It is all too easy to see scarcity all around us. We never seem to have enough. Life in Christ offers a radically different view: God’s abundance overflows for the earth and all who make their home here.
We explore the Parable of the Sower, Psalm 24:1, and the call of Peter as lessons in abundant living.
One lost sheep. One lost coin. One lost son. All three are found and great partying, feasting and partying ensue. This is true Christian worship — a celebration of the love and grace of God.
“What do you mean by ‘justice?’” The question came from a member of the Bible Study class. We were discussing the relationship of Christian Mission to ministries of justice. This Sermon is one response to that question.
Jesus’ central message was one of change and transformation – not just of individuals, but of societies. “Repent,” he proclaimed. Change your way of life. God wants something different than the world as you find it. “The Kingdom of God is in your midst,” he went on. A society based on love, compassion, peace, goodwill among all people, and equality of access to God’s benevolence and grace.
To do justice is to join with Jesus in proclaiming the social transformation necessary for God’s Kingdom to be realized “on earth as it is in heaven.” The mission of justice is nothing less that engaging in social activism that promotes health, welfare, safety and peace for all of God’s creatures. It is joining with God in Jesus Christ to work for the common good.
Pray your way through anger and use all that bottled up energy for good rather than harm.
Generosity is the act of giving all of our time, all of our talents and skills, all of our treasure and resources to proclaim the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Traditionally, Christians consider the tithe as a measure of generosity when in fact, God is not satisfied when we keep 90% for ourselves. Instead, just as the poor widow was commended for giving “all that she had,” those of us who consider ourselves people of faith are also challenged to give everything we are and have for living and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything – our time, our talents, our treasure.
The tithe can then become a small portion that we intentionally and deliberately use for the love and sake of others beyond ourselves. Within this tithe, where does the church fit in your personal generosity? How do you spend your time, your talents, your treasure so that a portion is directed beyond yourself?
Why has God called the church into being? Why a particular church in a particular place? What is the raison d’être of the church. We get back to basics and recall the essential role that mission plays in giving the church purpose. The church exists for mission – for acting as a steward of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our buildings, our ministers, paid staff and volunteers, and our material resources are all marshaled to fulfill the the church’s core purpose.
Mission is the Church acting as a Steward of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
God’s gift of shalom is necessary to human life. As stewards of the lives God gives to us, we love God with our whole selves and our neighbors as ourselves.
For a very long time, human beings have lived as though there was no limit to the earth’s capacity to sustain human life. We took the command in Genesis 1 to “dominate the earth” as free license to consume the earth and it inhabitants and use them up. We saw ourselves as having control and power over the earth.
But Genesis 2 adds a different view of our place in the creation. We the gardeners living in the Garden of Eden. The command is to tend and care for God’s garden. Eden is God’s household – a home for all living beings. We are earth’s caretakers.
We are stewards, charged with nurturing and maintaining God’s earth for all the “fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the animals and one another. We are responsible stewards when we do that which promotes life, health and shalom. We fail as stewards when we engage in practices and policies that degrade and destroy life and that which makes life possible.
A number of things are necessary if a church is to grow, but perhaps one of the most important is the willingness of those already within the congregation to change in order to welcome the newcomer.
To be a Christian means to have a sprit transplant. Explore a new metaphor about life in the Spirit.
D Gene Kraus 