Over the past three weeks, we at Christ Church United have considered various aspects of our annual stewardship emphasis, “Empowered by God — Responding by Grace.” Please ask God to give you specific direction concerning what you should give. Then, please complete the Pledge Card you should have already received and bring it with you to the 10am worship service on “Harvest Celebration Sunday,” this Sunday, November 22, 2009.
Thank you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for your faithful financial support in the past. Thank you as well for being “Empowered by God” and for “Responding by Grace” here at Christ Church United.
P.S. If you’re interested in taking advantage of CCU’s automated giving program called StillSpeaking Money, where your gift is automatically deducted from your checking or savings account on one or more dates each month, please click here to download the Authorization Form.
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CCU Stewardship Message #2
“ . . . just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us — see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Cor. 8:7).
In our last article as part of this year’s stewardship emphasis, we saw how God is our Source, how all that we have comes from God, how God empowers and enables us, and how we respond by grace through faith. We also saw that like the Macedonian Christians, we are to first give ourselves to the Lord as good stewards of the grace of God.
Sometimes, when stewardship is mentioned, people wrongly conclude that giving money is all that is involved. Not so. Giving does include our financial resources, but it goes far beyond money and actually encompasses three primary resources. These are what might be called “building blocks” in God’s “school of faith” which constitute “lifestyle stewardship” or “total stewardship.”
First, there is the matter of our time. Time is one resource that is given to everyone equally. All of us have twenty-four hours in every day. No more, no less. How we use our time reflects accurately what is a priority in our lives. Some people have made the TV a priority in their lives. They might not admit it, but by totaling the amount of time they spend in front of the set, it would be hard to draw any other conclusion. Others have made sports a priority. How can we tell that’s true? Again, by the amount of time they spend pursuing sports. The key question is this: How much of the 168 hours available to each of us every week is spent in pursuit of God or in service to God’s kingdom, especially here in this ministry?
Then there is the matter of our talents, an area in which all of us have not been gifted equally. Some have been gifted by God to work with their hands, with machines, or with computers. Others excel in their ability to communicate orally or via the printed page. The effective outreach of the Gospel here at Christ Church United is made possible only when God’s people who are part of this fellowship use their combined talents for God’s glory and for the good of this ministry.
Finally, there is the matter of our treasure. Don’t be confused. Money cannot buy salvation. Money cannot buy eternal life. Money can’t even buy security which God alone provides. But how we use money is an indication of our priorities. Think about the process: God owns everything. According to Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s.” God has never relinquished the title deed to the world, but God enables us to earn that which rightfully belongs to God. God then seeks to have us return a portion of what God has entrusted to us through our giving.
Giving is not to help poor God pay bills. Giving is not because God needs anything from us. Giving is God’s way of growing Christians. Every time we give for God’s glory from hearts that have been redeemed by God’s love and grace, we give away a little of our selfishness. Every time we give of our resources, we grow in grace and in our walk with Christ.
As you consider your life during this time of stewardship emphasis, will you — like the Macedonian Christians — excel in the “grace of giving” by first giving yourself to the Lord? Will you then respond by grace through giving your time, your talents and your treasure to be used by God in this ministry?
As you consider your response to these questions, and as you seek the Lord’s direction concerning your giving in the next few months, please remember these simple yet profound words:
Only one life, ‘twill soon be past;
only what’s done for Christ will last.
