Archive for the ‘Stewardship’ Category

Stewardship is about connection and not prejudice, which all of us have to some extent.  Some prejudices include those of contrary political views.  Sometimes accents from different parts of the country elicit negative stereotypes.  We are stewards because God has called us to discipleship.  We do not choose those who need our help.  Rather, God [...]

Christian stewards in today’s world have no easy task.  It is akin to swimming upstream.  An old axiom puts our stewardship mission in perspective: “Only dead fish swim with the current.”  We live in a materialistic world.  Of this there is little doubt.  The point of Christian stewardship is not to repay God or our [...]

Stewards do the Lord’s bidding even if it raises some eye-brows.  One congregation housed sixty hurricane evacuees for over a month.  Most praised this but as you can imagine many questioned the number of strangers in the church and the inconvenience to the church schedule.  The minister empathized but said: “We are a church.  These [...]

The world witnesses God’s call to righteousness in us through our acts of stewardship. Mark Twain said, “Always do right – this will gratify some and astonish the rest.” Those who demonstrate an abiding relationship with God in Jesus reveal themselves in the small and loving acts shown to others. They celebrate with joy; they [...]

For Christian stewards God’s resurrection of Jesus assures believers that what they stake their life on by faith is authentic and lasting.  When God raised Jesus, God revealed the One who has authority over life and death.  For believers, this truth is potent enough to give Christian stewardship ultimate confidence, and so we invest our [...]

There is a natural tendency to feel that we never have enough and to cling to what we have.  Jesus teaches the opposite – it is by giving and letting go that we find abundance.  “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain;  but if it [...]

Psalm 107 in the verse following what we sing on Sunday says: “Some went down to the sea in ships” and when they cried to the Lord he stilled the storm to a whisper.  We sing: “Give thanks to the Lord.”  And to all of us who have been delivered in one way or another, [...]

Behind the economic difficulties of our time is a crowd psychology of conspicuous consumption.  The Ten Commandments are Israel’s response to God’s liberating them from slavery.  The Commandments function the same way today, liberating us from conspicuous consumption.  This is obviously countercultural and it is also the way toward an authentic life.  (meditations by David [...]

As you begin to think about gardens, landscape with native plants.  Check out this page on the EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/nativeplants/factsht.html

Stewardship is what we do after we say, “I believe.”  God has loaned us gifts and graces to help mend our lives, our relationships and our world.  Thank you for all you give to make this happen.  As the gospel says, it profits little to gain the whole world and yet break down or forfeit [...]