April 14th, 2026
Psalm 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
This past weekend, my wife and I went to the strawberry festival in Loxley with a dear, new friend and her son. The first thing that stood out to me was that there was an underwhelming representation of strawberries at the festival, and the second thing was that the strawberries were incredibly juicy as my son’s arm was dripping from a single berry that a stranger gave him.
The church can sometimes be like the festival with our awareness of Christ’s presence in the church. We can turn the church into something big and exciting where the strawberries are only found within a designated space but not in every thing there is.
One of my fraternity brothers grew up in Amish country and knew very well how great fresh picked fruit can be. His favorite dessert was strawberry shortcake, and one day his mom called from the kitchen that there was strawberry shortcake. He dropped everything and sprinted towards the kitchen. Unfortunately, in his zeal for strawberry shortcake, he did not realize that the sliding glass door to the kitchen was closed, and like a bird with a freshly cleaned window, he slammed head first into the glass, knocking himself onto the ground.
At the festival, after seeking out the strawberries, we all enjoyed strawberry shortcake as we sat in the fellowship of friendship. Maybe it was clearer than we realized, but it wasn’t clear enough where the strawberries were that we didn’t have to look. The church should not be that sort of place. The Church should be a place where the presence and love of Christ so richly permeates the atmosphere that we have to beware of sliding glass doors that have been cleaned too well.
Rev. Joshua Fried
Pastor
This past weekend, my wife and I went to the strawberry festival in Loxley with a dear, new friend and her son. The first thing that stood out to me was that there was an underwhelming representation of strawberries at the festival, and the second thing was that the strawberries were incredibly juicy as my son’s arm was dripping from a single berry that a stranger gave him.
The church can sometimes be like the festival with our awareness of Christ’s presence in the church. We can turn the church into something big and exciting where the strawberries are only found within a designated space but not in every thing there is.
One of my fraternity brothers grew up in Amish country and knew very well how great fresh picked fruit can be. His favorite dessert was strawberry shortcake, and one day his mom called from the kitchen that there was strawberry shortcake. He dropped everything and sprinted towards the kitchen. Unfortunately, in his zeal for strawberry shortcake, he did not realize that the sliding glass door to the kitchen was closed, and like a bird with a freshly cleaned window, he slammed head first into the glass, knocking himself onto the ground.
At the festival, after seeking out the strawberries, we all enjoyed strawberry shortcake as we sat in the fellowship of friendship. Maybe it was clearer than we realized, but it wasn’t clear enough where the strawberries were that we didn’t have to look. The church should not be that sort of place. The Church should be a place where the presence and love of Christ so richly permeates the atmosphere that we have to beware of sliding glass doors that have been cleaned too well.
Rev. Joshua Fried
Pastor
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