Concord Hymn

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Photo: Kirk Heflin BY the rude bridge that arched the flood,  Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,  Here once the embattled farmers stood  And fired the shot heard round the world.  The foe long since in silence slept;  Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;  And Time the ruined bridge has swept  Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream,  We set to-day a votive stone;  That memory may their deed redeem,  When, like our sires, our sons are gone.  Spirit, that made those heroes dare  To die, and leave their children free,  Bid Time and Nature gently spare  The shaft we raise to them and thee. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) (The Battle of Concord was fought on April 19, 1775, the start of the American Revolutionary War)

Eagerness to grow

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“It is always great to see evidence of an eagerness for growth in the Christian life. I remember asking a boy once how hold he was. Quick as a flash he said, ‘I’m twelve, going on thirteen, soon to be fourteen.’ I like that eagerness to grow up. But it is encouraging to us to realize this is a process of time and we do not need to be discouraged if we do not find we are completely like Christ yet.” (Ray Stedman, “On Growing Up.” Sermon on Ephesians 4:13-16)

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