Bethel Ontario 5October2025

Devotional

Day 1: Refrain from Rage and Trust in God

Rage and anger can take root in our hearts like an invasive mulberry tree, spreading bitterness and pain that is difficult to uproot. While it is natural to feel anger at injustice, the psalmist reminds us that evil is like withered grass that will soon pass away, and that our response should not be to cultivate rage but to trust in God and do good. Instead of letting anger consume us, we are called to defend, feed, and stand beside our neighbors, committing our way to the Lord and trusting that He will bring justice to pass. Faith, in this sense, is not passive but an active trust that leads us to do good and delight in God, even when the world feels overwhelming. [24:42]

Psalm 37:1-5 (ESV)
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Reflection: Where in your life are you tempted to let anger or bitterness take root? What would it look like today to actively trust God and do good instead of nurturing that anger?

Day 2: Mustard Seed Faith Uproots Deep-Rooted Pain

Even the smallest amount of faith—faith the size of a mustard seed—has the power to uproot what seems impossible, like a mulberry tree with its stubborn, tangled roots. Jesus’ teaching reminds us that faith is not about quantity but about genuine trust, and that even a little trust in God can begin to heal the deep-seated rage and pain in our hearts. Just as a mustard seed grows into a sturdy tree, so can our small acts of faith grow into something that brings shelter, healing, and hope to ourselves and others. [21:54]

Luke 17:5-6 (ESV)
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

Reflection: What is one area of pain or bitterness in your life that feels impossible to change? How might you offer even a mustard seed of faith to God in that area today?

Day 3: Faith Is Active—Trust, Do Good, and Commit Your Way

Faith is not simply a belief or a feeling; it is an active, ongoing commitment to trust God, do good, dwell in the land, delight in the Lord, and commit your way to Him. This kind of faith calls us to inhabit our lives with trust as our anchor, to act as if God’s justice and righteousness are already at work, and to renew our trust daily. It is a faith that moves us to defend, feed, and care for our neighbors, and to find joy even in difficult times, knowing that God is faithful. [26:29]

James 2:14-17 (ESV)
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Reflection: What is one concrete way you can put your faith into action today—trusting God and doing good for someone in need?

Day 4: The Table of Christ Unites Us Across All Differences

At Christ’s table, we are reminded that we are one body, gathered from many places, cultures, and traditions, yet united in spirit, truth, faith, and love. World Communion Sunday is a powerful reminder that God gathers people from every land and nation, making us one in Christ. This unity calls us to celebrate our diversity, to welcome all, and to remember that the love and grace of Jesus are for everyone, no matter where we come from or what language we speak. [43:04]

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (ESV)
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

Reflection: Who in your life or community feels “different” or left out? How can you extend the unity and welcome of Christ’s table to them today?

Day 5: Nurture Seeds of Trust and Become a Blessing to Others

God scatters seeds of life and faith across the earth, gathering us into communities of love and sending us out to bear life-giving fruit. As we are nourished at Christ’s table, we are called to be a gathered and scattered church—renewed, invigorated, and committed to feeding, healing, clothing, and comforting others. Our faith is meant to take root and grow, so that we become a source of blessing to the world, living out God’s justice, mercy, and love in tangible ways. [46:28]

Galatians 6:9-10 (ESV)
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Reflection: What is one way you can be a blessing to someone else this week, allowing the seeds of trust and faith in you to bear fruit in the world?

Sermon Summary

Today, we gathered in a different space, but with the same purpose: to celebrate World Communion Sunday and remember our unity in Christ across all boundaries. The tables before us were set with a variety of breads, symbolizing the diversity of God’s people, and yet we came together as one body. We welcomed our friends from Karachi, Pakistan, and recognized that, though separated by continents and cultures, we are joined at Christ’s table. This day is a reminder that God’s love endures and connects all things, and that the powers of the world that seek to divide have no place at this table.

We reflected on the reality of injustice and rage in our world. The psalmist’s words about the wicked and dying grass resonated with our own frustrations and anger at the evil we see around us. Jesus’ teaching about faith the size of a mustard seed and the image of the mulberry tree offered a powerful metaphor: rage, like the mulberry tree, is invasive and hard to uproot, staining everything it touches. At first, anger can feel righteous and even productive, but if left unchecked, it becomes bitterness and revenge, poisoning our souls and communities.

Yet, the call is not to passivity. The psalm urges us to “refrain from anger” and instead to trust in God and do good. Faith is not a static noun but an active verb—trusting, depending, and acting in alignment with God’s justice and love. Jesus’ way is not to harbor hate, but to stand with the oppressed, feed the hungry, and heal the broken. Even a small seed of trust can uproot the deepest rage and plant something new and life-giving.

As we shared communion, we remembered that God scatters and gathers, bringing together people from every nation and tradition. We are called to be a gathered and scattered church—renewed at the table, then sent out to bear fruit in the world: to feed, heal, clothe, and comfort. Our unity in Christ is not just a spiritual idea, but a call to active love and justice, rooted in trust and hope.

Key Takeaways

1. Rage, like a mulberry tree, can seem fruitful at first but ultimately becomes invasive and stains everything it touches. If we allow anger to take root, it becomes bitterness and revenge, perpetuating cycles of harm. The challenge is to recognize when righteous anger turns destructive and to seek God’s help in uprooting it from our hearts. [22:55]
2. The psalmist’s advice to “refrain from anger” is not a call to ignore injustice, but an invitation to trust God and do good. True faith is active: it means defending, feeding, and standing with our neighbors, even as we resist the temptation to be consumed by outrage. Our actions, rooted in trust, become a witness to God’s justice. [25:03]
3. Faith is not merely belief or feeling, but a verb—an ongoing act of trust and commitment. Even a mustard seed’s worth of faith can move what seems immovable, like the deep roots of rage or despair. This kind of faith is cultivated through daily choices to trust, to act, and to delight in God’s presence and promises. [26:29]
4. The unity we celebrate at Christ’s table is not uniformity, but a gathering of diverse people, languages, and cultures into one body. God scatters and gathers, calling us to be both rooted in community and sent out to serve. Our communion is both a gift and a commission: to be nourished by Christ and then to nourish the world. [44:33]
5. The way of Jesus is to respond to injustice not with hatred, but with love in action—feeding, healing, and standing with the vulnerable. Harboring hate only poisons us and proves the haters right; instead, we are called to trust, do good, dwell in God’s love, and commit our way to Christ, even when it is difficult. [30:45]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:42] - Communion Table and Elements
[02:14] - Call to Worship and Opening Prayer
[04:10] - Opening Hymn and Greetings
[06:29] - Welcoming Karachi Sister Church
[08:11] - Announcements and Concert Preview
[10:07] - Supporting the Route 66 Relay
[13:32] - Children’s Time and Cartoon
[18:01] - Wrestling with Injustice and Rage
[19:32] - The Mulberry Tree Metaphor
[22:55] - The Roots and Dangers of Rage
[24:25] - The Psalm’s Call: Trust and Do Good
[26:29] - Faith as a Verb
[28:53] - Mustard Seed Faith and Healing
[30:45] - Responding to Injustice with Love
[34:01] - Blessing of the Animals Announcement
[37:07] - Prayers for the World
[42:06] - World Communion: One Table
[44:33] - Communion Prayer and Sharing
[47:08] - Offering and Dedication
[52:03] - Charge and Benediction
[53:39] - Final Blessing and Sending Forth

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 37:1-5 (ESV) — > Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
> be not envious of wrongdoers!
> For they will soon fade like the grass
> and wither like the green herb.
> Trust in the Lord, and do good;
> dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
> Delight yourself in the Lord,
> and he will give you the desires of your heart.
> Commit your way to the Lord;
> trust in him, and he will act.

Luke 17:5-6 (ESV) — > The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
> And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Observation Questions

In Psalm 37, what does the psalmist say will happen to evildoers and those who do wrong?
According to the sermon, what is the significance of the mulberry tree in Jesus’ teaching about faith? [[21:54]]
What actions does the psalmist encourage instead of giving in to anger or rage? [[25:03]]
How did the variety of breads on the communion table symbolize the message of World Communion Sunday? [[02:14]]

Interpretation Questions

The sermon compares rage to a mulberry tree—at first fruitful, but ultimately invasive and staining. What does this metaphor suggest about the long-term effects of unchecked anger in our lives and communities? [[22:55]]
The psalmist’s call to “refrain from anger” is not a call to ignore injustice. How does the sermon suggest we can hold both righteous anger and active trust in God at the same time? [[24:42]]
Jesus says that even a mustard seed of faith can uproot a mulberry tree. What does this say about the power of small acts of trust or faith in the face of deep-seated problems like rage or injustice? [[26:29]]
The unity at Christ’s table is described as a gathering of diverse people, not uniformity. How does this understanding of unity challenge or affirm your own experiences of church community? [[44:33]]

Application Questions

The sermon warns that rage, if left unchecked, can become bitterness and revenge, poisoning our souls and communities. Can you think of a time when anger in your life or in a group became destructive? What could have helped uproot that “mulberry tree” before it spread? [[22:55]]
The psalmist urges us to “trust in the Lord and do good.” What is one concrete way you can “do good” for someone in your community this week, especially someone who is different from you? [[25:03]]
The sermon says faith is not just a noun but a verb—something we do. What is one area of your life where you need to actively trust God right now, even if it feels like you only have a mustard seed of faith? [[26:29]]
World Communion Sunday celebrates unity across cultures and nations. Is there a person or group you find it hard to feel united with? What is one step you could take to build a bridge or show Christ’s love to them? [[44:33]]
The way of Jesus is to respond to injustice not with hatred, but with love in action—feeding, healing, and standing with the vulnerable. What is one injustice you feel strongly about, and how could you respond with love instead of outrage this week? [[30:45]]
The sermon describes communion as both a gift and a commission—to be nourished by Christ and then to nourish the world. After being “fed” at Christ’s table, what is one way you can “feed, heal, clothe, or comfort” someone else this month? [[46:28]]
The psalmist says to “delight in the Lord.” What is one practice or habit you could start (or restart) this week to help you find joy and delight in God, even when the world feels overwhelming? [[25:03]]

Sermon Clips

``But one thing everybody there understands, and one thing anybody who's ever been near a mulberry tree knows, once you've got a mulberry tree, it will be there pretty well forever. Why did I go off on that tangent about the mulberry tree? If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea. I'm guessing that maybe Jesus' parents had a mulberry tree in their yard. I don't know. But it's obvious he knew about them, and he knew how impossible they were to uproot. He understood. He understood how big of an illustration that was. If you have mustard seed faith, you can say to that tree, be gone, and it will. [00:21:29] (62 seconds) #MustardSeedFaithPower

In the psalm, rage is the root of all of this. And yet, oddly enough, the psalmist believed that evil was withered grass that would soon die. No need to be outraged by the apparent success of the wicked. What's the problem with rage? That's the root of it all. If rage spreads like an invasive species, everything will be destroyed. What's the answer? The psalm tells us. Refrain from anger. Leave rage alone. Do not fret yourself. It leads only to evil. [00:24:03] (44 seconds) #LetGoOfRage

Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him and he will bring it to pass. Commit your way. Follow the way of Jesus. As much as I get sick of the free-for-all WWJD bracelets, I would still like to say, what would Jesus do? Yeah, he might turn on our tables, of course. And that is righteous anger. But what else would he do? Feed the 5,000. Stand up to the powerful people and heal people on the Sabbath. Take care of the poor and the neighbors. [00:25:30] (44 seconds) #FollowingJesusWay

Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him and he will bring it to pass. Trust. Do good. Dwell. Delight. Commit your way to God. Trust. In other words, all those add up to something that the disciples asked for. Have faith. Faith isn't a noun in this psalm. It is a verb. Trust. Depend upon. Count on. Put your confidence in. Put it into what? Into God. The way of God. The beloved community. The world down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. [00:26:14] (45 seconds) #FaithAsTrustAndAction

The same goes for Jesus' remarks. This faith, this trust is not passive. It's active. He says, Just a little faith. Just a tad of trust. Even if it's this tiny, it's enough to uproot even a mulberry tree. How much more will it heal the rage that's in our hearts right now? Injustice and evil are dried grasses and rage is that mulberry tree. [00:28:48] (32 seconds) #NurtureFaithNotRage

Indeed that small seed of trust was growing into the sturdiest and least messy of trees. Mustard trees are not messy. Mulberry trees are. Evil can't survive very long in the shade of a mustard tree's branches but if we nurture rage in our own souls we're planting a poisoned tree. [00:29:59] (29 seconds) #JustifiedButChooseLove

I know that many of us are enraged and be telling you not to cultivate that. It doesn't mean that you are without justification for being angry. You are justified. And your action in response to that needs to be to support and help and love our neighbors and stand with them and do everything you can to protect them and help them. But harboring that hate is going to poison you and it will just prove the haters right. [00:30:28] (42 seconds) #TrustDoDwellDelightCommit

Today, we join Christians around the world who gather at Christ's table in many languages of cultures, lots of traditions. This is World Communion Sunday and on that day, we remember, and remind ourselves that though we come from many places we're one body sharing one bread and one cup. [00:42:00] (26 seconds) #GodScattersAndGathers

Like a sower God scatters and God will give growth. God scatters life across the earth. God scatters people in every land and nation. God scatters disciples far and wide. Like a shepherd God gathers. God gathers people into families of faith. God gathers people into communities of love. God gathers people into the body of Christ. [00:42:43] (32 seconds) #UnitedAtChristTable

Today on this world communion Sunday God gathers us at one table with disciples of every language culture and tradition from cathedrals and chapels and huts and houses from fields and cities God gathers us in many places and makes us one in Christ at this table we remember the cost of discipleship and rejoice in the richness of Christ's gifts poured out for the whole world. [00:43:15] (26 seconds) #RenewedToBearFruit

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