October 26, 2014

Last week I attended the first four of our thirteen Stewardship Home Fellowship Gatherings. The most frequent comments are: “Thanks for sharing information so clearly,” “I enjoyed listening to others and sharing my thoughts” and “We should have more of these!” I sincerely hope you sign up today and attend one of the remaining nine gatherings if you have not done so yet. We will be a stronger church as a result! Stewardship is “wise management of all that God provides.” Some people categorize that which we manage as “3 T’s” … Time, Talent, and Treasure. God is the provider of life itself and all we enjoy as individuals and as a church. How we invest our time … how we use our talent… how we manage our material possessions matters to God. Jesus gives much instruction on stewardship in the Gospels. The theme of our sermon series, “Enriched” comes from how the early church lived out Jesus’ teachings. As the church grew in the gentile world, they had compassion on the church in Jerusalem which was struggling. The Apostle Paul helped collect and send an offering to the Jerusalem church. In II Corinthians 9 he writes: The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work….. 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God…. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! May we too be “enriched in every way, to be generous in every way,” and in so doing, prompt thanksgiving to God. Blessings, Tim