Wow…here I am again. So much for me slowing down a little bit. I guess I have been infused with a new dose of the Holy Spirit. I have no clue. Either way I feel like I have more energy and more drive to write. Good or bad, I will let you decide. But let’s move on…
Today at Salem is Stewardship Sunday and I am doing something today that I don’t normally do…I am setting aside the Gospel text assigned for today. Instead I will be preaching on Matthew 25:14-30 – the Parable of the Talents. As I wrote the sermon this past Thursday something was not sitting right with me. All day Friday I pondered what I wrote. Then today, Saturday, I was slapped in the face with Matthew 25…so…I re-wrote most of the sermon and included this text. The Holy Spirit works in wonderful ways. This is just another reason why I don’t wait until Saturday to write sermons.
Anyway, as we pray, know that stewardship was floating around in my mind and heart as this prayer was prayed and written. Let us pray…
Gracious, loving and generous God, you have given us everything we have. You created this world. You gave us life. You provide us with "daily bread’. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ you have given us salvation; you have given us hope; and you have given us a "job". Because of your love we are stewards. We are caretakers. We are your hands and feet. Strengthen, encourage and empower us to be caretakers of all we have; knowing that everything we say and do is for your glory. Thank you, God, for your love through Jesus Christ and in whose name we pray…Amen!
God bless you as you live as stewards.
-edh-
The Heart of a Pastor 
Stewardship,,,,There’s that dirty word,, I wish out Lutheran church was more like the Mormons, they tithe faithfully. At least here in Northern Michigan they do.
At council our Pastor advised us that we were not going to do a Stewardship thing this year she does not want to scare the new people away. It is no wonder we are 5,000.00 in the red,,,Sigh
Eric how do you handle stewardship? Is it a problem over there in Minnisnowtah?
It is not my place to judge, but shying away from a “stewardship thing” because you’re worried about scaring people away is pretty lame. People need to hear what their responsibility is. I the sermon I preached I mentioned that we are all stewards by definition when we call ourselves Christian. You can’t separate that (even though people try). Stewardship HAS to be talked about all the time and not just one Sundya a year (I do talk about stewardship throughout the year).
Is stewardship a problem here? I think it depends on the congregation.