Current Series- 

Trees of Life: 

Stories, Place, and Apocalypse

  Later, I remember leaves, through car windows,

through bedroom windows, through the classroom window,

the way they shaded and patterned the ground, all that

            power from roots. Imagine you must survive

without running? I’ve come from the lacing patterns of leaves,

  I do not know where else I belong.

-Ada Limon, excerpt from "Ancestors"

The biblical canon is full of stories of trees--from Genesis all the way to Revelation. But what are we to do with these stories? With these trees? Both the metaphorical realities of trees but also tangible, material realities, too? What wisdom do these trees of life offer us in this particular time and place?


For our first fall series, we will be spending intentional time with trees, both inside and outside the worship gathering, daring to trust trees deepen our faith, deepen our understanding of place, and deepen the invitations of what it means to live through these times. 

Series Resources

Emmaus Way is committed to engaging the Gospel in creative, embodied, and communal ways—from reading and art to dialogue and service. Find below some of the resources that are shaping our current series.

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Scripture & DIALOGUE Questions

All are invited to hear and discern the Word of God together in dialogue at Emmaus Way each week. While the communal and embodied experience of dialogical preaching can't quite be recreated outside of the Sunday gathering, follow along here with the scripture passages and dialogue questions that are guiding our weekly conversations.

  • Genesis 2:1-9, Revelation 22:1-7

    • What strikes you–in a meaningful way, a weird way, a curious way–about these particular trees and their locations in these texts? 

    • What does it say that the beginning and ending of our sacred, biblical canon is rooted in tree imagery?

    • How has a tree fostered life within you? 

  • Ezekiel 17:1-10, 22-24

    • What language or imagery from today's extended allegories strike you?
    • Where do you bear witness to God at work in the small? In the shoots and sprigs?

  • Ezekiel 47:1-12

    • When you hear "utopia" what comes to mind? 
    • What keeps creation from thriving? 
    • How might getting honest about our histories and myths pave the way towards God's in-breaking kin-dom and utopia vision of Ezekiel? 
    • Where have you borne witness to glimpses of utopia? If you haven't, where do you wish you might?

  • Mark 11:12-24, 13:28-31

    • What is unsettling or unclear to you about this story of the fig tree? 
    • How do trees tell us something about their environments? About ourselves? 
    • How does Mark’s word of encouragement land for you in this time, place, season?


  • Luke 19:1-10

    • Share about a time you climbed a tree. 
    • How do you make sense of Zaccheus' story? What's confusing? Hope-filled? Hard? 
    • What's challenging about really seeing something for what it is and realizing you have to change? 
    • How might our lives and world shift if we dared to really bear witness to trees? 
    • What are you being invited to see more clearly and bear witness to? 


  • Psalm 37 and Luke 17:3-6

    • What grief can these trees help you hold? 
    • What quiet power might you experience here?

EWAY Youth & Kids

During this series, Emmaus Way Youth (sixth through twelfth graders) are exploring stories of faith and hearing from different co-ministers. Older Kids (1st-5th graders) are exploring the prophets. Younger Kids (PreK-K) are exploring stories about Jesus at Tables. If you have questions about the youth, kids, or preschool programs or how to get your child involved, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Join Us

We hope these resources offer just a few more avenues to engage with the Word of God and the work of the Spirit in our life together. Please join us on Sundays to dialogue around these sacred topics together. Find out more about where and how we gather here. 


If you have questions for us or if there are any accommodations you might need in order to fully participate in our community, please contact us here.