Faith Matters. There is an old parable that demonstrates that Faith Matters. Once a traveler came across an old woman who was stooped over what appeared to be thin sticks. He asked the woman what she was doing.
“I am planting orange trees,” she explained. The traveler thought this was a waste of her time. “Why do you bother?” he asked. “You are an old woman. These saplings will take years before they will be old enough to bear fruit. You will be long gone by then.” “True enough,” she answered. “But I don’t plant these trees for myself but for those who will come after me, just as those before me planted the trees that bear the fruit that I eat today.”
Faith Matters because it is important. It is the hope of tomorrow, all our tomorrows. It is the experience of today. It is the promise of yesterday. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Hebrews 11:1,3 NIV) It is glorifying God by reading His word and applying it to our life. Faith Matters in every aspect of our lives. It Matters in how we relate to each other. It Matters in how we conduct our everyday activities. It Matters in how we spend our free time. It Matters in the decisions we make. It Matters.
Faith Matters … where can they be found? In Scripture and in articles and readings that are based on and analyze Scripture. Faith Matters run the gamut from “bad” women of the Bible to Moses to Saint Paul. Faith Matters cover books from the gentle musings of Ecclesiastes to the history of Genesis to the soaring faith of Hebrews. Faith Matters go from the lessons of the Andy Griffith Show to the challenges of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the humor of Peanuts. By reading and thinking and sharing our insight we can see that Faith Matters are always present in our lives, that Scripture is alive now.
Faith Matters … used to be Adult Forum, now Faith Matters. We meet every Sunday at 9:00 am in the Flatirons Room (205). It is a sometimes light-hearted, sometimes profound, always lively discussion of Scripture and what it means to us today. Why did we change our name to Faith Matters? Because Faith always Matters but it must be nurtured, challenged, and allowed to grow. God’s Word is as important to us now as it was 2,000 years ago, but it can be challenging. Currently we are studying Moses by Adam Hamilton and discussing how his message applies to us today and how his story is reflected in that of Jesus. Soon we’ll be deciding what material to pursue during Advent. If you have questions, please call Carol at 720-320-7359 or email at star-dreams@comcast.net .