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Each week Pastor Sarah blogs on the Scripture for Sunday's upcoming sermon. Use this entry as a way to prepare your heart and mind for worship. See you Sunday!
Sunday’s Scripture ~ Luke 5:17-26.
Stewardship Focus ~ I Chronicles 29:1-5a.
Identifying and allocating resources is an important step in equipping a vision to become a reality. David received the vision to build a Temple for the Lord. Solomon would oversee and complete the construction of the house of worship. But before ground could be broken or the barn could be raised, the raw materials had to be identified.
David identifies resources from two places – professional resources and personal resources. He gives gold for the goldsmith; silver for the silversmith; bronze for the bronzesmith; iron for the ironsmith; wood for the woodsmith; gems, precious stones, and marble for the artisans. He gives from the resources he has access to as King. Then David turns to his personal resources and gives from his own treasure in support of God’s vision before him.
We, too, are in possession of both professional and personal resources. While we may not be able to allocate professional resources in the same manner of as David, I believe we are able to leverage those professional resources and skills in service to our God. I believe deeply that we cheat ourselves from the fullness of the life of faith if we believe we live and practice our faith as isolated experiences in worship. The skills and resources we have received and developed within our vocations, trainings, educations, and professional experiences shape our faith. Our vocations, trainings, educations, and professional experiences are also themselves the arenas where we are most present to practice our faith! Most of us spend much more time in work buildings than we do in church buildings. Applying ourselves to the work of integrating our faith into our professional experiences will reveal how God calls us to give of those professional resources in honor of him.
Giving from both our professional and personal resources acknowledges that we hold nothing back from God. It is such an honor to be included in God’s incredible work. May we offer our whole selves – vulnerably and expectantly – to see what God will do next.
Prayer: “Open my mouth, and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere; open my heart and let me prepare love with thy children thus to share. Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see. Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!”* Amen.
*“Open My Eyes, That I May See,” The United Methodist Hymnal 454.