Psalm 1: Rooted, Resilient, and Fruitful Like a Tree

Introduction

At KXC's "All In" Sunday, in King's Cross (London), Tim May presents the priority the church has set for the coming year: multiplying mature disciples. He admits with a smile that the word "mature" has never thrilled him much, except when it comes to cheddar. Yet maturity is at the heart of the New Testament.

It all starts with a flight home from vacation this summer, over an England scorched by drought. In the middle of the brown grass, the trees had stayed green. And a few weeks earlier, a large tree in his own garden had fallen, healthy on the outside, dead on the inside.

From these two images, the preacher draws a portrait of the mature disciple: like the tree of Psalm 1, he is rooted, resilient, and reproductive. He adds a personal testimony, that of a life that began in chaos and was transformed by God's grace, through people who believed in him.

Outline of the Message

1. A Call to Be "All In"

In the book of Acts, the multitude of believers were "of one heart and soul," and they shared everything (Acts 4:32). For Tim May, that is what being "all in" means: not staying on the surface or on the margins, but placing yourself at the center of the community.
The church invites everyone to commit to four practices: come, belong, serve, give. Serving is often the shortest path to friendship and shapes the character of Christ. Giving is a practical tool, but also a spiritual one: "Money is not my boss. Money is not my god."
A week of prayer and fasting follows this Sunday. Hunger pangs are like alarm bells: "I'm human, I have needs, but I'm not the one who meets them. God is, first."
Among the church's seven priorities, the one for the year is clear: multiplying mature disciples. Paul writes it to the Colossians: his goal is to present everyone fully mature, that is, perfect, in Christ, and he labors toward it with Christ's strength working powerfully in him (Colossians 1:28-29).

2. Green Trees in a Parched Landscape

On August 20, sitting alone by a plane window, Tim May asks God what he wants to say to his church. Below the plane, England looks like a desert: brown, dry, dead grass. But the trees have stayed green and upright.
Their secret: a larger, sturdier structure, fed by deep roots. He senses God telling him that in these times we will need to be like those trees, able to thrive for ourselves and for others in a difficult landscape.
That is the call of Psalm 1: blessed is the one who delights in the Lord's law. "He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither" (Psalm 1:3).
You may feel that you have little faith, little to give. But a tree starts as a seed, small and fragile, that grows strong with time.

3. The Tree That Looked Healthy

On July 26, a neighbor sends him a message: "Your tree has fallen." A tree about fifty feet tall, held up only by the tree in the neighboring garden. No warning, no wind, no rain.
The tree seemed perfectly healthy, with green leaves like every other tree on the street. Once it was on the ground, you could see the inside: rotten, dry wood. There was nothing left to hold it up.
"You can have the form of a Christian without the life of a Christian." You can go to church, read your Bible, listen to sermons, say the right prayers, and be dead inside. It is especially easy when you are already an established tree.
Tim May uses himself as an example: he is "professionally Christian." His income, his Church of England clergy housing, his friends, everything depends on his faith. He could be dry inside without anyone knowing. On the plane, at age 40, he had to repent of some areas of his life that were not leaning toward life.
The times are hard: world war (a crisis of security), global warming (a crisis of creation), political polarization, artificial intelligence (a crisis of humanity: what does it mean to be human?). But Jesus is risen. We have access to the power of his resurrection, and we do not have to be afraid.
In Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, the tree speaks of life with God. "It is not too late to repent" and to replant yourself by the streams of water.

4. Rooted: Maturity Is Not Independence

The roots receive life, the trunk holds firm, the branches bear fruit and seeds. Being rooted means knowing that the source of life is not you, but God. Maturity is not being self-sufficient; it is depending on him.
"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm 92:12-14). Tim May lived in Lebanon, right beneath a cedar forest. These trees reach maturity only after 600 to 800 years, can live two thousand years, and their wood does not rot. Solomon wanted them for the temple.
Their roots go down as deep as two and a half times the visible height. "It is the depth of the roots, not the speed of change, that makes the cedar stand."
A few questions to examine yourself: what does your identity depend on right now? What happens when you fail, when you are criticized or forgotten? Are you developing hidden roots, or only visible branches? Can you stay secure in God's love when your situation or your reputation is shaken?
KXC offers a rule of life: nine practices tested by the church over the centuries, a framework for following Jesus. His advice: take just one, for example from the first line (Scripture, prayer, fasting), and live it with friends.
He quotes Jon Tyson, a pastor in New York: without a shared rule of life grounded in concrete practices, discipleship will not happen in the West, because individualism and consumerism are too seductive.
The preacher and his wife are both children of pastors. His father would always sit in the same armchair, light a candle, and pray, and both of them still do it. This summer, his children watched their retired grandfather pray and read his Bible: "He's not paid to do it anymore," but the practice has shaped him and become part of who he is.

5. Resilient: Maturity Is Not Formed in Comfort

The trunk supports the tree and carries nourishment from the roots to the rest of the tree. The branches change with the seasons; the trunk stays the same. It is character, "who you really are when no one is looking."
James writes that you should count it all joy when you face various trials, because the testing of your faith produces endurance, so that you may be perfect and complete (James 1:2-4). Paul says the same: suffering produces perseverance, then character, then hope (Romans 5:3-4).
In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt describes the Biosphere 2 experiment in the Arizona desert. The trees there grew fast and then fell. Everything had been adjusted except one thing: wind. Wind bends the young tree, pulls on its roots, and strengthens its wood. Without resistance, a tree never develops the strength to stand.
Haidt also shows that we protect children from what makes them grow (free play, real risk) while exposing them to what harms them (an unlimited virtual world).
Tim May humorously recalls the first time he told a girl how he felt, in a park, before phones: the trembling voice, the feeling that you are going to die, and then the answer, "me too." "No resilience is formed in comfort and safety."
A study of Generation Z: asked what matters most in a job, 48% answer well-being. He understands why, but reminds us that comfort at any price makes what we have rot. We grow in tension: "I pray that your life gets disturbed" through Christian practices, forgiveness, community, service, and giving.

6. God Uses Others to Make You Grow

What God has used most in his life to create that tension is other people. House groups (51 "hubs" at KXC) exist for this: to bring challenge and encouragement.
As a teenager, Tim May says, his life was pure chaos. For ten months he put off handing in a chemistry assignment by bluffing his teacher. Behind this anecdote was a life of chaos, lies, and deep self-disgust, in substances, relationships, and even faith.
Around age 17, he wanted to take his faith seriously and went to an open-air service in his small Devon town. On the way out, friends invited him to go drinking and take drugs. He gave in. "Every time something difficult happened, I caved."
What changed? Other people. At a youth camp, a leader told him, "Tim, I see a leader in you," and invited him to preach on a mission trip to Kenya. Even after serious mistakes, the leader told him: if you repent and want to point your life toward Jesus, preach anyway.
At 18, in Lebanon, the day after he arrived he found himself in front of 28 six-year-olds as their teacher. For the first time, he discovered that he was capable of doing things.
Later, to a mentor who kept encouraging him, he confessed everything he was hiding. The mentor answered: "But I see who you are becoming." For Tim May, who was once expelled from school, this is proof that your life can change: it is not a matter of background or effort, it is the work of grace.

7. Reproductive: Maturity Is Not Self-Improvement

A tree is mature when it can reproduce, bear fruit, and produce seeds. The goal of the Christian life is to give yourself to others.
A direct question: "What do you do for this church that we would really miss if you stopped?"
Maybe you are the one who needs to encourage: after the service, send a message to a teenager, a relative, or a friend to tell them: "I see who you are becoming."
Come, belong, serve, give: when everyone puts down roots, life can flow. The preacher points out that London is technically a forest, with 21% of its surface covered by trees, and that trees give a city resilience. Mature disciples will be needed more and more in a world that is instant, immediate, and individualistic.
For some, it starts with repentance. If the outward form is there but not the substance, "tell someone today." There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus: "There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

Key Takeaways

You can have the form of a Christian without the life of a Christian. What holds a tree up is inside and beneath the surface.
Being rooted means depending on God, not on yourself. One practice lived with others is worth more than nine abandoned.
Resilience is not born of comfort: like wind for a young tree, trials strengthen faith.
God often uses other people to help us grow, through challenge and encouragement.
Maturity shows when you give yourself so that others can flourish.

Personal Application

Is there an area of your life that looks healthy on the outside but is dry on the inside? Who could you talk to about it this week?
What does your identity depend on right now, and what do you do when you fail or are criticized?
Which practice from the rule of life (Scripture, prayer, fasting, or another) can you choose and live out with a few friends?
What trial or tension are you facing now that God could use to strengthen your trunk?
Who can you tell today: "I see who you are becoming"?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a mature disciple according to Tim May?

Tim May takes up the image of the tree: a mature disciple is rooted, resilient, and reproductive. The roots receive life, the trunk holds firm, and the branches bear fruit and seeds. Each trait corrects a false idea: maturity rests on neither independence, nor comfort, nor mere self-improvement.

Why is the fallen tree in the preacher's garden a warning?

A tree about fifty feet tall fell with no wind or rain. It looked healthy, with green leaves, but its wood was rotten and dry. For Tim May, in the same way, you can have the form of a Christian without the life: going to church, reading the Bible, saying the right prayers, and dying inside.

How do you start putting down roots in Christ in practice?

Tim May proposes a rule of life: nine practices tested by the church over the centuries. His advice is to choose just one, for example from the first line (Scripture, prayer, fasting), and live it with a few friends. The depth of the roots matters more than the speed of change.