God shows him this instrument used by skilled builders; held above and weighted below.
A simple tool with powerful diagnostic potential.
Our readings for Sunday cover both ends of the string. Ephesians chapter 1 exults in the plan of God that began long ago and high above us. Mark 6 recounts the grisly machinations that led to the murder of John the Baptist and Herod's later reflections of Jesus' current ministry after John's death. The sky above and the ground below.
Each of us are most comfortable somewhere along the string, either preferring our faith to be towards the summarized side or the granular specifics.
Amos saw that God's plan was for Israel (and us) to see that heaven and earth were already linked together. Even Herod recognized (without intention) that Jesus held a similar view. But this doesn't just lead to recognition, but to repentance. And repentance leads to the other end of the string.
After church on Sunday, join us for CityServe. We will leave the church at 1220 to join others as we share a meal with neighbors in our community who are currently homeless. More details are in our upcoming events email and in the Sunday bulletin.
Pray for Mission in the City this coming week as middle-schoolers gather on our campus for service projects, worship and time together. There is a team of adults and interns who are guiding this week of ministry, but there are still opportunities to help fuel this week of cooperative ministry among churches in our community.