STEWARDSHIP SERMON SERIES: GREATER THAN

One aspect of growing as a disciple of Christ means that we are committed to responding to God’s wonderful generosity. We grow in that generosity as part of our individual spirituality, we also grow in generosity within our faith community as the body of Christ. The disciples in the earliest Churches understood the power of community and growing together in discipleship. Together is greater than alone. Generosity is greater than storing up. And thriving is greater than survival.

Join us for this series as we consider all that God has shared with us and what it means to live a life that is Greater Than.

THIS WEEK…. WE > ME

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In a culture that prizes independence, God calls us to interdependence. When we live, give, and grow together, we go farther and thrive more deeply than we ever could alone.

The to-do list in our lives AND in creating a better world is never-ending. The
pace at which we tackle that to-do list has become ever more feverish in pitch. The
access to information has increased to such a degree that we often feel overwhelmed
just getting up in the morning. But “sabbath” is a commandment. God is a God of
“restoration.”

Something grossly overlooked in the creative process is the place of effortlessness and play. In the story of creation, God rested. And this was very “good” as well! Pushing through is non-sustainable, and creativity suffers if we constantly labor. God’s creativity is ongoing, so while the story said God was “finished” and then rested, really it was simply a pause to reflect, to observe, and to celebrate, and then God continued God’s creative work among us and with us.

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Everything that is created is in relationship with all other things. God’s vision for birds had to do with the quality of the creation of air. How a song is experienced by those who sing it will change the composer’s perception of the song or even the song itself. Nothing exists in isolation. So too for our relationships with others. What happens for humanity is closely related to how we respond to each other.

The invitation of creativity, then, is also the invitation to integration—to see the spheres of our lives, the many parts of our identities, and the diversity of our communities not as fragments to be managed but as gifts to be woven together. Just as God’s creation is marked by interdependence and resonance, our lives are meant to be re-integrated, re-visioned, and re-shaped in relationship with those who are not like us. New wholeness is possible when we offer ourselves fully, with courage and openness, and when we allow the Spirit’s creativity to transform us through encounter, collaboration, and love. 

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In this third message of our Drawn In series, we reflect on how creativity always involves risk. To create is to step into the unknown, to try something that may not work, and to trust that love will hold us even if it doesn’t go as planned. God’s own love is a daring act of risk, as we see in the prophet Hosea—a love that risks rejection, heartbreak, and disappointment, and yet keeps reaching out with steadfast devotion. Creativity, then, is not safe or comfortable, but it is the very heart of God’s way with the world.

Jesus’ parable of the talents reminds us that burying our gifts out of fear is not what God desires. The call is to risk investing ourselves fully—our ideas, our voices, our time, our compassion—for the sake of God’s kingdom of love and justice. To be drawn into God’s creativity is to embrace holy risk: trusting that when we put our lives into circulation, God multiplies them in ways we cannot imagine.

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All creation began with the dream of God, the will and intention for life to exist in the void. All of our actions are born out of desire, out of a dream and vision for the future. This is our birthright: to imagine and to create. What brings you alive? What truly moves your soul in the deepest way? What you create out of that answer is your greatest gift to the world and the way in which you are part of God’s unfolding and ongoing creative dream. We will use the story of Jesus beginning His ministry with a new interpretation of an ancient dream for God’s people to help stoke the fires of our own dreams for ourselves and this world.

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