Grace Lutheran Church

The Stewardship Life: Fundamental One
God Owns Everything
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.
The Stewardship Life by Karl Kretzschmar
God owns all things, man owns nothing.
“It is not difficult to prove that we really own nothing. We need not even go to the Bible for evidence. Every man carries within himself the conviction that he is really not his own master, strongly though his selfish tendencies may protest against this consciousness and loudly though he proclaim to the world that he is “captain of his soul.” In addition, there is a multitude of personal experiences, such as personal and material losses, illness, accidents, advancing age, disturbances in nature, business reverses, the designs of evil men, wars, death itself, which incessantly disturb man?s sense of ownership, fill him with fears and forebodings, and again and again deprive him of his possessions, thus emphatically confirming the aforesaid inward conviction and definitely exploding the claim that man owns what he has (pp. 44-45).”
Reflection:
1. Why is this the first fundamental?
2. “It is not difficult to prove that we really own nothing,” says the author. Tell why you agree or disagree with this statement.
3. What additional Scripture proof would you give to underscore this fundamental?
4. What is the significance of the fact that God owns the world and all those who dwell therein?
5. Do most of the members of our congregation see themselves as owners or stewards? What difference does it make?
Prayer:
Lord, You created all things and You own all things. Everything that exists is here because of You and Your grace. We thank and praise You for showering so many spiritual and temporal blessings on us. Help us to be faithful stewards of all You give. In Jesus? name, Amen.
In Closing:
“This first principle of stewardship is basic and vital. Ignore it or deny it and you at once fall out of harmony with the divine scheme of things, besides laying up for yourself many disappointments and endless grief (p. 47).”
Glen & Audrey Rolf, Chairman Board of Stewardship
All quotations are from The Stewardship Life © 1929 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission

THINKING ABOUT STEWARDSHIP: 1 Peter 1:3-9: St. Peter reminds us that
because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have cause to rejoice
regardless of what trials or tribulations we may face in our lives. Our
hope is certain! Our inheritance can never perish, spoil or fade because
it is kept in heaven for us. Praise be to Jesus, our victorious resurrected
Savior!

Many regions in our country have been struggling through one of the severest winters in recent memory. As this article is being written, Punxsutawney Phil (the official prognosticator of the coming weather) says spring is just around the corner. Unfortunately, historically, old Phil is correct on his predictions only 39% of the time. Regardless, the people living in many parts of our country ravaged by winter storms look forward to the coming of spring on March 20 with the confidence that better weather is on the way. Spring ushers in a new start as fields, orchards and gardens are prepared for the raising of new crops that will produce food for all God’s creatures.

On March 9, Ash Wednesday ushers in the season of Lent. For Christians this is a very special time for examining their lives in the light of God’s Word and will. Lent provides an extended opportunity to review the work of Jesus for the salvation of sinners. This season begins with the stark reminder that we came from dust and will return to dust again. The season ends with the death and burial of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. During this season we are reminded of the seriousness of our sin and the supreme sacrifice of Jesus to earn forgiveness for us and all people on earth. With repentant hearts we seek forgiveness for all our past sins and ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives pleasing to God and beneficial for our neighbors.

What really counts for us is how we use the time between our birth and our death. That “in-between time” is God’s gift that He intends for us to use wisely and well. We remember that we became stewards on the day we were born and became Christian stewards on the day when we were baptized. Christian stewards recognize that by the grace of God we have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

Christian stewardship is about so much more than our use of money. Christian stewardship is a lifelong journey on which we are to manage all of life and life’s resources for God’s purposes. And because God is so good and gracious we have been blessed with many things to manage and use. How we use our time, how we use our gifts and talents, how we manage our money, how we strengthen our relationships, how we care for God’s creation are just some of the things we manage. Christian stewardship is whole-life, year-round and for all ages. And just like spring is a promise of new life for the earth, so Lent is a great time for reflection and a fresh start.

Regret looks back. Worry looks around. But faith looks up and for that reason Christian stewards practice good steward-ship of all of life and life’s resources, and do it freely and joy-fully!

Glen & Audrey Rolf, Chairman Board of Stewardship
Reprinted from LCMS Stewardship Resources

The four Sundays in February are in the Epiphany season of the Church Year calendar. Epiphany is a word that means showing forth or manifesting. The Epiphany season begins on January 6 with the visit of the Wise Men to worship the Baby Jesus as the newborn King of the Jews. The season continues with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, the calling of His first disciples, His preaching the good news of salvation and the opening of His famous Sermon on the Mount. In the four Gospel readings for February we find Jesus teaching that we are lights in this spiritually dark world who give evidence of our new birth as Christians as we love even our enemies and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. To live that way is truly an epiphany experience? to show that we really belong to our Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit live renewed lives.
That‘s what Christian stewardship is all about! Wise Christian stewards manage all of life and life‘s resources for God‘s purposes and do it freely and joyfully! We practice the kind of stewardship that is pleasing to our Lord when we give freely and generously of our time to serve in special ways that bless the mission of the church and the people living in our communities. This kind of stewardship is also shown when we freely and joyfully offer our talents and skills to help the church prosper and make life sweeter for those around us. This kind of stewardship continues when we give freely and joy-fully of our financial resources to support the work of the church in nurturing believers and reaching out to invite others to know Jesus.
Many people view Christian stewardship as something that we have to do [a command] in order to be true followers of Jesus. That simply is not true! Real Christian stewardship is the privilege of offering all that we are and have to make a difference in this world of spiritual darkness. Just as Jesus came on that first Christmas to bring light to a darkened world, so we are called to follow His example. Will we follow in His footsteps perfectly, use all that we are and have in truly unselfish ways and be willing to make sacrifices so the mission of Christ‘s church on earth may prosper and become a home for many more redeemed people? No, of course not! We are sinners and will fall short of the glory of God. But, in Christ, God has declared us to be saints because our sins and shortcomings have been forgiven and the Holy Spirit empowers us to let our lights shine so that people will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.
The bottom line for Christian stewards is to hear and obey our Lord‘s words when he taught: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [material blessings] will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:33-34 NIV)

Glen & Audrey Rolf, Chairman Board of Stewardship
Reprinted from LCMS Stewardship Resources

“Happy New Year” is a greeting that
we hear often during the time between late
December and early January. And it is a fitting greeting because
we move from calendar year 2010 to 2011. However, the
Christian Church Year begins with the first Sunday in Advent
(which in 2010 was on November 28.)
Why bring this up? The answer has to do with the
reality that we Christians actually live in two different cultures—
a secular culture and a spiritual culture. The secular culture
is the world we live in and specifically the United States of
America; the spiritual culture in which we live is the kingdom of
God. These two cultures have very different values, especially
in regard to Christian stewardship.
In our secular culture we are led to believe that we are
owners of all the ?things we have. That means, among other
things, that we are free to do whatever we want with our
possessions and don‘t have to give an account to anyone. As
members of the kingdom of God we are instructed by the
teachings from the Bible. The Bible gives us a very different
perspective on ownership because it teaches us that God is the
Owner of all things (Psalm 24:1) and we are managers of all that
God has entrusted to our care.
Our eight Biblical Stewardship Principles provide
some excellent guidance for our lives as God‘s stewards. The
second principle states: “God’s stewards are managers, not
owners.” The fifth principle states: “God’s stewards are in the
world, but not of the world.” (Note: you can go to
www.lcms.org/stewardship and click on ?Stewardship
Ministry? [on the left side] and then on ?Biblical Stewardship
Principles? for the full text and study guide for the principles).
A good resolution for 2011 would be to study the principles
individually, in small groups or in larger group Bible classes.
The Biblical Stewardship Principles help us
understand what it means to be one of God‘s stewards and to
live as His stewards. This can be a real challenge when we live
in a culture that is so obsessed with getting more and more so
we can satisfy our own desires. As God‘s stewards we are not
our own; we have been bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
so we can glorify God and show love to others!
As God‘s stewards we do well to remember what St.
Paul wrote to Timothy: “For we brought nothing into this
world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7
NIV) What we do between our birth and our death is the
measure of our stewardship. In addition, we should not view
stewardship as a task that we have to do, but rather something
that we get to do with the understanding that “Christian
stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God
and God’s family, the church, in managing all of life and life’s
resources for God’s purposes.”

Glen & Audrey Rolf, Chairman Board of Stewardship
Reprinted from LCMS Stewardship Resources

A number of good things happen in the month of October.
October 2nd is the 80th anniversary of the first Lutheran Hour
broadcast. LWML Sunday is celebrated on October 3rd (or
another Sunday in the month). October 11th is Columbus Day.
And, of course, on October 31st we commemorate Reformation
Day, although children especially may think of October 31st as
Halloween Day.
In many parts of our country October is also a month for
harvesting crops like corn and soybeans. The Bible in a number
of places makes reference to the rejoicing of God’s people at the
time of harvest. Harvest is truly a good time to remember God’s
goodness and mercy and raise our songs of thanksgiving like:
“Come, ye thankful people, come; raise the song of harvest home.
All be safely gathered in ere the winter storms begin;
God, our maker, doth provide for our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come; raise the song of harvest home.”
(892 LSB, 574 TLH)
Of course, due to drought, hail and other weather issues,
some crops are not good and this causes hardships for many
farmers and their families; however, overall, seedtime and
harvest prevail and the activities of agriculture, commerce and
transportation continue so that the earth yields its increase and
provides food for all God’s creatures. This is indeed a good
reason for rejoicing.
But our rejoicing over the goodness and mercy of God should
not be limited to the times of harvest, whether in the summer or
the fall, because Jesus taught us pray: ?Give us this day our
daily bread.? Dr. Martin Luther explained the meaning of that
petition with these words: ?God certainly gives daily bread to
everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray
in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to
receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.?
Traditionally many congregations schedule their stewardship
emphases in October or November. That tradition probably
started when our society was more agricultural so a thankful
response for God’s blessings was appropriate at that time of the
year. However, many congregations also put together the next
year’s budget during October or November and this timing can
make stewardship sound more like money rather than anything
else.
Stewardship is at its best when it is thought of as whole-life,
year-round and for all ages. Our definition of Christian stewardship
is the free and joyous activity of the child of God and God’s
family, the church, in managing all of life and life’s resources for
God’s purposes. This definition reminds us of the truth that our
stewardship is not just a matter or money, but also a matter of
sharing the good news of Jesus, using our time and talents for
ministry, and taking care of God’s creation and our own bodies,
plus so much more. May God help us all throughout the year to
understand that while stewardship is often measured in dollars
and cents it is much more than that—all of life and life’s
resources.
Audrey Rolf, Chairman Board of Stewardship
Reprinted from LCMS Stewardship Resources