Pastor Danny’s message
8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:1-3
Stewardship is often a scary word in the United Methodist Church! So many times people refer to money, but what if we took it from a level of gratitude, sacrifice, and team work? All that we have is a gift from God and they are entrusted to our care! I believe in a connectional church serving in the United Methodist Church. I am a piece to a bigger puzzle and I believe our members are the vine that extends the branches! We do this together! None of us are expected to walk like completely by ourselves! We serve a God who is faithful and just… He has carried us through our share of mistakes! I love that we serve a God so faithful and to the best of my ability I want to give all I can to make a real difference in our world.
I was challenged this week by our Committee on Ministry: are they seeing me or are they seeing God? This question definitely gave me pause because I never want to think that my actions for God are only a reflection of me, but definitely a reflection of God! When we pray with others let us make sure we are using Scripture and prayer in those moments. When we develop a hero complex our ego can get a little in charge! In that same sense of gratitude and stewardship let us make sure we reflect God in our efforts! Believe me when I say this is easier said than done at times and I am glad this committee raised such a challenge because it was definitely a reminder to stay humble and not make it “all about me.”
We live in a world that constantly offers us a choice- we can live “in the world” , but “not of it.” God reminds us everyday to stay faithful to His presence and not just our own! It is easy for us to get caught, to get prideful, but it is so important we remember where the love and gifts first came from: God and Jesus Christ our Lord! We will have our challenges and in this next month I strongly encourage us to fully stay focused on God and the gifts he blesses us with daily. They are not of our own doing, but of His… Let us remember not to be selfish, but practice sincere gratitude in the month ahead!
October 18th is Laity Sunday and I look forward to watching how our church practices gratitude and servanthood. AMEN. -Pastor Danny