The biblical text relating to the sermon/discussion at The River this Sunday is Psalm 105:41(NLT)
41 He split open a rock, and water gushed out
to form a river through the dry wasteland.
So... why "The River"? Why not "The Garden" or "The Orchard", or some other organic sounding metaphor in choosing the name of the new church plant in Ellensburg? To tell you the truth, I wrestled with both of those names for a long time... but my good friend and weekly coffee buddy, Roger, helped me settle on The River for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:
1. A river is a living body of water, which constantly moves and flows. When you think about it... what is it that defines a river anyway? Is it just water, or is it the ground over which the water travels? I suppose it's both. Without the water, the river bed and riverbanks are just dry ground. But without the pathway laid by the earth, the water is just... well, water. It takes both to make a true river. And yet... the water is constantly traveling. So there are never two moments in time where the river remains the same... it's always moving, always flowing, always changing, always evolving. Without movement, I suppose you could say the river becomes a lake. We don't want to be a closed body of water just sitting there looking pretty... we want to be a dynamic, energetic body that keeps changing even as it stays the same.
1. A river is a living body of water, which constantly moves and flows. When you think about it... what is it that defines a river anyway? Is it just water, or is it the ground over which the water travels? I suppose it's both. Without the water, the river bed and riverbanks are just dry ground. But without the pathway laid by the earth, the water is just... well, water. It takes both to make a true river. And yet... the water is constantly traveling. So there are never two moments in time where the river remains the same... it's always moving, always flowing, always changing, always evolving. Without movement, I suppose you could say the river becomes a lake. We don't want to be a closed body of water just sitting there looking pretty... we want to be a dynamic, energetic body that keeps changing even as it stays the same.
And to all the critters that live in and around the river's environment... the river is a true home. We may not see all the wildlife that is supported by the river, but anyone who fishes, bird watches, or even floats the river knows that a lot of life is happening on and under the surface.
2. A river quenches thirst. Okay, so most of us probably don't drink the water in our local rivers because we know it may contain a few more organisms than we ought to put into our bodies. But that said, rivers provide drink for those who thirst. If they're high enough in the mountains, and thirsty enough to brave the organic cocktail... river water is cool, refreshing, and even potentially life-saving. If you observe long enough, you'll see any number of animals who come and drink deeply at the river's edge.
3. A river provides food. Birds, bears and fishermen all know that a river is chock full of good vittles for anyone smart and/or talented enough to tap into the trout population.
4. A river cools and cleanses. Okay, this (and fish poop) may be the main reason we don't typically drink the refreshing waters of a river... but the river is where all intelligent (and dirt-bearing) beings go to cool off in the summertime... which serves as an awesome bath. If you've ever gone camping along a river, you know what I mean... it's cold, but nevertheless, it's extremely refreshing... and with a bar of soap you can manage to get your hair and skin rid of the all the dirt and campfire soot that builds up. It also provides a good place to... ahem... relieve our pent-up storage of beverages. Hey, where else are we gonna go on a four-hour river float? All the other animals in nature do it, right?
Uh, anyway... as I said, the river is cool and certainly refreshing!
5. Finally, to bring this into a spiritual realm, I think a river is the absolute perfect place to baptize someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior... and wants to fully participate in the death (into the water) and resurrection (out of the water) of Jesus. Over the 4.5 years, I have had the opportunity to baptize a few folks in the Yakima River... putting an exclamation mark upon their faith and spiritual journey! Who needs a churchy baptismal when God gave us the perfect body of water in which to dunk sinners! Hey, if it worked for John the Baptist in the Jordan River... then the mighty Yakima works for us!
I want to continually live in the flow of God's grace... and I want everyone in our community to immerse themselves in that same wonderful, powerful grace too. My hope and prayer is that people searching for something better out of life will come to The River and experience (1) life, and deep satisfaction for what makes them spiritually (2) thirst, and (3) hunger. Then I hope they find the (4) refreshment and cleansing of Jesus... and ultimately I hope they join the kingdom and become baptized in His name. How cool would that be?
41 He split open a rock, and water gushed outAmen and amen! One question though...
to form a river through the dry wasteland.
How are we gonna get to that place of ministry? Hmmmmm...
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