seed. We need to be a people well rooted in Christ and reaching out in his love. See the following as examples.
ROOTED:
The idea of being rooted is to have a strong and vital relationship with God through Christ. We draw our nourishment and life from him through prayer, scripture, his indwelling Spirit and fellowship in his church. It is about establishing our lives in Christ. We need to know God and know him well.
REACHING: (Branches)
While roots invisibly reach down to establish a plant and nourish it, the branches visibly reach out to bear fruit, give presence and provide life. Jesus not only demonstrated and taught a strong devotional life, he also demonstrated and taught a life of loving, sacrificial service and witness.
Matthew 13:1-23 Parable of the sower.
But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Isaiah 37:31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above. (Take root – bear fruit)
We’ll begin by rooting ourselves in faith, hope and love. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sunday January 28: Rooted in Faith (Colossians 2:6-7) Our faith is a deep, rich and nutritious soil. We are to be well rooted on our faith. Faith is a verb and a noun so we will explore faith as a body of truth and as a practice. What does it mean for you to be a person of faith?
Devotional thought: Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing the message of Christ. Are you listening?
Sunday February 4: Rooted in Hope (Hebrews 6:13-20) While hope is often seen as like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, in today’s passage it is described as an anchor. An anchor is below the surface securing us to keep us from drifting. We need to be rooted in this kind of hope.
Devotional thought: What gives you hope?
Sunday February 11: Rooted in Love (Ephesians 3:14-21) The Bible not only teaches love as a kind of action, it is also a kind of knowing. To know and to be held in the love of God is a desirable place to be. We will look at a prayer that invites us to be rooted and established in love. How well are you/we rooted in this kind of love?
Devotional thought: Who are the one’s whose love shaped who you are? Do you comprehend the dimensions of God’s love?ave freedom to work in your life.