Not a sermon.
Ya Ya! So it's been a while. Such is life.Today, instead of a sermon, I offer you an idea for your own sermonising work.
Every week.
Yup, every week, there is something about stewardship, generosity, thankfulness, and giving that can be found in the scripture and the sermon. That means, every week your people should be hearing something, even floating softly in the background, about stewardship.
It is no longer OK to just preach a "Stewardship" sermon once or twice a year.
Every week.
Which means...
Stewardship, therefore, no longer becomes something scary or guilt ridden or shameful. It's no longer that dreaded Sunday everyone hates. It's just another part of our growing in faith. Like talking about love, or forgiveness, or grace. Like reading the Bible and prayer. Just another normal part of following Jesus. Every week.
So how?
Here's the great idea. Above my computer where I pray and think and sweat and eventually write a sermon, there are some notes to remind me of certain things. Not a clutter about schedules and busy-ness, but to help me focus and remember things that I too easily forget.
Try adding a reminder to your work space with these 2 questions:
- What does this story/scripture tell me about God's abundance?
- How should we respond to God's abundance?
That's it. Simple, right? Right.
So try it. Every week. Those 2 questions.
And you may not preach on the answers to those questions, or at least they may not form the central points of your sermon, but by asking them and pondering them the answers to them will sneak into your message. The Spirit will work with them and like seeds thrown onto good soil, who knows what amazing harvest God will bring about.
Stewardship. Every week.
Go!