John Wesley had a thing or two to say about money. Somewhere in England, in the late 18th-century, John Wesley climbed a church pulpit and preached a sermon called “The Use of Money.” In it, he said that the important thing isn’t money itself but how we use it. Wesley’s surprising advice still rings true today: earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.
Throughout the month of October and into early November we’ll have the opportunity to consider what it means to be care-takers or stewards of what God has given. We’ll consider the stewardship of our earth, the stewardship of our time and talents, and the stewardship of our resources.
We’ll have the opportunity to recommit our lives to God. We’ll also have an opportunity to make a financial commitment to the ministry of our church in order to fulfill our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. I hope you’ll join us in body or spirit, and most certainly in prayer:
“Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested'” (1 Chronicles 4:10)
This prayer is one of the shortest, yet complete, prayers in the Bible. It Is not included in scripture for us to repeat as some do. It is provided for our study and learning as Paul reminds us. “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). Amen.
Pastor Clarissa