Megan Taylor – Washington Presbyterian Church

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Which Christian Best Portrays Christ?

Tim Challies writes a parable of sorts, comparing Jesus to the Rocky Mountains, and how it’s impossible to capture either in one snapshot (or virtue).

In the end, which of these Christians best portrays Christ? Is it the one who is as kind as Jesus or the one who is as patient? Is it the one who teaches like Jesus or the who extends his warm welcome? The truth is all of them and none of them. All of them capture the part God has assigned to them, but none of them captures the whole, for the subject is simply too vast for any one canvas, for any one person. The closest view of the whole is when the many are gathered together into one gallery, each displaying its small part.

Turning Water to Wine

Megan Taylor writes a reflection on Jesus’s first miracle.

Have you ever secretly thought that Jesus’ first miracle is a bit of a letdown? The audience is small, the master of the feast does not even know something supernatural has taken place, and it seems the main takeaway from the guests is the quality of wine. Many people fixate on ancillary details of this miracle— the way Jesus speaks to His mother, the alcoholic nature of the wine— and it’s easy to miss the glory wrapped up in this passage as Jesus bursts onto the scene as the initiator of the new covenant.

Lament Is for Little Ones, Too

I’ve been thinking a lot about lament recently, so Christina Fox’s post on teaching children to lament was very timely (and helpful!).

Our children have big emotions. Like us, they experience sadness and fear, loneliness and grief. They need to be equipped to navigate their feelings. They need to be discipled to respond to their feelings in a biblical way.
But as parents, we often have a hard enough time dealing with our emotions. We can be uncomfortable even talking about feelings, much less helping our children navigate theirs. We can also default to unhealthy practices learned in our childhood: avoiding emotions, suppressing emotions, or soothing emotions with food or other temporary comforts.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.

10 Brief Reflections on an Elder’s Character

With officer nominations opening at our church on Sunday (February 14), and with the importance of a man’s character in the qualifications for elder and deacon, this seemed like a good article to promote first this week. As you consider nominating men for church office, please prayerfully consider their character!

The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness

Kindness seems in short supply these days. Megan Taylor wrote about the nature of true kindness as well as its counterfeit.

Without the Spirit, although our kindness may look as if it is directed towards others, it is brimming with self-love and fueled by pride and fear of man. Without a connection to the True Vine, we can only show false kindness. What is false kindness? False kindness is being useful to others only when it is useful to me. False kindness has contingencies. It will appear at advantageous times, such as when we are being observed, or around those we like, or to get what we want. False kindness is touted by the world as a slogan or a feeling. False kindness is Judas Iscariot feigning concern for the poor while skimming off the top of the money bag.

Pruned to Bear Fruit

Dawn Hill has written a moving reflection on Jesus’s vine-branches analogy in John 15. What does it mean that we—as the branches—are pruned, and that God is the one doing the pruning?

The branches are not the focal point. This is the focus: the vine. The tree. This is what gives life to the branches. It is what causes those branches to be fruitful, stubs abiding in the vine while being nourished to flourish so that more fruit can come forth in due season. It comes full circle in John 15, doesn’t it? Apart from Him we can do nothing. Jesus is the vine. He is the focus. We exist to glorify Him and to bear fruit testifying of the Vine.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Pray According to God’s Character. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!