During worship this past Sunday, we did an art project. You can see it in the picture above. We’re going to frame it and display it in our church lobby. Why? It has everything to do with the Sabbath Year. In Leviticus verses 1 through 7, we learn about the Sabbath Year. “The Lord saidContinue reading “A rainbow mosaic to help us trust in God – The Sabbath Year, Part 2”
Tag Archives: stewardship
How a car for sale on Facebook led to a beautiful expression of Jubilee – Jubilee, Part 5
A person in our congregation has been seeking a reliable vehicle for months. Given their financial situation, our church Leadership Team approved using money from our Care & Share Fund to help them with the down-payment on the vehicle. During the past two months, they looked at numerous vehicles, and two really good possibilities fellContinue reading “How a car for sale on Facebook led to a beautiful expression of Jubilee – Jubilee, Part 5”
At its core, work is…? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 1
How many hours do you work each week? Ever totaled up a close approximation of the hours you will work in your lifetime? If you work for 45 years, 50 weeks per year, 45 hours per week, you will have worked over one hundred thousand hours in your life. Perhaps the only activity we doContinue reading “At its core, work is…? – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; 5:14, Part 1”
How to be an encourager – 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10; 5:11, 14, 27, Part 3
Editor’s Note: I once again welcome Molly Stouffer as guest blogger. Molly is from Hagerstown, MD, studying Pastoral Ministries at Lancaster Bible College. It can be easy to encourage someone who’s got it all going well. But what do we do when someone comes to us after they lose a job? Their relationship ends? AContinue reading “How to be an encourager – 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10; 5:11, 14, 27, Part 3”
Is “He Gets Us” advertising worth the expense? – Q & A Week, Part 1
This week we take a break from our Relationships in the Church series. At Faith Church this past week I gave a Q & A sermon. I asked the congregation for questions ahead of time, and then I attempted to bring biblical theology to bear on their questions. Here goes… He Gets Us spent almost $15 millionContinue reading “Is “He Gets Us” advertising worth the expense? – Q & A Week, Part 1″
Why and How to be more Generous – John 11:46-12:11, Part 5
Does the Bible tell us the goal of generosity to the poor? It does. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul taught something that is not mentioned enough. One of the subplots of Paul’s missionary journeys is that he was asking the churches across the Roman Empire to give money to help the mother church in Jerusalem. Continue reading “Why and How to be more Generous – John 11:46-12:11, Part 5”
What Jesus meant when he said, “You will always have the poor among you” – John 11:46-12:11, Part 4
What does extravagant generosity to Jesus look like in our day? In John 12:1-11, Mary dumped $70K worth of perfume on Jesus’ feet. While Jesus doesn’t expect us to do precisely what Mary did, he does expect us to be extravagantly generous. Why doesn’t he expect us to do what Mary did? Mary lived, forContinue reading “What Jesus meant when he said, “You will always have the poor among you” – John 11:46-12:11, Part 4″
How to avoid assimilation and follow Jesus – Characters: Daniel, Part 5
A retired couple in my congregation told me about the time they attended a high school reunion, and their classmates, now all retired, each took turns sharing what they were doing with their lives. The sharing went all the way around the circle, and not a single person mentioned anything about serving the Lord. PerhapsContinue reading “How to avoid assimilation and follow Jesus – Characters: Daniel, Part 5”
What the Bible teaches about how much you should give (or How to beat donor fatigue in a world that asks a lot)
Donor fatigue is real. Do you feel it? Are you tired of all the people and organizations asking you to support them? Last week I introduced the issue of donor fatigue by saying that in our culture, where money is tight for so many, it can be hard to be generous. When all of theContinue reading “What the Bible teaches about how much you should give (or How to beat donor fatigue in a world that asks a lot)”
Do you feel you’re being asked to give too much, too often?
How many of you are living paycheck to paycheck? What do I mean by “paycheck to paycheck”? What I mean is that you need that paycheck to keep coming in order to pay your bills. If you don’t get that paycheck, you won’t be able to pay bills, buy groceries, etc. Does that describe yourContinue reading “Do you feel you’re being asked to give too much, too often?”
Engaging Scripture 