Season: Lent - We Need to Feel It Speaker: Julie Hoke Location: 5720 Ridge Ave.

About Talk: The giant sequoia trees need fire to release seeds from their cones. Three-hundred foot redwood trees have shallow, wide root systems that intertwine and fuse together with one another to withstand the elements. These trees illustrate deeper truths about life in Christ, reminding us how new life is possible when the fire of suffering seems to burn and we are weary of “being strong.” Jesus showed us the way to new life is to die to ourselves, to give up trying to get better on our own, to do things on our own capacity. He offers us himself and a whole new way of being strong in our weakness.