.jpg){kind=small}
“We love because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
Stewardship is our grateful response to a generous God. He gives
us everything and in gratitude we give back a certain portion.
We are grateful to the Father who through His Son gave us heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are grateful to the Son who died on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins. We are grateful to the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Father and Son to establish the church on earth and in heaven. We are grateful to the Holy Trinity, from whom all blessings flow, whether spiritual or physical.
Much of what God gave us we cannot return, but our time and our money we can
apportion first to God and only secondarily to ourselves.
How much of our time is a gift received from God? Every second.
In joy we devote time each day to putting heart, mind, soul, and strength at the service of Word and Sacrament.
We don’t deserve a single drop of the blood that was spilled by Christ on the Cross, so in gratitude we proclaim the Good News of our forgiveness wherever there is an ear to hear. Gratefully we manage our time so the day won’t slip by us without our opening our mouths at least once to proclaim the Good News of our forgiveness.
The Holy Spirit establishes His church where He will, and one such place is West Long Branch, New Jersey, where He established and now maintains the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, which, with all the other churches around the world, together are the Bride of Christ, she of countless virtues, she whose dowry is rich in heaven, she who has the beauty of God’s truth in all her aspects. In joy we spend a portion of each day on the work of God’s church. Christ adores His Bride as any groom adores his betrothed on their wedding day. Precious in His sight are the hands that sew her gown or braid her hair.
As for our money, gratefully we allocate the first and best portion to the
service of Word and Sacrament, to ensuring the Good News of forgiveness will
be proclaimed, and to the endless work of the church, which is the perfect
_expression of our love for one another.
God is love and money is love when we put it to the service of God. Money serving God is love reaching places we could never go in person. Money serving God is love accomplishing feats we could never achieve with just our own two hands. Money serving God is love working simultaneously on a host of activities no one person could handle all at once. Money serving God conquers space and time and human limitation with the power of love and performs miracles.
The Stewardship Committee invites you to prayerfully consider what percentage
of your time and money you will put at the service of the God who gave you
both.
Regarding time, you may have questions as to what opportunities for service exist. They are many and diverse and help is always welcome.
Regarding money, what is the most convenient and responsible plan for ensuring your intended percentage always reaches the Lord’s treasury? It is the Simply Giving program, whereby you authorize a company known as Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to deduct, directly from your checking account, your designated dollar amount each week or each month, whichever you prefer.
In the sure knowledge that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have loved us from the beginning of time with a depth of devotion our mortal minds cannot conceive, let us say, Amen, and may God bless you with abundance.