The Garden of Salvation

Haphazard. Functional. Low-Maintenance. These are all terms that describe my philosophy toward gardening. I know, as a life-long Midwesterner I’m supposed to have soil running through my veins. But the truth is, I just don’t really care for it. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in gardening as a theory. I’m always hopeful when spring arrives and I scour the farmer’s market looking for little green tomato shoots and florals bursting in vibrant colors. Like all diligent townfolk, my husband and I plunk down the obligatory chunk of change to fill our trunk with flowers and produce and return home with the best of intentions for off-setting our carbon footprint.

But then we look around the yard…and the flower beds need to be cleared of last year’s detritus, and it really is unusually hot for a spring afternoon, and maybe that side of the house gets too much sun for these hydrangeas, and the topsoil in the garage is too hard to work with, and wouldn’t it be lovely to just go take a walk or read a book or watch a ballgame?

In the end, as my tomato saplings begin to wilt in the spring heat, I make a mad dash to the vegetable bed, shove them into the ground, sprinkle them with some tap water and wish them well. Three months later, this is what you’d see on a visit to our backyard.

This is not the “garden of salvation” James was referring to in the opening Scripture. This is doing the least amount of work required to get a harvest. Although I prefer to look at is as encouraging plants to be self-sufficient, I wonder sometimes if the garden of salvation being cultivated in my life looks a little more like this instead of the beautiful topiary of love, joy, hope, grace, and mercy God intends it to be. Sometimes I do the bare minimum when it comes to my faith development–a haphazard prayer while I’m firing up my computer for work, a random Scripture reading as I’m waiting for the coffee to brew, a few minutes of focused worship on Sunday morning before my mind drifts off to grocery lists, schedules, or wondering why on Earth my son would wear long socks with shorts. Sometimes, my spiritual practices lack the discipline necessary to cultivate a garden of salvation. And this is exactly what James is warning his readers about in his apostolic letter.

James tells his readers not to get thrown off course.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!  James 1:22-24 (MSG)

James exhorts his readers to submit to God with humility, and to let this Master Gardener cultivate a garden of salvation with his Word. But we can’t produce a harvest in our salvation garden by doing the bare minimum. As James says, we can’t just talk a good game, sharing Jesus-y hashtags and posting Scripture pics. We have to act. We have to dig our hands deep into the gardens of our souls and pull out by the root all of those things that take us away from God. We have to take the time to water, to sit with God’s Word and meditate on it. We need to give our souls the breath of God by spending time meaningfully communicating with him, both in prayer, study, and worship. And if we do these things, then we create an environment in which God’s garden of salvation can grow. We will be, as Isaiah says, a well-watered garden.

And what will be harvested in our garden? Only the best God has to offer! There’s love, of course. And peace. Forgiveness for sure. Gallons of grace and mounds of mercy. Justice like a rolling river. Righteousness like a never-failing stream. And the abundance! We will have such a cornucopia of God’s goodness that we can’t help but share it with others, which is James’ final command in chapter 1.

Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. James 1:27 (MSG)

James does not mince words–the apostles believed that the end of days were imminently approaching, and they didn’t have time to mess around with conversational niceties. But it’s important to note that the actions James called his readers to engage in were not about making others feel ashamed or judged. Rather, James commanded his readers to reach out in service to the least of these, and to offer them the fruits from the garden of salvation, recognizing, of course, that the world is corrupt, and encouraging them to continue to practice good gardening habits so they could minister in a world that does not always follow God.

I think the same advice holds true for us. We are not to take up our pitchforks and go tearing around our communities lambasting people for perceived ungodliness. Rather, we are to fill our carts to the brim with the harvest of our salvation garden and freely pass out the produce to those who most need it. And, we need to go to the gardener over and over again, letting him tend to our souls so that once our cart is emptied, we have enough to fill it again.

Blessings and Peace, Sara

Worship This Sunday

This Sunday we continue our message series “Discernment: What is it and how do we do it.”  This week’s message is titled “Group Discernment.”  Our scripture reading will be from Acts, chapter 15, verses 1 through 6.

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this questions.  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.  This news made all the believers very glad.  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

Then some of the believers who belonged to the part of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

The apostles and elders met to consider this question.” 

We will begin our service with the song Together by for King & Country.  Our hymns for Sunday include: Sweet, Sweet Spirit, and Be Thou Our Vision.  This week, our video hymn will be He Is, by Crowder.

COVID Updates

At our Administrative Board meeting last week, the board reviewed COVID conditions and our congregation’s practices and agreed to continue to encourage social distancing in worship by keeping half of the pews closed for the time being.  Even though the CDC has revised their recommendations for masking, suggesting all people should once again wear masks when indoors, we are not changing our masking requirement at this time.  Masks are still optional for those who are fully vaccinated and encouraged for those who are not.  The Board is committed to continuing to monitor the latest COVID conditions and will discuss any further changes at upcoming meetings.

We know there are some who are still not feel comfortable or able to attend worship at this time. Please know that even though we don’t get to see you weekly, we still want to minister to you.  Every Sunday afternoon we will post a recording of our 10:20 worship service on our Facebook page and the message on our website.  We hope this helps you remain connected until we are able to gather again without concern. 

Announcements

Food and Fun – The Methodist Men will once again host a church wide picnic.  Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend our Church picnic, Sunday, August 15.  We will gather at the shelter house 2 at Harley Park beginning at 6:00 pm.  Luke Haller will be catering our meal.  Following our meal we will move over to the ballfields for a game of softball or wiffle ball.  All you need to bring is a ball-glove (and maybe a lawn chair) and come ready for fun!  We look forward to seeing you on August 15!

Choir is Back! – Calling all musicians—the NMUMC Choir is returning this Fall! The choir is open to any musicians ages 12+ who are interested in singing or playing a musical instrument during worship. Practices will be held every other Wednesday evening beginning September 1, from 6-7 P.M. in the church sanctuary. You can sign up by clicking here. Sign up forms will also be placed in the church sanctuary. Please note if you play an instrument, we are happy to incorporate that gift, as well. Just let Sara Snyder or Leah Gumbel know.

We’re looking forward to making some joyful noise together!!  Please remember when signing up for choir that the church’s current Covid-19 policy makes masks optional for those who are fully vaccinated. If you have any questions, contact Sara Snyder (417-343-1124) or Leah Gumbel.

Reminder – Our congregation has been chosen by our District leadership to participate in a new visioning process with a national church leadership consultant.  Kay Kotan, the national leadership consultant, will be with us this Sunday afternoon, August 8 to lead us in a process of discovery and discernment.  The more participation we have and the more representatives from our congregation we have, the better the end product will be.  Please plan on joining us Sunday, August 8 beginning at 1:00 pm for this important time.

Collections for Missions – The Outreach Committee is collecting items on 2 similar projects.  One is for the annual Festival of Sharing and the other is for students at LSE Middle School and Boonville High School.  We are putting together personal hygiene kits for both groups, each with a few different needs (tags for both projects can be found on our giving tree).  Below is a description of what is sought for each project.  If you’d prefer to donate cash for these projects, that would be great.  Each pack has an approximate value of $20.

Missouri Personal Hygiene Pack:

1 bottle lotion (10-16 oz.), 1 fluoride toothpaste (6 oz. or more), 1 toothbrush (in original package), 1 bath size bar of soap (in package), 1 bottle shampoo (12-16 oz.), 2 razors, 1 comb or brush, 1 deodorant, 1 washcloth, 1 hand towel (please place items in a 2 gallon zip lock bag)

School Kits:

Female Kits: 1 bar soap, 1 toothbrush, 1 mini toothpaste, 1 brush/comb, 1 deodorant, 1 travel shampoo, 3-4 sanitary napkins, 3-4 tampons, 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth

Male Kits: 1 bar soap, 1 toothbrush, 1 mini toothpaste, 1 comb, 1 deodorant, 1 travel shampoo, 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth

Items or monetary donations for the school kits are requested to be returned by Sunday, Aug 15.  Items or monetary donations for the Missouri Personal Hygiene Packs are requested to be returned by September 19.

A/V Upgrade Update – Our new video system is installed and (mostly) functional!  There are a few minor adjustments still needed, but we will be able to begin utilizing the technology this weekend.  If you are interested in learning how to use our new camera system, please speak with Pastor Chris and he will set up a time for some hands-on training.

Blood Drive – Our next Red Cross Blood Drive is coming up Monday, August 16 from 2-6 pm. 

As happens most summers, the supply of blood available is in short supply and donors are greatly needed.  If you would like to sign up to donate on Aug 16, you may do so here.

Events this week:

Sunday, August 8: Vision Session, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Fellowship Hall

Monday, August 9: Al Anon, 7:00 pm, Church Lounge

Tuesday, August 10: NAMI, 6:30 pm, Foundations Classroom

Congregational Care Team, 7:00 pm, Lounge

Wednesday, August 11: Al Anon, Noon, Church Lounge

Friday, August 13: Al Anon, 7:00 pm, Church Lounge

Saturday, August 14: Methodist Men, 8:00 am, Fellowship Hall

Closing Words of Wisdom:

What an incredible witness it is to a lost and fearful society when the Christian acts like a child of God, living under the loving sovereignty of the Heavenly Father.” – Henry Blackaby