Faith@First - October 4, 2024
Last week was an extraordinary worship experience. As we celebrated the launch of our new branding and website, there was a palpable excitement in the air about where God is leading us. But unbeknownst to me, God was already at work, drawing new people from new places into our community of faith.
Pastor Amber shared at our staff meeting this week that while we were in worship, a woman and her adult son with special needs entered our narthex. His mother shared with that she and her son had never set foot in our church before, but that morning he told her he wanted to donate Bibles to our family ministry.
Pastor Amber noticed that this mother was a little hesitant and maybe a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, but her son sure wasn’t! He had a wide smile on his face and was literally jumping up and down with joy as he donated his Bibles to us. I never got to meet him, but his unexpected act of generosity has deeply touched my soul. He reminds me of the attitude of joy we should all have when we give to the church. We may not physically jump up and down, but spiritually we should!
For what a blessing it is to BE a blessing. And what a JOY it is to share the gifts God has given us with our community and our church. This reminder could not have been more timely as this Sunday we begin our annual stewardship series with the theme, “God‘s Got It: Rejecting Scarcity and Finding Abundance”.
Throughout the series, we will study the scriptures and dismantle the lie of scarcity and discover the truth and joy of God’s abundance.
Our learning will be deepened by a weekly Bible study on Adam Hamilton’s book, “Enough: Discovering the Joy of Generosity and Simplicity” on Sundays at 11:45 a.m. from October 13 to November 3. Lunch and childcare will be provided!
While I have preached several stewardship series, I’ve found that people not only need biblical principles, but they need practical tools to live out those principles. We are grateful that Kathy Tomes the creator of BudgetBreakthrough.com will teach a workshop on budgeting on October 27 at 11:45 a.m. Click here to register for the class and/or the workshop. Lunch and childcare will be provided!
It is our prayer that during this sermon series, Bible study, and workshop, we may all learn to give like that young man did last Sunday, with hearts full of joy and a spirit of trust, that what we have to offer will make a difference in building of God’s kingdom.
Keep the Faith@First,
Pastor Nicole
