What's Going On? Happy New Quarter Century - January 7, 2025
TAssuming you are old enough, do you remember the Y2K scare of 25 years ago? Can you believe it has been 25 years already?
As we have turned the corner into the next quarter century, you have probably heard talk that the world has shifted. It always has and always does, but there seems to be a rather intense adjustment taking place. Without pretending to be able to name or explain it in detail, let me simply point out one thing I see in church life that has changed: we no longer emphasize mission and vision statements and 5-year plans. Instead, there seems to be more of an emphasis on living in the present, working less with a plan and more with being prepared for whatever comes. Along with that there seems to be at least a little anxiety about where things are at and what comes next.
In light of this tendency to focus more on being prepared than having a plan, I want to begin this quarter century with a sermon series on stewardship. Stewardship is knowing that everything comes from God and that our role is to use whatever he has given us in the most responsible way that we can. Stewardship is a way of being prepared for anything, because we have a healthy perspective on how God is at work in all things.
The series will start with a look at Ecclesiastes 3 “There is a time for everything” as we consider the full range of the gift of time and opportunity. Then we will consider the major New Testament passages on gifts as we think about the variety of characters and characteristics that are part of our community. Next, we will pay attention to how creation and culture (our human context) shapes us and is shaped by us as evidenced in the final few chapters of the Bible. Finally, the series will culminate in a message on “Your Mission Budget” where we pay attention to the fact that a healthy stewardship perspective includes every financial interaction we have, not just what we give in donations.
This series will take about half of the Sundays of the pre-Lent season. Interspersed will be sermons by Pastors Jolene and Brady as well as Cadet Sunday and Friendship Sunday.
We trust that God will guide us and shape us as a community in this season and year and era. Let us look to him.
Pastor Erick