Weekly News | 5.30.25
Summer is upon us! At COTC our neighborhood groups go on hiatus and the Garden (beginning on 6/22) is out for a spell. Yet we are all still being formed as a community into the character of Christ, and by more than just the crucible of the Texas heat.
Pentecost (6/8)
Fifty days after the Resurrection, the Church was born. As the Spirit empowered the men and women gathered, there was a feast for the senses: sound of a violent wind (something we are now all familiar with after Wednesday’s storm), the visual of tongues of fire, and their very mouths filled with words previously unfamiliar to them.
We will feast together in our worship, attending to the Spirit - His voice, His empowerment, His presence - and participating in His work of revelation and renewal.
We will also feast together at our potluck after services! There will be many sounds as we stack chairs and roll tables out. It will be a sight to behold as we, decked out in red for the occasion, set up the buffet, piled high with the food we bring for one another. Getting to know one another involves speaking a kind of new language of its own! Rather than the language of one-upping and self-protecting, we speak a language of curiosity and question-asking, of sharing and risking being known a bit more.
It will be a joyful, organized chaos. For my fellow introverts, take a deep breath, find a buddy, and let’s do it together. For our beloved extroverts - bless you for leading us into this joy that we might have otherwise forgone!
One Worship Service (6/22-8/10)
Beginning on 6/22, we will worship together in one service at 10AM, and the sermons will focus on Jesus’ Parables in the Gospel of Luke.
There is much to commend Jesus’ parables, but there is something I find particularly compelling in this season. Parables communicate the presence of the King and his Kingdom through ordinary means and ways. In struggling to beat the heat and in enjoying the everyday pleasures of ice pops, we are invited to attend to God’s revelation via mustard seeds and shrewd managers (or maybe those are water beads and bend-the-rules bosses?).
Parables engage the imagination, and call for faithfulness in ways we might not otherwise have ears to hear. I pray this summer the Lord expands our imagination, gives us eyes to see his kingdom in our midst, and empowers us to answer the call.
To that end, I want to offer two summer reads:
The Gospel of Luke. Yes, that Gospel of Luke. The invitation here is to read it, slowly. The author is incredibly descriptive - soak in the details, imagine the moments and scenes. Smell the incense, feel the terror of a boat breaking while the net strains in your hands, watch who stands up and sits down when Jesus is around.
The Cross & The Prodigal by Kenneth Bailey. This book has profoundly influenced me and my reading of Scripture. It fuels my imagination not because it’s fantastical, but because it’s profoundly grounded. The first half is looking at the parables of Luke 15 through Middle-Eastern eyes. The second is a play, drawn from those insights.
Looking forward to feasting and summering with you, and praying for all who are recovering from the hail damage and flooding of Wednesday evening.
Peace,
Sarah+