Sunday, September 29, 2013

29 September 2013 - ENCS

One year on and on the same passage I was asked to speak 
The conclusion is that from it, more lessons we should seek
God has a sense of humour, I said as an aside
For today's title came from last year's final slide
A lesson learned is that when our minas and talents grow
Stewardship is what we do with them, as we now know
 
"Be A Good Steward...Going Beyond Finances" was today's topic
About stewardship of talents, opportunities, and self I also did pick
Managing what we have been given is how stewardship is defined
Making a profit for our Master is our objective, I did remind
The concept of stewardship is evident in Luke 19 verses 12 - 27
There is a parallel between the rich man and God in heaven
 
In the finance field, savings equals investments economists say
We need savings to fund growth - and to help on a rainy day
We must tithe first, as in Proverbs 11:24 we do see
Else we are robbing God, per Malachi chapter three
Second, some savings we should set aside, per 1 Corinthians 16:2
That is also what erudite Benjamin Franklin said we should do
Keeping track of what we spend is helpful hint the third
So we can know what we can change, so we heard
From a spiritual angle, everything comes from God above
So we should tithe and bless others freely and with love
Then He blesses us even more, the virtuous cycle does continue
These may not be financial, but they will be more than a few
When we bless others, we are often in return blessed
For compared to receiving, giving to others is the best
But savings do not equal investments in a spiritual perspective
For saving lives and souls - not dollars -  is how we should live
"He who dies with the most toys still dies" is an expression neat
For remember that when we die, it is God whom we will meet
He sent his Son to save us, a sacrificial gift that was so great
To be good stewards, a profit on this gift we must generate
 
With talents and gifts that are all different we are indeed blessed
Per 1 Timothy 4:14, not neglecting our gifts should be our quest
Since all our gifts come from God, they must be considered good
We should thank Him for the gifts and use them, that is understood
These gifts therefore belong to God and we should tithe them too
Tithing our talents ten percent of the time is the least we can do
God's gifts to us are in fact both a privilege and a responsibility
We should use them for His glory so that others can His love see
Our response-ability is how we respond to each of God-given gift
For in utilising these talents and abilities, others we should uplift
 
But our talents would be wasted without having an opportunity
Luckily, opportunities abound every day, as we can easily see
In his letter to the Ephesians 5 verse 15-16, so wrote Paul
We are to be very careful and make the most of opportunities all
It is a waste to have faith without any deeds, James did say
We have a platform in the marketplace to use every day
As Christians we are held to higher standards here on earth
But that merely gives us more chances to show God's worth
Doing the right thing, based on my memory and records
Leads to its own set of earthly and heavenly rewards
God's GPS, or God's Positioning System keeps on recalibrating
No matter what we do, more opportunities He is always creating
There are God-incidences that happen all of our days
For "every blessing you pour out, I turn back to praise"
"Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future"
"Today is a gift and the present", that's for sure
Taking advantage of opportunities, I did then quip
Is how we can create a legacy of stewardship
 
If I did not talk about stewardship of self I would be remiss
In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 6, Paul talked about this
Our bodies are a living sacrifice and are used to honor God
So in taking care of our bodies, we should not be slipshod
Remember that Jesus' spirit in us does continually reside
And to utilise our talents, to healthy habits we must abide
 
In conclusion, remember that God looks at our deeds and our heart
For "stewardship is heart work" is the core message I tried to impart
God gives us plenty and challenges us to be stewards good
Our legacy is what we do with our talents, that is understood
What matters is not what is said on Sunday, but done in the week
That is where our stewardship legacy is defined, so to speak
Of our finances, talents, opportunities, and self we are responsible
When we are good stewards of these, the results will be incredible

Sunday, September 22, 2013

22 September 2013 - ENCS


About “Being A Servant”, today Rachel Ong did speak
At Matthew chapter 20 verse 26 we first did peek
“You must be a servant” in order to “become great”
This follows the example of Jesus, she did state

She then mentioned four in God’s “Hall of Fame”
Samson, David, Solomon, and Joseph by name
They all descended from Abraham and were leaders
That all were tempted is known to biblical readers
There were also differences, Rachel did impart
Samson the strong man, David the shepherd heart
Solomon the wise leader, and Joseph the servant
The latter stayed strong despite temptation fervent
Joseph is the only one who did not into immorality fall
Because on his servant heart he did continually call

Rachel said that a true servant has traits numbering four
Although these can easily lead one to generate more
A desire to do great things for those they served is first
Also to concentrate on being profitable without being reversed
Always having an attitude of joyfulness was third
Fourth was not holding grudges, even when slurred
It is clear that these four traits did Joseph possess
So in resisting temptation, he had lots of success

To develop a servant heart, Rachel mentioned four ways
These are useful reminders to remember all of our days
First is a desire to accomplish great things for God
Rachel gave John chapter 14 verse 12 a big nod
Second is to turn manual tasks into expressions of love
Per 1 Corinthians 10:31, do all for the glory of God above
To develop the five essential qualities of a servant was third
Availability, initiative, diligence, creativity, and wisdom we heard
The fourth step is to develop competence and skill
Per Proverbs 22:29, don’t be just run-of-the-mill

Jesus was the ultimate servant-leader when here on earth
What others said and did to him did not determine his worth
He humbled himself, Paul said in Philippians two verse seven
Even though he had strength and wisdom from heaven
By taking on this servant mentality, he did not ever sin
In the end, he sacrificed his life so salvation we could win
As per the song, we should dare to do more
By serving others, we open heaven’s door

Sunday, September 15, 2013

15 September 2013 - ENCS

The "Price Tag" series was continued by the talented Arnie
On the big screen in front, Luke 10:25-37 we all did see
The Good Samaritan showed much mercy in the parable
While the priest and the Levite had acted rather terrible
"Hold-Up or Uphold" was the title of Arnie's sermon
That he was passionate was easy to determine
The definition of "hold up" is often linked to "impede"
Arnie reminded us of this before he did then proceed
 
Would we hold-up the blessing or uphold being a blessing?
The way Arnie put it, there was not much room for guessing
The priest and the Levite were supposed to serve the Lord
But they did not help the man, sticking instead to the word
They let their tradition outweigh compassion in this case
They relied on the law instead of letting its heart embrace
Arnie asked how often we ignore it when we see a need
He told us of two cases where he could do a good deed
In the first instance, the opportunity to help he did decline
He learned his lesson, so the second instance went fine
Arnie said that we can be generous even if we are not rich
As long as from God's ways and paths we do not switch
Remember that we will never know what God is able to do
Unless we are willing to let Him see His plan through
 
Arnie asked if we would hold up caring
Or if we would prefer to uphold sharing
Samaritans were considered outcasts by those outside
By taking action, he broke tradition and a cultural divide
His journey was interrupted but he did not go berserk
Even if we are interrupted, we can still do God's work
And we should remember that if we see someone in need
If we take actions, others will most assuredly follow our lead
Sometimes dirt on our hands must be seen
In order to help someone else become clean
 
Arnie's third was whether we would hold up inner strife
Or if it was not better to uphold God's will for our life
Between Jesus and the Samaritan, Arnie drew a parallel
And the inn represents the church, he went on to tell
Good works are the result of our faith
But God can use others, Arnie did saith
Remember that God wants to share His joy
With every woman and man, girl and boy
 
Arnie referred to Ephesians two verses eight to ten
Which talked about being saved by faith again
This is a gift from God in heaven above
We do not need to earn God's love
His love never changes, so said birthday boy Arnie
For God in this world, our feet and hands can be
Sharing God's gift of grace with others is of course nice
It is possible because Jesus paid the ultimate price
 
In conclusion, an acronym Arnie did dispense
That Grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense

Sunday, September 8, 2013

8 September 2013 - ENCS

Pastor Josh continued the series on Price Tag
Despite the overhead projections having a snag
His reference text was from Luke chapter fifteen
The story of the prodigal son, one often seen
Taking his inheritance, reckless was his living
He spent on himself, never once to others giving
He clearly did not handle his resources well
We need practical accountability, Pastor did tell
 
Pastor then referred to Galatians six verse seven
Our actions should never mock our God in heaven
For in the end, we will reap what we sow
God watches everything, this we know
If our thoughts and actions prioritise God above
Then we will end up with a life of peace and love
 
Since God has adopted us, per Romans eight
We are worthy heirs, so should not consternate
And no matter how far from Him we may wander
Our inheritance from God we can never squander
For He will always await us with a living embrace
Our return will bring a joyous smile to His face
 
The father in the parable was a good steward
His resources grew, they were not skewered
As a result, he had plenty with which to celebrate
Therein was another message, Pastor did state
In response to his jealous and confused elder son
Whose focus was on all the serving he had done
The relationship matters most, the father did point out
The parallel with God is clear, there is no doubt
 
Pastor Josh reminded us of the concept of value
Both quantity and quality count, that is very true
For quality, above all else God's love does rate
And for quantity, of course eternal life is great
For God is the way, the truth. and the life
Following His path, we will avoid all strife
 
He then referred to verses 8 and 9 in Philippians 3
For Jesus' sake Paul lost all things, we did see
If Jesus is our priority, it should impact what we do
Opportunities to bless and forgive others are not few
Pastor said that we can still our lives enjoy
As long as this approach to life we do employ

Sunday, September 1, 2013

1 September 2013 - ENCS

Pastor Larry started a new series titled "Price Tag"
His enthusiasm ensured that things did not drag
The main message he shared with us right at the start
Finances are less important than the condition of our heart
He referred to Matthew 6 verses nineteen to twenty one
Earthly treasures do not count when our life here is done
All of the time, we need to guard our heart
So that from His path we do not depart
Later in Matthew, we "cannot serve two masters" Jesus said
We will end up hating the one and loving the other instead
This holds for money, relationships, or some other thing
We must choose one of those or - not and - God the King
Pastor implied that this should be our clarion call
That our God must be "God of all or not at all"
 
"What does giving it our all look like?", he then did ask
In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus took many people to task
The poor lady gave everything she had so was blessed
Even though the magnitude was much less than the rest
For it was from her heart that to God she gave
From us a similar loving heart God does crave
 
"What does not giving God our all look like?" was next
He referred to Solomon in the Ecclesiastes chapter 2 text
Solomon was the richest, most powerful, and wisest king
But after searching, he knew he was missing something
He said that there was "nothing really worthwhile anywhere"
We need to focus on what really matters, a pursuit a bit rare
 
Pastor said that giving our all looks like a trusting relationship
Following Mary's example in John 12:3, Pastor did then quip
She washed Jesus' feet with very expensive perfume
Although this brought gripes from others in the room
With other things, our relationship with God we cannot share
We must make it clear in our thoughts, actions, and prayer
 
God wants a relationship with us, this should be clear
He can supernaturally provide, so we should not fear
We should not lean on our own understanding
And above all, Jesus should be our everything