Worship in the Open Air
Gathered for worship outdoors, among trees and grass in full growth, the sermon speaks of faith that grows as well. To faith must be added goodness, to goodness knowledge, and then self-control and perseverance, until at last it arrives at love.
Mature faith is measured not by the amount of service given or the number of years spent in the church, but by how closely a person is coming to resemble Jesus. Peter, hasty and hot-tempered, denied Jesus three times, yet God did not give up on him; instead he made him the rock on which the early church was built. As a tree grows sturdy through seasons of wind, rain and snow, faith grows through hardship and waiting.
Growth in faith shows itself not in remarkable powers but in the small things of daily life: guarding one’s words, being honest, being considerate of others. Faith does not grow in isolation but within a community where people hold one another up, and where that growth leads in the end is love. However much someone knows and however great their abilities, without love they are nothing; this is the conclusion of the day’s message.