Stewardship
Sermon and Worship Resources

Some Scripture Lessons on Stewardship Matthew 5:1-12 Matthew 25:14-30 Matthew 25:34-40 Mark 12:13-17 Mark 12:38-44 Luke 16:1-13 John 6:4-14 Malachi 3:1-10           Stewardship Prayer: Lord Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work. I give you my feet to go your way. I give you my eyes to see as you see. I give you my tongue to speak your words. I give you my mind to think as you think. I give you my spirit so that you may pray in me. I give you my self so that you may grow in me. So that it is you, Lord Jesus, who lives and works and prays in me. Amen. [see list of all prayers, calls to worship, prayer of confession, closing prayers, etc]   Hymns: All Things Come From Thee Freely, Freely You Have Received For the Beauty of the Earth We Give Thee But Thine Own Bless Thou the Gifts Little is Much When God is in it Make Me a Blessing Give of Your Best to the Master Choruses: As the Deer Panteth For the Water Make Me A Servant If My People Called By My Name Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God

  

Featured Sermon:     (see excerpt below) Facing Our Fiscal & Christian Responsibilities Mark 12: 13-17 by Rev. Elaine Wing More Stewardship Sermons: God Provides, Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17, by Thomas Hall Position Yourself for Blessing, by heaven11, Matthew 5:1-12 How to invest into Eternal Life, by Vic. Spangenberg, Luke 16:1-13 A Tale of Three Treasures, by DG Bradley, Mat 25:14-30 Talents or Travesty, by DWR, Mat 25:14-30 Saints and swindlers by T. Hall, Luke 16:1-13 Nothing Left to Give?, by F. Schaefer, Mark 12:38-44 Savvy Investor, Mark 12:38-44, by Lisa in So. IL What Can We Bring to the Table? John 6:4-14, by Don Bower   Children's Sermons: Fully Rely On God, Luke 16:1-13, Rev. Margie L. Osborn Sharing, based on children's book "Falling Up" Luke 16:1-13 Give to God: It Makes the World a Better Place!  (see full-text message below) Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Luke 16:1-13, by Rev Frank Schaefer How can we give to God?  Mat 22:15-22 by Rev. Randy Quinn Giving Makes the World a Better Place! Theme:  tithing/stewardship by Rev Frank Schaefer   Children's Sermon: Give to God: It Makes the World a Better Place! a children's sermon based on Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Luke 16:1-13 by Rev Frank Schaefer Objective: to teach the children (and adults) the principle of giving a portion back to God in order to help fight poverty, hunger, and injustice in the world. Props: an offering plate and 10 coins of your currency (US: 10 dimes; Uk: 10p pieces; Europe: 10 Eurocents; etc.) Preparation:  Ask a child volunteer an easy bible trivia quiz question (i.e. who was the man in the bible whom God asked to build a huge ship...) and, after   answering correctly, give the child ten coins. Take one of the regular collection plates/baskets you use for the offering in your church. Show the children the offering plate and tell them that God asks us to give back a portion of what he gives us. Ask the child who has the 10 coins how many of the coins he/she thinks God wants him/her to give back. [Most likely the child will think it is more than one]. Ask the child to put one coin in the offering plate and say to the children: "God only asks us to give one--one out of ten. God only asks us to return a little portion of what he gave us. Do you think that is asking too much?" [Shake your head in order to encourage a no answer] "No it isn't, especially if we consider that God has given us all we have in the first place. Now, why do you think God wants us to give to his church?  What does the church do with the offerings like this coin you have put in [lift up the plate with the coin]?  What does the church need money for?  [Let the children suggest things].   Add some things to their list, such as missions giving, giving toward medicine, food for the developing nations, adopt a child programs, neighborhood emergency fund, support for the local soup kitchen, food/clothing supply for homeless people, etc. All of these things that the church does is to help people who are poor, hungry, homeless, and those who are ill but have no money for a doctor's visit or medicine.  What do you think, is it important to give offerings to God and God's church?  Is it important to help feed and clothe others?    Absolutely.  When you start earning some money, will you give to God?   [nod head slightly to encourage a yes answer] Who of you gives offerings already, perhaps from your weekly allowance?  That is a wonderful thing and God will bless you for blessing others. Let us pray: "Dear God please help us to remember that giving offerings to you is very, very important.  Especially because a large portion of our church collections go to help those who are poor and hungry.   Let us never forget those who are needy and let us always be willing to share with others what we have.  Amen." Sermon Excerpt: Facing Our Fiscal & Christian Responsibilities Mark 12: 13-17 by Rev. Elaine Wing It is with great joy that I share this story… Just the other night, the phone rang and the caller identified himself as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service. The caller asked me, “Did David Smith give $10,000 to Calvary United Methodist Church?” I thought for a moment and carefully replied, “He will!” (Pause for effect - Too bad this story came to me as a dream!) A cynic said recently “”Death and taxes may always be with us but at least death doesn’t get any worse.” This morning I want to tackle two topics that are not easy studies for me – economics and politics. I find both topics confusing, complicated and full of rhetoric. After trying to digest the plethora of information, I usually end up making cynical comments about politicians, the government, corporations or individuals like our fictitious Mr. Smith.  What finally drove a reluctant cynic like me to spend countless hours in sermon preparation was not statistics or emotionally laden stories of people turned away from empty food pantries. The tipping point came from Paris Hilton, the heiress whose fame is solely the result of being rich. Hilton was giving ABC News Reporter Dan Harris a tour of her Beverly Hills mansion. She pointed through one window to the 300 sq. foot house she had built for her six dogs. The $325,000 two floor pooch mansion has a clay-tile roof with copper gutters, intricate ceiling molding, central air conditioning and a crystal chandelier hanging in the bedroom. The dogs even have a closet and a downstairs living room! In the book of Genesis we are told to care for animals but I do not believe God meant that our four legged friends need such extravagant quarters. Given the increase in our government debt, one might think that Ms. Hilton was in charge of spending federal dollars! Using official government statistics, the US federal deficit grew by $1.5 trillion in 2010. The total outstanding US Treasury bonds was $14.5 trillion meaning the size of our total debt was near to the size of the total US annual economy. The numbers are now so big that we struggle to comprehend their impact on our lives. No wonder fear is utilized as a tool by politicians and religious groups of every stripe to win debates and pass legislation. With the exception of the extremely rich, I believe nearly all US citizens (and undocumented residents) are fearful of not having enough money to live simply. . . click here for the full manuscript