Words of Welcome

Romans 12:1-8 When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What kind of life did you want to lead? Maybe you knew from a very young age what you were going to do when you grew up, but I tried on several possibilities in my mind. At one point I thought about being an oceanographer and then a photographer. Back in ninth grade, I took a class called “Self Understanding through Occupational Exploration.” One of the class assignments required visiting with people whose jobs we might pursue. I chose to visit an attorney and toured a radio station. I will confess that at one point I even thought about being a politician. As you can see, ministry wasn’t among my earliest aspirations. We tend to answer the questions about what should we do and who we should be in terms of our vocations, our jobs. Early in life children are encouraged to decide on a vocational path, but is this the only way to answer these questions? What if we thought in terms of Leading Liv...

Micah 1:3-5; 5:2-5a; 6:6-8 What shall we bring? This is the question that guides our stewardship season for this year. Over the past few weeks we’ve heard a word from Joshua, asking us whom we will serve. It’s a good question, because there are many claimants to our allegiance. We just had an election that asked us to commit to particular candidates, parties, and platforms. I believe in voting, but I also believe we owe first allegiance to God. That’s the way Joshua answered his own question. He declared: “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15 ). We’ve heard Jesus tell his followers to be salt and light. So, don’t let your salt lose its flavor and don’t hide your light under a bushel. ( Mt. 5:13-16 ). Just remember that song we learned as children: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” 

Ephesians 1:11-23 You may have seen a very large RV traveling down the highway.  In the driver’s seat is a senior citizen, and emblazoned on the back of that RV is a bumper sticker declaring that this now retired couple is spending their children’s inheritance.  Now, they have every right to spend their money any way they please, and the kids have no legal means of stopping them from doing this, but this declaration seems rather bold, maybe even brazen!    They have decided to spend the inheritance before it gets passed on to the next generation.    Warren Buffett, as you may have heard, has decided that the bulk of his fortune won’t go to his children, but rather to charity.  It’s not that the kids won’t get anything, but  most of the inheritance is going to be shared by a much broader group of people.  Jesus once told a parable about inheritances.  In this parable a son demands his share of the inheritance now. ...

1 Kings 17:8-16; 12:38-44 Although there’s some debate as to the meaning of the law, the recently enacted Federal bankruptcy law makes it more difficult for people to give to charity after they declare bankruptcy. You see the creditors want to be reimbursed first, before God gets paid. I’m not sure if the two widows described in today’s readings had declared bankruptcy, but they were in bad financial shape when they gave their last pittance to charity. Although these widows have little to commend themselves to our attention, Scripture honors both for their willingness to give. But why give everything away, if death is the result? Of course, maybe that’s the point. They knew they had nothing to lose. So, even though their acts of generosity may seem odd, they are our models of faithfulness. THE SACRAMENT OF GIVING Like most preachers, I’m not thrilled about giving stewardship sermons. Talking about money seems self-serving and may even be on the verge of meddling. But money, as they say...