Ephesians: Becoming Who You Are | Part 4 | Becoming Rooted | Chris Voigt

Becoming Rooted

Ephesians: Becoming Who You Are
November 6, 2022

If you’ve been around here very long, you know that I’m a sunshine and blue skies kind of guy. Summer is my favorite time of year. I am thankful that, for the most part, our typical rainy fall weather didn’t kick in until the end of October this year. Which made for a beautiful fall. We were treated to a gorgeous display of autumn glory as the leaves turned colors, creating a tapestry of vibrant red, yellow, and orange throughout our city.
 
The changes we see in the trees as the seasons turn are pretty spectacular. But what is even more amazing is what is going on beneath the surface, where we can’t see!
 
The root systems of trees are really just beginning to be understood by scientists. An online article published in Smithsonian Magazine by journalist Richard Grant outlines new discoveries about the incredible things that take place within the “wood-wide-web” beneath the forest floor, as groves of trees “communicate” with one another; sharing water and nutrients, sending distress signals about drought, disease, or insect attacks, and how other trees alter their behavior when they receive these messages.
 
In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoia trees grow. They are on average 200-300 ft tall, have a diameter of 25 ft, and can live up to 3,000 years! Amazingly, the root systems of sequoia trees are not that deep, but they are intricately intertwined. Sequoias grow close to each other, and the networked effect of their matted roots provides incredible strength and stability to the Sequoias. It is a powerful reminder of the strength of the community.
 
I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, Oregon. We are in the middle of our series, Ephesians: Becoming Who You Are. This week we’ll be taking a look at what it means for us as followers of Jesus to be deeply rooted in our faith. Strong, healthy roots enable us to thrive as we grow in relationship with Christ, as a community of believers, and as the body of Christ.