This Sunday I am looking forward to hearing Scott preach on "Do You Believe the Promise?" from 1 Corinthians 15. But the next Sunday I will be starting a new series of messages. We will be taking a little break from focusing on Radical Hospitality in the sermons, but we will still be talking about how to live it out in our lives.
The title of the new series will be "The Voyage of Life - What it means to be in the boat with Jesus." One of my favorite set of paintings is called "The Voyage of Life." They hang in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. They are four large canvases -- each one filling the wall of a small room. Each painting shows a man in a boat sailing down a river at different stages in life - from birth to death. The painter, Thomas Cole, includes all sorts of detail in the painting to indicate the kinds of things we all face in life.
In each scene there is also an angel who moves about the picture, depending on what is taking place in the life of the man. At the beginning, the angel is in the boat. In the time of youth, the angel is on the shore waving the young man off to face the adventures of life. In the third painting, the man is about to go over a waterfall in the boat and the angel is watching, but from above. In the last scene, the man is near the end of life and the angel is pointing the way to heaven.
In our sermon series, we are going to look at four stories from the Bible that involve Jesus, boats, and what it means to be followers of Christ. Each story focuses on a different stage in our spiritual lives. And instead of an angel being present, Jesus will be present with us in each of our stories. I hope you will make plans to be there as we find out what it means to "be in the boat with Jesus."
Prayer for Today
Loving God, each day bring its own blessing and challenges. Yet, we know that as we make this journey of life, we are never alone. Even when we feel lonely, you promise that we are never alone. Thank you for you ongoing presence in our lives. Help us to trust you more and more each day. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
