This morning my friend, his son, and I got up before dawn to go help do a little work with some other guys at the church. Just before I left, I was looking at chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, where Paul assures us that our labor is not in vain, precisely because a literal return to physical life after death, a la Christ’s resurrection, is very much a real thing. I needed that little boost to remind me that my life is not a totally foolish waste of time! Maybe you do too?

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I’ve always had a bit of a wanderlust, and that, alongside a variety of maybe weird life circumstances, has meant that God has given me the great gift of friendships all over the country. So, today I’m thinking about how much we need good friends, how we can be creative with our lives and connections, and how it’s never too late to start a new tradition.

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Jesus was realistic about the fact that this world will break us. We’ll be tempted to capitulate to the cold-hearted tunelessness of evil. Jesus prepared us for inevitable suffering and discouragement, and he promised to keep a hold on us to the end, singing a song over us that radiates from the warmth of his unquenchable heart.

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This week, I’m looking at this idea that “the medium is the message.” For instance, if I want to communicate how delicious chicken curry is, that message will best be made available by actually making you a delicious chicken curry. How might that relate to God’s desire to make himself available to us?

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This week, I’m sharing some thoughts I’ve been having while spending a lot of time lately out at my family’s farm. Specifically, I’ve been deer hunting, which, if you’ve ever been, leaves you lots of time to sit quietly in beautiful places and think.

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To kick off season six, I’d like to share some thoughts I’ve been thinking while working to fix up an old four wheeler out at our family’s farm in rural Mississippi. What started out as a more practical project, wound up surprising me, as, on a deeper heart-level, I felt unexpected joy and excitement about reclaiming an old, worn out machine.

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Meet professor, scholar, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Jonathan Koefoed. Jonathan chose the last song on the album, "By the Rivers of Babylon," and wrote a rich personal essay exploring, in the midst of a broken world, Christ's command to practice a peculiar hope.

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Meet Poet, Artist, and Essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Susan Cowger. Susan chose the song "In the Waters" from the new album "A Tale of Two Trees" and wrote a stunning chapter combining personal narrative and original poetry called "Time Between the Times."

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Meet editor, encourager, book coach, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Anita K. Palmer. Anita chose the song "Take to the Fields" from the new album, and she gives us the great gift of her honesty and vulnerability in an essay entitled, "Mercy in the Wind."

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Meet singer, conductor, pianist, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Amber Salladin. Amber chose the song "The Word became Flesh," and wrote a stunning essay on how singing together, whether lament or praise, shapes us both body and soul into the likeness of Christ.

The post S5:E14 – A Tale of Two Trees: Amber Salladin, “Singing the Feast of the New Creation” appeared first on Matthew Clark.