Mark's Musings

This past week in the jr. high Sunday school class I began the lesson by informing everyone that they are fruit trees.  We were about to study John chapter 15, and I felt like they needed a clear understanding of what it meant to indeed be a fruit tree.  I began by reading the text and then talking a little bit about how to properly take care of a fruit tree.  For a living example, I used the idea of the apple trees in my back yard that I have not paid a bit of attention to since I moved here.  These trees are year in and year out producing small worm infested apples, and each time it storms more dead branches fall off.

We are indeed a fruit tree if we look at the text of John chapter 15.  We don’t produce apples or pears or physical fruit to eat, we instead produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  The trick to producing the best “fruit” in our lives is to allow the Father to prune us like we prune fruit trees.  Cutting away the bad parts to grow new better fruit! 

I look at this text and I realize that I am that fruit tree that needs pruning.  We all need to allow God to prune away what is bad in our lives, what is not producing fruit so that when people see us and interact with us they can enjoy the fruit we produce.   This fruit that we then produce changes people’s lives, but we have to allow God the opportunity for pruning.  

Pruning sometimes doesn’t feel good!  There are things that we don’t want to give up, things that we think we need, things that we want to entertain us, but God might be telling you to get rid of that so that more love and peace might be evident in your life.  He might want you to get rid of that habit so that you can affect people better with your gentleness and self-control.  Allow God to prune what is bad so that you might produce the best and most life changing fruit in your life. 

In Christ,

Mark Walter~

Youth activities

Grades 6-12 

Feb 5^th            Super Bowl Party at Greg and Karen Hughes’ house.  Game starts at 6:30 p.m.  Please bring some drinks and snack foods to share.  Both JR. and SR. high will be together at the party.

Feb 25^th          We need kid sitters!!!! The adult ministry is showing the movie Courageous in the sanctuary, and we need teens who are willing to be kid sitters for a few hours.  Please contact me if you are interested

Feb 26^th          Movie Day!!!   Starting at 4:00 p.m. at Eric and Jane Perkins house and ending at 8:30 p.m.  We will be showing Courageous and a movie to be determined later.  Please come on time and bring a snack food and beverage.